The Chief Minister established the International Cultural Centre Steering Group to deliver Action 18 of the Council of Minister's 100 Day Plan to "put in place a plan to open a Cultural Centre, celebrating our cultural identities and bringing Islanders together."
The proposal to establish a Cultural Centre was also identified as a key priority of the Diversity Forum in its Legacy Report.
The Group is currently developing a Cultural Diversity Network, which is the first stage of a wider project to establish an International Cultural Centre in Jersey. The Centre:
- will provide information about services in Jersey
- improve access to those services across the community
- celebrate Jersey's cultural identities
- bring Islanders together by raising awareness of different cultures
Action 18 of the Council of Minister's 100 Day Action Plan committed to "put in place a plan to open a Cultural Centre, celebrating our cultural identities and bringing Islanders together." The proposal to establish a Cultural Centre was also identified as a key priority of the Diversity Forum in its
Legacy Report.
A cultural centre is an establishment that promotes cultural diversity and arts within a community. In the UK, centres tend to celebrate a specific culture. The aims are usually to raise awareness of that culture within the community or support its members through various events and services. Centres may run programmes based around culture, community and education – for example, the Irish Cultural Centre in London organises art and theatre exhibitions; social activity groups; and language, literature and dance classes.1 Other centres (such as the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Nottingham), organise religious events and drop-in sessions to support with issues such as visas and immigration.
A wide range of services are currently delivered by the Government and third sector organisations which fulfil the Council of Ministers' aims for the International Cultural Centre. These services will, in the short-term, be coordinated and delivered as part of the Cultural Diversity Network by up to two cultural engagement officers. Annex A sets out the services which are to be delivered as part of the Cultural Diversity Network.
Cultural engagement officers will, initially, be based in Jersey Library and many of the services which they would be responsible for coordinating and/or delivering will be operated from and run in the library. However, a key part of their role will be to provide services in the community and to ensure that all communities are engaged by the Cultural Diversity Network's activities.
The Group has been established by the Chief Minister. Its key functions will be to:
- monitor and assess the effectiveness of the Cultural Diversity Network
- develop and publish a final proposal for the International Cultural Centre for the approval of the Council of Ministers, in line with the delivery schedule, below
The Group's agreed final proposal must accord with the Council of Minister's objectives for the establishment of an International Cultural Centre which celebrates Jersey's cultural identities and brings Islanders together.
The Group holds responsibility for agreeing a long-term solution for the International Cultural Centre. In developing this solution, the Group will:
- review the delivery of the Cultural Diversity Network (as set out under Annex A) over a twelve-month period
- lead a full public consultation to inform the design for the International Cultural Centre
The consultation will, alongside evidence of the effectiveness of the Cultural Diversity Network, inform the Group's development of detailed options for the new International Cultural Centre, including its preferred option.
The Group and officials supporting the Group will ensure that this activity is delivered in accordance with the timetable, below:
The members of the Group are listed below:
The Chief Minister holds responsibility for appointing members to the Group. Should a vacancy arise, or should the Chair determine that further members of the Group are required to discharge the Group's functions more effectively, the Chair will nominate an appropriate candidate to join the Group for the Chief Minister to consider.
Meetings will be scheduled in November 2022, January 2023 and March 2023. Thereafter, the Group will agree a further schedule of meetings. The Chair will agree a specific date for the next meeting with members of the Group at each meeting, as a standing item on the agenda. Meetings will usually be a maximum of 2 hours duration and held in a Government of Jersey provided building in St Helier.
All members are expected to attend wherever possible. In the event of a member being unable to attend a meeting, the Chair must be provided with reasonable advance notice.
Responsibility for secretarial duties (the production of agendas, minutes and circulating relevant papers) will be performed by an officer in the Ministerial Support Unit. The agenda and any associated papers must be agreed by the Chair and should be circulated no less than five full working days before each meeting.
The secretariat is responsible for ensuring that relevant Government officials are invited to provide papers in advance of and to attend Group meetings to facilitate discussion. Papers must be provided to the secretariat at least seven working days prior to a meeting to allow distribution of papers to members five days ahead of the scheduled meeting date.
Outcomes
Meetings of the Group will be minuted by the secretariat. Notes of the meetings will be agreed by the Chair and will usually be issued to members of the Group within ten working days of the Group's meeting.
The secretariat must provide the minutes of the Group's meetings to the Chief Minister. The secretariat must also ensure that other ministers receive minutes, when relevant and that relevant Government officials are provided with the minutes from the Group's meetings. This will ensure that the outcomes of the Group's meetings are systematically considered by the Government.
There should be a free flow of information relevant to the Group's functions between its members. It should be presumed that all documents shared between Group members are confidential unless otherwise agreed. Freedom of Information principles and legislation will apply to all documents and correspondence.
The Chair may decide to release information to the public, following consultation with the Group.
These terms of reference will be reviewed in 2024.
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