FIFTH ANNUAL SONG AND VERSE CONTEST FOCUSES ON IPR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000320 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/PD, EB/IPE AND INL/LP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR SCUL TD SUBJECT: FIFTH ANNUAL SONG AND VERSE CONTEST FOCUSES ON IPR REF: (A) 04 POS 339; (B) 05 POS 210; (C) 06 POS 261 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: One year after the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) launched its first anti-piracy campaign, two GOTT ministries and a local NGO The Heroes Foundation joined the Embassy to co-sponsor an Intellectual Property Rights-themed Ambassador's Song and Verse Contest. Nearly 3,000 students participated in this annual event that takes place during the Carnival season, a time of year when the nation focuses on music and cultural performances, and piracy's effects on local musicians are most visible. Student contestants crafted original works in local musical styles (calypso, rap, soca, extempo, etc.) or verse (choral speaking, monologues, etc.) to deliver messages about the negative consequences of piracy and counterfeiting and the value of respecting the law. The GOTT Intellectual Property Office Controller has reported positive outcomes from the contest, including TV station interest in producing children's programming about IP protection. End summary. ¶2. (U) Post has worked with the GOTT Ministry of Education (MOE) to organize the Ambassador's Song and Verse Contest during the run-up to Carnival every year since 2003, to raise consciousness among students about social ills through indigenous song and verse. Past themes have included HIV/AIDS awareness, crime and drug demand reduction (refs A and B). Students compete first in 8 school district competitions, and the contest culminates in a national final with the eight district winners competing for a TT$5,000 (around US$800) grand prize. -------------- REACHING OUT ON IP -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The GOTT's IP Office's attempts since 1999 to teach IP in schools have been largely unsuccessful due to difficulties gaining MOE support or approval for IP curricula or access to schools. When post's initial theme for this year's contest (sustainable development) was abandoned due to lack of funding and MOE concerns that compositions would focus on the politically sensitive debate about Alcoa's proposal to construct an aluminum smelter in Trinidad, the IP Office seized on the opportunity to start outreach on IP to students. The IP office co-sponsored the contest, in hopes of improving their access to the classroom. The two ministries and Post agreed on "Don't Get Caught in the Web: Protect Intellectual Property Rights" as the 2007 theme, which adopts part of the existing anti-piracy slogan (ref C). ¶4. (U) The IP Office took the lead on developing the curricula for educating teachers and students for the contest, planning on expanding it for future school use. As music piracy and copyright violations are the most widely understood IP-related concepts in T&T, the IP Office and post framed the overall message for this contest in terms of the need to respect intellectual property rights in order to protect and encourage creativity and innovation. Additional themes included the idea that counterfeit products can be health and safety hazards, that violating intellectual property rights is a punishable crime, and that links exist between counterfeiters and the more serious criminal elements in T&T. INL monies partially funded this year's contest in support of post's drug demand reduction MPP goal. -------------- Logistical Difficulties -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The delayed start to contest planning and launch, due to funding problems and the last-minute theme change, exacerbated perennial organizational problems, many resulting from weak coordination between MOE and school districts. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Legal Affairs' involvement added new complexity to the planning process. This year, two GOTT ministries needed to approve all decisions, from dates of contests to designs for promotional items. As a result, promotional items which in past years were distributed at district competitions were not available until the day of the national finals this year. -------------- All's Well That Ends Well -------------- ¶6. (U) Despite the late start and the resulting low number of district competitors, the National Final on February 13 was a well-attended, high-energy event, in which the students' original works took center stage. Nearly 3,000 students and guests filled the stands of the Jean Pierre Complex to cheer on and learn from the eight finalists as well as the local recording artists and a speaker on trade secrets from local company Angostura. Artistic experts and PORT OF SP 00000320 002 OF 002 experts on IP judged the finalists and awarded the top prize to a duo from Tobago, who performed a monologue entitled "A Pirate is a Pirate is a Pirate," which draws parallels between "traditional" pirates of the high seas and modern-day pirates who steal products of the mind. Other noteworthy acts include the lament of a street vagrant whose inventions were stolen, leaving her penniless, and a skit in which students cavorted on stage selling counterfeit medicines and electronics and pirated CDs with impunity until apprehended by a police officer bearing the slogan "R.I.P" (respect intellectual property). ¶7. (U) Minister of Education Hazel Manning, initially skeptical that school children would understand the IP theme, came away enthusiastic about repeating this theme for future contests. Some MOE district supervisors noted that students, all of whom have seen pirated CD vendors on the streets of T&T, appeared to understand the relevance of this theme better than some past themes, and would like to focus on this subject again. ¶8. (U) IP Office Controller Mazina Kadir also admitted to having doubts prior to the finals, fearing the short lead time and organizational complications would undercut the educational impact of the contest. After the contest, she commented to Econoff that she thought the contest was worth the expenditure (around US$15,000 for the Ministry of Legal Affairs) and hoped to build on this event. Noting that the student contestants appeared to have a better understanding of the scope of IP issues than many of the local artistes who serve as spokespersons for the anti-piracy campaign, Ms. Kadir said she hoped to use video footage of the performances to target younger audiences in promoting the upcoming World IP Day. She also reported that a TV station contacted the IP Office after this contest and expressed interest in developing children's programming on IP. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: We agree that the school children got this theme at least as well if not better than the adults. Their understanding of IP went beyond music piracy, including understanding what they consider to be small scale illegal activities are also crimes and can lead to more serious illegal behavior, such as drug use. Their performances might help to convince their elders that infringement of foreign IP is as damaging as that of local products, a challenge in the Caribbean. Judging from the ministries' difficulty in establishing a working relationship during this event, the IP Office will have its work cut out to introduce IP curricula in schools. Post can play a role facilitating continued cooperation between these ministries, both of which are long-standing strong Embassy contacts, to increase GOTT outreach on IP issues. The GOTT has a way to go in developing a culture of respect for IPR, but it is making steady progress through education and outreach efforts, as well as crackdowns on pirated CD and DVD vendors. END COMMENT. SWEENEY