Yasser Musa will head new cultural body

No one can determine with certainty the precise factors that caused a majority of Belizeans to vote for the People’s United Party on March fifth, but it is widely believed that a highly creative media campaign based on music, dance and culture played a major role in the victory. Today we are informed that the man credited with much of that campaign’s originality, Yasser Musa, will be heading a major reorganization of government’s artistic infrastructure. According to the Belize Times, Musa has been appointed interim President of NICH, the National Institute of Culture and History. The concept of NICH has been around for over a decade and was the brainchild of Ambassador Assad Shoman. The idea is to take all of government’s cultural efforts and put them under one semi-autonomous roof. Musa, the son of the Prime Minister, will preside over the effort, which will unite the present departments of archaeology, museums, Arts Council and House of Culture. The present heads of these departments: George Thompson, John Morris, Andy Palacio and Lita Krohn, are expected to join younger collaborators like Gilvano Swasey and Richard Holder to bring a fresh and unorthodox approach to the nation’s artistic scene.