(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA) will begin intensive research work in May as part of its objective to give culture more prominence, a top official said recently.

This will be done through financing support of $79,584 from the UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD).

The project ‘Identification of structural reforms to reinvigorate and re-establish culture at the heart of Seychelles’ economic and social development’ was approved for funding last week at UNESCO’s 15th session. The project expects to be completed in October 2023.

“The project is to see how much we can do and how many structures we can put in place to ensure that culture has an important role in the socio-economic development of Seychelles,” said David, secretary general of SNICHA.

Andre said that although there is a lot of talk about culture in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, there is no solid structure in place and the funds received from UNESCO will help address that lack.

He added that attention will also be given to ensuring that visitors to Seychelles experience the island nation's culture.

The adviser for International Cooperation at the Institute, Miera Savy, said “the project will help us fill in a vacuum so that we can reach a more elevated level. We will also need technical assistance in the legal field as well as to help develop our programmes.”

The funding will help pay for the research which will identify gaps in existing regulations and strategies. A report document will be produced that will not only highlight the challenges and gaps but will also propose changes to protect Seychelles’ cultural and creative industries.

According to the IFCD, Seychelles was successful in its quest to receive the funding because the project aims to support a newly formed entity to develop a framework that will oversee the protection of cultural expression under threat from its tourism market.

Among 615 projects presented to UNESCO, Seychelles was among the nine that were approved.

IFCD is a fund established under the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction in developing countries that have signed the agreement – which Seychelles did in June 2008.