Bridgetown, Barbados, January 15, 2013. On January 11, 2013 the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas signed an agreement to hold Design Caribbean 2013 from June 20-23, 2013 at the Grand Lucayan Resort, Freeport Grand Bahama.

The Hon. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama in his remarks at the signing event expressed his delight to host Design Caribbean as it “will expose local artisans and manufacturers to overseas buyers in retail, hospitality, design, music, film and fashion; thus providing them with opportunities to exhibit their talents, market and sell their products and services.”

DESIGN CARIBBEAN is the rebranded evolution of the Caribbean Gift and Craft show (CGCS) aimed at taking the promotion of the creative industries, in particular the design sector in the region, to new levels of excellence. The Design Caribbean showcase provides a platform for only the best Caribbean artisans and designers to show, market and sell their products locally, regionally and internationally.

In September 2011, the inaugural Design Caribbean showcase provided a platform to improve the standard and quality of the Caribbean’s Creative Industry to one that is export ready, sustainable, marketable, and profitable.

Building on the platform laid in 2011, the second staging will focus on further strengthening the “Design Caribbean” brand, attracting investment and exploring potential markets (and distributors) for Caribbean Creative Products and Services.

“The creative industry is one of the few areas within which the Caribbean holds a competitive advantage.  This coupled with the fact that the creative industry now constitutes the fastest growing sector and industry per capita in relation to GDP in the world, places Design Caribbean in the centre of a potentially revolutionary economic landscape that can be created in the Caribbean” expressed Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of Caribbean Export.

Caribbean Export shares the responsibility of Design Caribbean with the host country and the partnership with  the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and its key agencies, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and Bahama Agricultural & Industrial Corporation (BAIC) is important because it is viewed that “Design Caribbean offers great opportunities, not only for local manufacturers, but also for the country as a whole and Grand Bahama specifically” said The Hon. Arnold Forbes, Executive Chairman, Bahamas Agricultural & Industrial Corporation (BAIC).

The Design Caribbean event is to take place over 4 days and is set to show case the best of the best the Caribbean has to offer of Caribbean designed manufactured goods, music, fashion and film.