The Cabinet of the Virgin Islands has approved the Virgin Islands Culture and Heritage Policy & Strategy 2023 to 2028.

The policy framework is expected to guide the future growth and development of the cultural sector in the Virgin Islands.

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley, whose portfolio includes Culture, said the policy also incorporates Virgin Islands culture and heritage in the formulation and implementation of Government’s policies, programmes and its overall agenda in all aspects of the Territory’s development.

Premier Wheatley said, “I am pleased that we were able to ensure public consultations took place for the formulation of the main priority areas of the policy. I thank the people of the Virgin Islands for doing their part to shape the policy which includes protecting national identity, fostering cultural integration, heritage, cultural education and nation building.”

The Premier added, “To ensure effective implementation, a decision was also made that the Premier's Office will instruct the Attorney General's Chambers to draft parent legislation based on the Virgin Islands Culture and Heritage Policy and Strategy which will be termed as the Virgin Islands Culture Act.”

The formulation of this document is in alignment with The Virgin Islands National Sustainable Development Plan – Vision 2036: Building a Sustainable Virgin Islands, which engaged the public through more than 60 stakeholder consultations.

In keeping with this, the Virgin Islands Culture and Heritage Policy & Strategy outlines tasks that the Government of the Virgin Islands will pursue through the various Ministries, Departments, Units and Agencies, in the role of an enabler of cultural development. These actions are spread across main focal areas:

1. The Creative and Cultural Industries;
2. Cultural Heritage;
3. Culture, Heritage and National Development Planning;
4. The Administrative and Institutional Framework;
5. The Legal and Institutional Framework; and
6. Implementation and Review.

The policy also intends to enhance the cultural sector, by highlighting the interrelationship between culture and heritage and how they can potentially bolster the Virgin Islands. It adopts a holistic approach to shape a cultural ecology where the Virgin Islands people’s cultural and heritage assets are protected and developed in a sustainable manner.