Page 32 - NEWSPAPER MEDIA MONITORING JANUARY 11TH, 2019

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LOCAL Friday 11 January 2019

“We Culture”, more than just creativity…

Continued from Page 14 ria” last year as a token of appreciation and in
celebration of the 65th anniversary of carnival
This directs me back at the Carnival Museum on the island. This museum will serve as a meth-
that will be opening soon on the island. The mu- od for education and awareness to our own
seum opened their expo “the Carnival Eupho- people and those who visit the island about
the carnival history and richness over the years.
Carnival means more to Aruba than just party-
ing and drinking (even though this plays a tre-
mendous role), it means tradition, it means fam-
ily, it means something sweet from the heart.
For some people carnival is their life, it is their me this season and year, while we explore to-
passion, it is part of their spirit. To others, espe- gether the wonders of culture, creativity and
cially those who do not celebrate it, it may be innovation on Aruba. We will discover more
just a party, just a parade, just an election, just a about economic factors, social capital and
waste of money and time. But, through all that cultural development possibilities Aruba could
carnival remains a huge element in the Aruban consider for implementing a CCI on the island.
cultural panorama. We are Arubans, we are Aruba cannot look back, but only move for-
creative, we are innovators, we are artistic, but ward. Move into the arts, move into innovative
like we say it in San Nicolas “We culture”. practices and strive to make it a success. Be-
cause Aruba is creative and Aruba is capable
So, happy new year to you, and be sure to join of thriving in the international art scene!q

Biography – Currently, Thaïs Franken is a 22-year-old Aruban student at the University of Maastricht (UM). She
is studying a Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development in collaboration with the Unites
Nations University (UNU). Back home, on the beautiful island of Aruba she completed her Bachelor of Arts in
Organization, Governance & Management (OGM) at the University of Aruba (UA). She successfully gradu-
ated and defended her thesis titled “Placing Culture and Creativity at the Heart of the Aruban Sustainable
Development” on July 6th 2018. Thaïs is very passionate about topics such as sustainability, innovation, cul-
ture and creativity. Next to her academic interests, she enjoys reading, writing, dancing and cooking.