The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) began in 1963 as the Festival Office, with a mandate to develop and promote the creative talents and cultural expressions of the Jamaican people. Its function is also to ensure that the nation’s cultural heritage is preserved and sustained for the benefit of future generations. It also organises the annual Independence celebrations and other events of national significance. In the years since its inception, thousands of Jamaicans have benefited from its programmes in dance, traditional folk forms, speech and drama, music, culinary arts, fine arts, photography and literary arts. The Commission has been able to expose and nurture the talents of renowned practitioners such as Professor Mervyn Morris, Kapo, Barrington Watson, Lennie Little-White, Stephen Cat" Coore, Joan Andrea Hutchinson, Fae Ellington, Steven Woodham and Susan Alexander. The Commission fulfills its mandate primarily through its annual Festival of the Arts, with national competitions in the performing arts, literary arts, fine arts and culinary arts.