Who we are?
The Department of Heritage & Arts [DHA] (previously the Department of Culture & Heritage) was established in 2000 to coordinate Fiji’s culture sector.It is the premier government institution responsible for policy and legislative responses necessary to safeguard [conserve], protect and promote Fiji’s cultural diversity and unique Fijian heritage.
The Department in its humble beginning began with two staff, and now has merged in the new millennium with a total of 21 staff. DHA is headed by the Director Heritage & Arts.
The Department deals with community based organization, national, regional and international stakeholders from non-governmental organization, statutory bodies [Fiji Museum, Fiji Arts Council, National Trust of Fiji, 6 Multi-Cultural Centres], Regional bodies [PIFS, PIMA, USP, SPC etc] and international organizations [UNESCO, UN, UNDP, MINISTRY OF CULTURE – CHINA, INDONESIAN CULTURE EXCHANGE SCHOLARSHIP UNIT, UNECSO ICHCAP, CRIHAP and WHIRTAP].
The Institution has implementing agencies located around Fiji which receive their annual grant from government through the Department.
How we work?
The Department currently has five units which form the core sects of activities including policy development, and implementation of projects pertaining to cultural heritage at the national level.
The 5 units include:
- Policy & Convention, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Multi-Cultural Centre
- World Heritage.
- Cultural Industries, Grants and Statistics
- Culture Development.
- Corporate