By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 10th July 2024)- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) Consultant specialist Nigel Encalda has applauded the most recent work done towards safeguarding St.
Kitts and Nevis’ intangible cultural heritage during a stakeholders consultation session. “Everything from a framework of how to assess the threats to elements, the framework for communication, assessing the visibility of sport…we’ve done it all today in a very short time.
I want to tell you that what you’ve presented will be compiled and…there’s already a draft policy, we’re going to refine it,” Encalda stated at the end of event held on Wednesday 3rd July 2024, at Cuna Caribbean Conference Centre, located at Fortlands in Basseterre. That session, part of the ongoing UNESCO ICH Policy project titled “Safeguarding Saint Kitts and Nevis Intangible Cultural Heritage: Developing a National Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy,” was organized by the St.
Kitts Department of Creative Economy – Cultural Unit. Among those who attended were knowledge bearers and practitioners, youth groups, Workers’ representative organization, the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union (SKNT&LU), youth group representatives, community festival organisers, Ministry of Employment and Labour officers, Constituency Empowerment officers and intellectual property experts.
Participants from Nevis joined virtually. As understood, collectively the session saw close to one hundred (100) individuals taking part from the government and non-governmental sectors The SKNT&LU was represented by General Secretary Precious Mills and Field Officer and executive committee member Sean Kelly.
Ahead of the session, stakeholder invitees were asked to review our Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) policy framework in encouraging that their expertise and insights were as the unit seeks to enhance the Federation’s policies and practices in preserving and promoting cultural heritage. Minister of Sports, The Creative Economy and Culture Samal Duggins during remarks at the opening of the session.
Now, the interesting thing about culture is that if you try to understand it from a textbook level, you can become quite confused (cont’d on next page – LOCAL NEWS – 5
because everywhere that you try to find a definition it is vastly different. I implore you, go through Oxford, Cambridge, Webster and different dictionaries… define culture and you’ll recognize they’re all different, and going through that I recognize that in that difference, it is the perfect description of culture because how could you define something that is as unique as each individual?
Think about it. We are all distinctly different. And if you were to define something that embodies who we are collectively, it would have to be something that gives up that exact essence.” He added: “but one thing we can do is categorize culture into the two categories.
That which is tangible…that we touch, see, feel, move, and that which is intangible.” Duggins continued, emphasizing the importance of embracing both tangible and intangible aspects of culture. “We have to embrace it holistically because as much as the Brimstone Hill Fortress, one of our iconic elements of our intangible culture sits majestically on top of that hill; it represents the British as much as it represents the French as much as it represents our African heritage and when we look at us a people and our masquerades, we recognize the same thing because these things are not just rooted in one element of culture.
They are rooted in so many different elements that have now become our culture but that also speaks to the evolution of culture; it is not stagnant it is not static, culture is everywhere and it is all about what we embrace and most important, what we got here.” The Culture Minister stressed the importance of documenting cultural heritage for future generations. “As your Minister of Culture, I am happy to see so many of you here today because it tells me that you are interested in documenting who we are and preserving that for the people of tomorrow to
understand and know who we are.” The Executive Summary of the draft policy outlines: “The Mission for safeguarding St. Kitts and Nevis Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is to implement initiatives that stimulate members of communities to preserve the nations living heritage, defined as social values, traditions, and the cultural lifestyle of individuals, or groups in communities.
The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage guidelines will be used by St. Kitts and Nevis, signatories to the convention, to identify, assess, and report on the condition of cherished ICH Elements to make informed recommendations on how to preserve them, and educate current and future generations about their intrinsic value.” It is further outlines that: “A strategic plan will be defined with specific goals, objectives, and measurable timelines.
Successful implementation will require collaboration between all stakeholders, including traditional knowledge bearers, individuals, groups, communities, creative and cultural industry experts, government departments, non-government institutions, private sector businesses, national organizations, and the wider regional and international community.” Front page Photo:(immediate left to right)Well-Known Cultural Preservation Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett, Sean Crossley of the Sandy Point Bull Troupe and , Samande ‘Ras Iya’ Reid of the Nyabinghi Theocracy Order seen in attendance at the ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) stakeholders consultation held on Wednesday 3rd July 2024, at Cuna Caribbean Conference Centre, located at Fortlands in Basseterre (SKNT&LU Snap) :
