MAC discusses recovering Caribbean heritage

VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

President of the MAC Ieteke Witteveen

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE 20th Annual Conference of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (MAC), held at the Frigate Bay Resort yesterday (Nov. 12) attracted a wide cross-section of historians and anthropologists to discuss “Recovering the heritage of the Caribbean”.

The three-day conference, hosted by the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society (BHFNPS) in association with the St. Christopher Heritage Society, is expected to focus heavily on the protection and conservation of historical sites and the teaching of local and regional history.

President of the MAC Ieteke Witteveen expressed her pleasure in having this year’s conference held in St. Kitts and noted that it is no coincidence as St. Kitts-Nevis is one of the founding members of the MAC. She stressed that it is critical to find where the heritage is and then concentrate on what can be done to recover it.

“We do not do enough research here [in the region]; we need more research on the world of Archaeology. In fact, all we have is a lot of

PM Douglas and President Witteveen

loose and broken pieces of our memories especially in terms of proper record of the Indians and of the silent years of the Africans. These discussions are very appropriate and would definitely enrich our knowledge of local history and strengthen our identity.

“I think the first step would be inventory and then focus on measures to protect our historical elements. We need better common legislation in the Caribbean to ensure that people neither destroy historical sites nor leave with historical elements. 

Tourists need to see more than just sand and sea, so we need to preserve our historical sites which are a fountain of rich history and heritage,” Witteveen stated.

Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas highlighted the opportunity for MAC to build the necessary bridges between government, private sector, individuals and experts for the purpose of changing the landscape and the environment of heritage. 

He noted the importance of collaboration to develop certain protocols in the pursuit of recovering the region’s heritage from overseas interest.

“This could be a very delicate task that may require both legislative support as well as country diplomacy. I urge you to recognize that the work of heritage organizations is challenging but I believe that the new order of our economic development demands your inclusion into that important equation. I am certain that the holistic approach to nation building in the Caribbean must include our heritage profiles.” 

Dr. Douglas indicated that heritage preservation must involve the people of the Caribbean region in order to generate support and make the work of the organizations much easier.

“When people know what is at stake and they know how they can help and they understand how it benefits them and the country as a whole, then they begin to gain the respect, understanding and support of the public in tackling our challenges”.