BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE fourth annual History and Heritage Week was launched yesterday (Feb. 15) with an ecumenical service conducted by the Christian Council and the Evangelical Association at the Antioch Baptist Church.
Under the theme “Reclaiming our Roots: Our Heritage, Our Environment, Our People”, the weeklong event is organised by the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society and sponsored by the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank.
According to the organisers, it is aimed at promoting and stimulating greater awareness of and involvement in the history and heritage of St. Kitts and Nevis by its citizens.
Some of the activities planned to mark the event include Open Days at Brimstone Hill, Panel Discussions, Public Lectures and the Back to Roots Culture Pageant. There will also be a workshop for history and social studies teachers, a ‘Know Your Country’ quiz competition in the primary schools and a food fair and exhibition.
The week was officially launched yesterday by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas, who stressed the importance of history and heritage, calling them “powerful tools of every nation and every civilisation”.
“The history and heritage of a country would have shaped individual and national psyche and would have helped to determine many of the socio-economic challenges that were encountered in the past and which continue to influence our own environment today.
“There is so much to learn and so much to understand about elements of our political, economic and social past. We have the opportunity to achieve new pinnacles of progress by absorbing all that is good out of our heritage and working together to achieve the best for our country,” Douglas said.
The Prime Minister urged persons to preserve their national environment, to discover and preserve archaeological treasures from land and sea, to embrace traditional architectural themes in their buildings and to take pride in their dance, music and other cultural elements.
“As a people, we must be able to find ways to effectively exploit our heritage that have economic value. But we must do so in a manner that preserves the integrity of our physical environment and our social norms.
“Heritage gives our people the opportunity to be creative and innovative, to be entrepreneurial and to think global. It is my hope that this year’s week of activities will provide a platform for open and respectful discussion of all the key issues that are involved. I pray that it leads someone one step closer to realising the true potential to achieving our own highest aspirations as a people,” Douglas emphasised.
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