HERITAGE AND THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES: The Impact of Public Awareness and Education on the Production of Cultural Products and Services – The Experience

Introduction

This Presentation is aimed at showing the impact of the Public Awareness and Education Programme on the public’s appreciation of heritage and how that appreciation has led to the development of cultural products and services in Barbados.

Background The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth has been given the mandate to ensure the preservation of both the tangible and intangible heritage of Barbados. This is undertaken with the assistance of the Barbados World Heritage Committee, which was established by The of Barbados - the arm of Government, on the recommendation of the responsible for Culture. These entities work closely together to oversee the management of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, which was inscribed as a World Heritage property in June 2011.

Specifically, the Ministry role has been to educate and sensitize the many publics concerning the Outstanding Universal Value of the Property, with the overall goal of building a greater sense of cultural identity and showing the place of the Property in the cultural heritage landscape of Barbados. To this end, the Ministry has embarked on an aggressive Public Education and Awareness Campaign which promotes the importance of heritage to Barbadians as a people, as well as provides the opportunity to explore the additional benefits which can be derived through heritage when viewed from an economic perspective. For example, young people were invited to see heritage as affording viable career opportunities and young entrepreneurs encouraged to use heritage as the foundation to produce cultural goods and services.

The Public Awareness and Education Programme

The Public Awareness and Education Programme is multi layered. It comprises: • Themed free public tours • Panel discussions and lectures • Outreach to communities • Meetings with various special interest groups (architects, engineers, property owners, religious groups and public servants • Outreach to schools, teachers and youth • Outdoor Exhibitions • Regular interviews on radio and appearances on television • The designation of June as Heritage Month • Annual four-page advertorials in the print media • Public service announcements • A social media presence on Facebook and website • Articles in local and international magazines • The production and use of a jingle • Educational brochures • The production of commemorative stamps

These public education strategies have been accompanied by the implementation of a number of projects and programmes:

1. The National Restoration Programme which seeks to develop a culture of restoration in Barbados through ongoing public education and awareness and through training; and to fund the restoration of historic structures specifically.

2. The Bridgetown Urban Renaissance Project and the Artscape Mural programme aimed at addressing some serious issues in Bridgetown such as littering, public urination, parking and security. They also contribute to the aesthetics of Bridgetown.

3. The establishment of the National Restoration Committee of Barbados which has responsibility for raising funds to restore historic buildings.

Outcomes The Inscription of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a UNESCO World Heritage Property and the Public Education and Awareness Programme has resulted in the achievement of a number of milestones and successes in various areas and some of these have shown the tangible link between heritage and the cultural industries.

 Public response has improved

There has been a significant increase in people becoming aware of the Outstanding Universal Value of the Property and the importance of protecting their heritage. This is evidence by the numbers of persons commenting about the state of decay of some of our historic buildings through our Facebook page, on radio shows or by calling the Ministry. This would not have happened 5 to 10 years ago.

There has been a significant increase in the number of children and young adults attending events showing that we are reaching that demographic in a meaningful way.

A greater number of cultural events are being held in the Property. This has been encouraging, given that the city’s performance spaces have been underutilised in the past.

There has been a significant increase in the number of locals and visitors attending events within the Property.

Barbadians now have a better understanding of the role of the enslaved in the development of the city. This counteracts the perception that the city was largely the domain of the English plantocracy;

The Increase in City Tours

A number of new weekly tours have been introduced to the market place and are available to both locals and visitors.

 Entrepreneur Dawn Lisa Calendar has introduced the “Characters of Bridgetown Tour” that is held every week.

 Foster and Ince, a tour company, has started offering weekly walking tours and has added the Property to its list of bus tours.

 At least eight (8) tour companies have added the Property to their tour itinerary.

 The Garrison Consortium now offers “The Garrison by Night Tours”, the Tunnel Tours and “Dinner with George” once per week and these are advertised internationally.

 The and the Garrison Consortium offers the popular weekly ‘Changing of the Sentry’ (similar to the changing of the Guard in London)

 The Barbados Museum and Historical Society has introduced night tours of the Museum.

 Heritage tours have become part of the Parish Ambassadors’ Programme which is an integral part of Barbados’ Community Independence Celebrations.

 The Anglican Church has started to host heritage lectures and tours of their various churches as part of their restoration fund drive

In addition, free themed tours are held by Ministry of Culture Sports and Youth to celebrate special holidays and events such as National Heroes Day, Independence Day and Christmas. These tours have been attracting between 250 – 400 persons per tour.

The Bridgetown by Night Walking Tour which is conducted by the National Cultural Foundation, one of the Agencies of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth has become very popular and are often oversubscribed. These tours involve actors who interpret historical events along the route. Tours like this one provide greater employment opportunities for tour guides and an additional revenue stream for tour companies. Actors have to be hired, as well as costume designers, musicians, stage managers who are supplemented by volunteers.

Heritage and Film

• The students enrolled in the Bachelor of Creative Arts programme at the University of the West Indies, cave Hill campus, Barbados are producing documentaries on Bridgetown as part of their Capstone finals.

• The National Cultural Foundation held an animation competition in 2014 and the winning entry was one that explored the topic of heritage.

• The students enrolled in the Motion Picture Arts Certificate programme funded by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth have focused on heritage and have produced at least one documentary on the city entitled “Reawakening Bridgetown”.

• Open spaces in the City are used as venues for the annual Movie Night in the City, an event which forms part of the Heritage Month activities hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth in June. The work of local film makers are showcased within these City spaces. In 2016, eight (8) new films were shown.

• A number of documentaries in the annual festival hosted by Barbados Film and Video Awards address some aspect of heritage

Restoration of Historic Buildings

The business community is showing more interest in the restoration and maintenance of historic properties and sites. Some examples are outlined below.

 The Massy Group of Companies has adopted the Holetown Monument in Holetown in St. James which commemorates the first landing of the British on Barbadian soil in 1625.  The First Caribbean Bank has adopted Historic Queen’s Park.

 The Anglican Church has restored The Cathedral of St. Michael and All Angels located in the City.

 The has restored The Masonic Lodge and has repurposed it to house “The Exchange Museum”- the first museum to be opened since the Inscription.

 A number of privately owned commercial properties have been restored throughout the City – one in Nelson Street, others along Broad Street, the main street in the City.

 The Synagogue Restoration project is continuing. It started with the restoration of the Jewish Synagogue which dates back to and is now expanded to include other land marks. When completed, the entire area will be transformed.

 The restoration of the Queens Park House, another historical building has commenced.

The completed and on- going projects have resulted in jobs for skilled and unskilled labourers, who have been exposed to the basics of restoration, which is a relatively new area of focus in Barbados.

Youth Involvement

Sensitising the youth between the ages of 18 and 30 years continues to present a challenge as many are outside of the realm of the academics and have either had little or no connection with the heritage and ; or have limited interest in heritage. The strategy therefore has been to bring history alive and get this cohort to view heritage as a viable career option. To this end:

 A special brochure was developed to sensitise the youth to the wide range of occupations in the heritage sector.

 The Youth Heritage Volunteer Programme has been introduced and collaboration is on-going with the Youth Affairs Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth to promote interest in heritage among the young people. Some progress has been made.

 The Artscape Mural Programme which resulted in the first mural being painted in Flower Alley in Bridgetown engaged eighteen (18) at-risk youth from low income communities in the City. These young people were exposed to basic training in mural making and learnt about the history of the City through tours and presentations. They were given a small stipend each week to assist with travelling costs.

 The Heritage Section of the Ministry has been participating in the Secondary Schools Career showcase over the past 4 years highlighting the various programmes in the Youth Affairs Division and in the heritage section. Each year some three thousand (3000) school children attend the event.

 The Design a Bin Competition held among schools in the Property resulted in those schools designing garbage bins that were then placed in the City where previously there were no garbage receptacles.

 Presentations are made routinely to various schools and youth groups.

New Products and Services

There has been a significant increase in the number of persons interested in using heritage as the foundation for new business ideas, resulting in a range of new products and services on the market.

 The Women Entrepreneurs of Barbados (WEB) produces toys, condiments, soaps and soft furnishings with a heritage influence.

 Designer Marva Forde produces a line of women’s handbags that features images of the property.

 Rasheed Boodhoo has produced a line of heritage postcards, photographs and a coffee table book that captures iconic village scenes and motifs.

 Young Caribbean Entrepreneur Hermina Chalery has produced a booklet ‘Bridgetown and its Garrison” that highlights areas of interest in the property and includes a walking map of the city.

 There are now numerous designer tee shirts and mugs that illustrate images or Bajan sayings on the market.

 Barbados Investment Development Corporation has sponsored the production of a heritage line of products that includes soaps, condiments, miniature wooden barrels and wines.