(from left) Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Dr. Alissandra Cummins; Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Dr. Pedro Welch; and Minister of Family, Culture, Youth and Sports, Stephen Lashley, during the opening ceremony of the Fifth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum yesterday at the Clico Centre at the University of the West Indies.
Cultural industry coping well with recession
8/3/2012
Of all the industries, the one industry that has managed to withstand the recession is the cultural industry.
This is according to Minister of Family, Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley, who said that despite the financial circumstances, persons are still willing to spend money in the arts.
Speaking at the Fifth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum yesterday at the Clico Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI), he said that he is pleased that the theme for this year’s conference will be on promoting research and safeguarding the Diaspora heritage and cultural diversity.
Lashley said that he was pleased that this conference came at a time when Barbados had recently reached a milestone with the UNESCO World Heritage inscription.
“For us in the Ministry of Culture, this Conference comes at a time when the discussion on culture and heritage has become even more topical in Barbados. Particularly so since Bridgetown and its Historical Garrison joined the 962 properties on the UNESCO World Heritage list; forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value,” he noted.
He told the delegates gathered from islands across the region, the United States, Canada and places as far away as Australia and India that this conference would provide them with the knowledge and skills set in their museum field.
“This international conference will feature plenary sessions by some of the world’s leading practitioners and innovators in the museum field and this knowledge community is brought together by a common concern for the future role of the museum and in particular how it can become more inclusive. I am confident that as you deliberate over the next few days that your session will be stimulating and productive and that you would have achieved the objectives set out at the beginning of this conference.”
He added that he also hoped the delegates would recognise the work that some of the Barbadian organisations have done with regards to attaining UNESCO recognition.
“As part of this important conference, I note that you also propose to recognise the work of some of our local organisations which have been honoured with Certificates for UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The attainment of this prestigious Certification is an indication that our local organisations have achieved significant progress in the preservation of historical documentation pertinent to the preservation of world history and culture.” (PJT)
