THINGS THAT MATTER: Caribbean National Trusts Conference Declaration

I’m on a roll, after the hugely successful Conference of Caribbean National Trusts last week, and the wonderful things I’ve heard in this week’s Urban Conference, because suddenly we all seem to be on the same page, singing in the same choir!

Let me explain … nearly 30 years ago, in 1987, I visited Charleston with Warren Alleyne for the Board of Tourism. I was overwhelmed by their regard for their heritage and the strength of their tourism … and that in 1986 Charleston was voted the most livable city in the USA. I wrote, in the final chapter of our book The Barbados Carolina Connection: “Barbados is not just sun, sand and sea. Its rich heritage, its natural beauty and its historic buildings and sites comprise a small, but like Charleston, unique place.”

A year later, in my films and book Treasures of Barbados, I said: “Why should we save our old buildings? Major restoration of historic buildings like our Light and Power Headquarters and the Waterfront Café can save a small fortune, save on foreign exchange while encouraging local craft skills and jobs AND bringing positive benefits to tourism.”

I’ve preached this message for thirty years, usually, it seemed, to deaf ears.

Last week we held the first Caribbean Conference of National Trusts, and Ministers of Tourism and of Culture both eloquently emphasised the importance of heritage to tourism, the rapid growth of heritage tourism globally and its importance to our economy under siege. A preservationist and heritage tourism guru from Charleston, South Carolina, Ian Sanchez, preached the message here last week, and pointed out that visitors to historic Charleston have multiplied many times in 20 years, to five million a year – five times visitors to BARBADOS – AND it’s been voted best city to visit by Condé Nast three years in a row!

And this week, not only has the Prime Minister echoed the message, but it’s come from many voices… my friends Sir Trevor Carmichael and Kevin Farmer of the Museum, and especially from our Trinibagonian colleagues in conference.

The message is now clear, and the choir is singing with one voice that heritage tourism will save us. But let me say a bit more about our Conference of National Trusts….

We had Bill Turner, Vice President of the International National Trusts Organisation, showcasing the work of the biggest conservation movement in the world … in his words “National Trusts are about connecting people to their heritage … about involving communities in their past through caring for and about those places, those skills, those traditions that make communities whole.”

We had Terry Suthers of Harewood House describing success stories for breathing new life into old buildings for the benefit of whole communities. We had Natalie Bull, Director of Heritage Canada Trust and Catherine Leonard of the British National Trust sharing how they succeed in linking heritage conservation to the greater social purpose. We had Tracey Todd of our sister city Charleston, telling the stories of famous Middleton Place.

And we had Ian Sanchez, conservationist, naturalist, educator and tour guide from Charleston, showing how the economic riches of heritage tourism can work for us. Ian is the grandson of the famous Barbadian hero “TT” Lewis … who sacrificed everything – his health, his wife, his life – for his belief in democracy and the cause of the working class…. Grandson Ian is a Renaissance man, with many skills, encyclopaedic knowledge, and a musician to boot.

The famous musical Porgy and Bess – the 1935 folk opera by George Gershwin – was based on African-American life in 1920s Charleston … well Ian gave the Nick Parravicino Keynote Lecture on how to capitalise on heritage and, like other speakers, infuse culture and community into the experience; and to wrap it up he pulled out his hidden saxophone and played a bit of the great Porgy and Bess song Summertime! He literally blew us all away – finishing to rapturous applause …

And I took Ian to the Waterfront Café Thursday night, where he and Tony Cummins played the sax in “counterpoint and conversation” … it was amazing, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!

But the main goals of our conference were to share Caribbean challenges and ideas. We had 13 countries, from Belize in the West to Barbados in the East, from St. Kitts in the North to Guyana in the South … giving five star Country presentations… in fact we voted and Curacao won the Chairman’s award for the best, followed by St. Vincent. Curacao is the model of urban restoration and renewal … of private-public partnership … of bringing heritage to life.

We saw the richness of Trinidad’s heritage, the petroglyph trail in St. Vincent, the magnificent Brimstone Hill, and what I call the miracle of the restoration of the Cabrits Garrison in Dominica by Dr. Honychurch – taking a garrison back from jungle where it decayed over 150 years, to become the most vied for venue in all Dominica.

But alongside the success stories were tragedies, challenges and opportunities – especially for WORLD HERITAGE recognition, which dramatically improves branding and increases tourism. Port of Spain’s architectural and cultural heritage, St. George’s, St. Vincent’s petroglyph trail all deserve it. And every speaker showed the need for community involvement, something our governments must recognise and facilitate. We have people who would develop our lighthouses, but for the inertia of government asleep on the project.

We were determined our conference would NOT be just a talk shop … so we produced a Declaration, to use in many ways … the BRIDGETOWN HERITAGE DECLARATION OF THE CONFERENCE OF CARIBBEAN NATIONAL TRUSTS AND PRESERVATION SOCIETIES, 2014. That will be the subject of another column.

So we’ve not only made history in coming together, but created a template for WORKING together. Singing together, in tune, at last, gives me hope. It’s been a long time, but we MUST save our Heritage – natural, built, and cultural traditions – for our people and our pockets! Let’s adopt the motto “Preserve the past to enrich our future”.

Henry Fraser (Conference Chairman)
Professor Fraser is past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI and Professor Emeritus of Medicine. Website: profhenryfraser.com