Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius November 26, 2018 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has arrived in the Republic of Mauritius for the 13th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which began today (Monday, 26 November).

The Committee will consider, among other things, Jamaica's submission for the inscription of Reggae music on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

According to Minister Grange, “Reggae is uniquely Jamaican.  It is a music that we have created that has penetrated all corners of the world.  It is important that we safeguard and protect Reggae music.” 

Jamaica’s nomination is one of 40 to be decided on by the Committee which ensures the implementation to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). 

The Convention promotes the safeguarding of traditions and living expressions handed down from generation to generation, including oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. 

Minister Grange, who is first Jamaican Minister to be elected to the Committee, says she’s “happy to make the case to UNESCO for the inscription of Jamaica’s Reggae Music as our intangible cultural heritage.” 

Minister Grange said the intention is to ensure that “Reggae music is recognised worldwide as the creative output of the Jamaican people.” 

The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity now has 399 elements including Maroon Heritage of Moore Town which was inscribed in 2008. 

The Committee will end its deliberations on Saturday, 1 December 2018.  

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Kingston, September 18, 2018 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says that “Jamaica is strongly focused on establishing a National Register of Cultural Heritage Places and Objects through amendments to the Jamaica National Heritage Act.” 

Minister Grange was addressing the Opening Ceremony of a three-day workshop on Effective Heritage Inventories and National Registers organised by the Ministry in partnership with the Organisation of American States (OAS) at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites on Tuesday (September 18). 

Minister Grange said that the workshop is an outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the OAS to execute a project titled ‘Enhancing the Framework for the Development of a Heritage Economy in the Caribbean’. The project will train artisans and bring to the forefront the significant socio-economic potential of Jamaica’s cultural heritage. 

“The focus of this workshop is to review and enhance where they already exist, registers of heritage places. A National Register of Heritage Places is a list of sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical value,”

the Minister said. 

According to the Minister, the Registry will be developed through the use of ARCHES, an open-source, geospatially-enabled software platform for cultural heritage inventory and management.

“We hope that this workshop and the software that will be used across the Region will help to build capacity in our culture agencies and provide authentic, heritage experiences that are economically viable and sustainable. 

“Cultural heritage tourism is valued at US$1 billion globally and is said to be responsible for more than 75 million jobs in the Asia Pacific region alone,” Minister Grange said. 

The Culture Minister said also that another main component of the project is its focus on cultural communities such as the Maroons, Rastafari and Revivalists which contribute immensely to brand Jamaica. 

This project is being implemented in Barbados, Jamaica and The Bahamas.

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