Aug. 28, 2007 — The V.I. Humanities Council will sponsor a Cultural Heritage Tourism Conference Sept. 14 and 15 at Carambola Resort on St. Croix with the theme "The Future of the Past: The Business of Cultural Heritage Tourism."
The conference will assist the V.I. community in realizing the economic benefits of preserving and promoting culture and heritage through tourism, organizers say.
In September 2006, the National Endowment of the Humanities awarded the V.I. Humanities Council a grant of $46,280 to support a state cultural-preservation project. The NEH supports a national initiative called We the People, the goal of which is to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes and advance knowledge of the principles that define America.
The territory is beginning to revitalize culture and heritage, according to a news release from the local Humanities Council.
Two international scholars will present keynote addresses. There will be a multimedia exhibit, "My Neighborhood, My Virgin Islands," showing V.I. social histories. Approximately 18 scholars and business people will conduct workshops on the following topics: arts and humanities, historic preservation, education and training, economic impact and accountability, promotion and marketing.
The conference's opening reception will take place at 6:30 p.m. Sept.13 at Government House in Christiansted. On Sept. 14, the conference begins with registration and continental breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. At 8:30, Gov. John P. deJongh Jr. will give remarks. Following him will be comments by Attorney Sheena Conway.
The vice president and publisher of National Geographic Traveler magazine, Dawn Drew, will give the keynote address beginning at 10 a.m. Beginning at 10:15, an arts and humanities workshop will be held under the direction of Leo Helms, designer from Hotel Kura Hulanda and Museum in Curacao. At that time there will also be a historic preservation workshop. Cultural entertainment will be provided during lunch.
Following lunch, Carol Henneman, executive director of the V.I. Board of Education, will conduct an education and training workshop. Also at that time, Edward La Borde of Cutting Edge Entertainment will hold a media roundtable discussion. Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Percival Edwards, community activist and historian, will lead a tour of Estate Bethlehem. At the same time, Wayne James, designer and historian will conduct a tour of Frederiksted. The evening's entertainment will begin at 10 p.m. at St. Gerard's Hall in Frederiksted with a "hard time" quadrille dance.
The conference breakfast Saturday takes place from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. WTP Project Director Roberta Knowles will make welcoming remarks. At 10:15, Paul Chakroff, executive director of the St. Croix Landmarks Society, will moderate a workshop on economic impact and accountability. Geraldine Henderson of Northwestern University will conduct a promotion and marketing workshop. The final workshop beginning at 1:45 p.m. will be on policy, led by Wanda Mills-Bocachica of the Division of Comprehensive and Costal Zone Planning. The conference closes with a tour of Christiansted beginning at 4 p.m.
The panel on economic impact and accountability is charged with addressing two objectives, Chakroff said. The first is to strengthen synergy between public, private and non-profit sectors, and to expand markets and opportunities for artists, cultural and heritage institutions. The second objective is to increase the investment in cultural and heritage resources to advance the impact of this segment of the community.
"I think the first thing we need to do is to look broadly at how historical and cultural resources serve the community, and then explore how public, private and non-profit institutions can or should collaborate to foster sustained use of these resources to benefit the people of St. Croix," Chakroff said.
He urged a balance between tourism and preservation.
"Cultural and heritage resources are renewable or rejuvenable resources,” he said. “It is well understood that renewable resources must be nurtured and managed to be sustained for continued harvest. That is an understood concept when we talk of forest or fishery resources. Like ecological resources however, to be sustained historical and cultural — and I would add spiritual — resources in many cases require restoration, and in all cases require nurturing and management.”
Such resources must not be take for granted, Chakroff said.
“We can continue to harvest tourist dollars and other benefits generated from environmental, historical and cultural features only if we protect, nurture and promote them,” he said. “If we do not, we lose the educational, spiritual, quality-of-life and continuing financial benefits to be derived from them."
In a recent interview, Mabel Maduro, executive director of the V.I. Humanities Council, said Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty has been fully supportive. She has ensured funding, offered support staff and agreed to serve as a participant in the conference. The progressive posture of Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Doty regarding the territory's position in the tourism industry, along with their respect for the V.I.’s rich cultural heritage, is very promising and supportive, she said.
During the 1700s and 1800s, St. Croix was the hub of economic activity because of the Danish West Indian slave trade, Maduro said. The life, folklore and emancipation of the enslaved people tell a compelling story that the world and today's traveler will find fascinating, she said.
The conference will engage various segments of the community — such as entrepreneurs educators, international scholars, industry stake holders, elected officials, culture bearers, artisans and school-age youth — in dialogue, and foster ideas about the best practices for successful heritage tourism.
It will enable the council to produce a publication of cultural and heritage tourism information and plans in the form of proceedings. This will include the presentations of the scholar's photographs and summaries of the multimedia exhibit, which will help to formulate a blueprint that will further encourage cultural heritage tourism.
"The council 's mission is to provide opportunities that will promote lifelong learning and increase cultural awareness through the humanities,” Maduro said. “The conference will enable us to reflect upon our cultural heritage and ask fundamental questions of value, purpose and systematically plan for the future. The community will be able to examine and further realize the territory's need to enhance, develop and manage a successful cultural-heritage tourism product, which will sustain social cohesiveness, emphasize our traditions and history as significant sources of income and introduce a significant number of visitors to our valuable cultural and natural resources."
Admission to the conference is free and open to the general public. To register, call the V.I. Humanities Council at 776-4044 by Friday.
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