Barbadians who have offered to help or words of comfort following a fire that destroyed the two-storey Block D building at the Department of Archives have come in for high praise from the Minister responsible for Culture.
Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight expressed her deep appreciation earlier today as she re-emphasised government’s commitment to secure all of its cultural assets, during a press conference at the Barbados Water Authority Headquarters, The Pine, St. Michael, to update the public on the fire.
She shared that government had received offers from historians, students, locals, and members of the private sector, who want to volunteer. Additionally, Senator Munro-Knight pointed out that requests have also been received from persons with businesses working in the sector, who are willing to offer their expertise.
“This is how we do it as Barbadians…. When our backs are against the wall, we come together and this has been a perfect example of us being able to do that. I want to particularly single out the Barbados Fire Service…. They have been tremendous, passionate and supportive throughout all of this. I don’t think sometimes we realise…the human resources that we have on the island, that are able to step up in moments like these and I really want to thank them,” the Minister stated.
Dr. Munro-Knight maintained that the archival records were part of our history and part of our story and alluded to the significance of Government’s Reclaiming our Atlantic Destiny (ROAD) Project, launched in December 2021 to create a “pathway” to secure and protect the records.
She insisted that one of the signal elements of the project was digitising the records, which had been ongoing since 2017 at the Department of Archives.
Senator Dr. Munro-Knight insisted that government had already “set the pathway for protecting these assets”.
“In fact, in 2023, the government trained approximately 100 persons in the elements of the digitisation and conservation to not only serve our purpose but to create a cadre of persons in areas where there is a dearth in the region for people who are specialists in the area of digitisation and conservation,” she stressed.
Currently, there are 120 Barbadians working offsite to continue the digitisation process of the Department’s records.