Italy is committed to working to secure Barbados’ national assets through archival technology.
Special Envoy of Italy to the Caribbean, Ambassador Uberto Vanni D’Archirafi, stated this recently, during a courtesy call with Minister with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight; Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Marsha Caddle; and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symonds, at Ilaro Court.
Senator Munro-Knight expressed interest in securing technical assistance with the preservation of archival content, and training for archival staff in paper conservation, and conservation of heritage documents, while noting that there was a need for another paper conservator.
“We have one paper conservator, which means that for all of the assets that we have, we just have this one single resource, and so, you can imagine the pressure that we would have for that one paper conservator as we try to upscale the conservation for the assets within the archives, putting tremendous pressure on us at the moment,” she said.
Ambassador Vanni D’Archirafi spoke of Italy’s Blue Helmets of Culture initiative, which involves cataloguing and securing damaged or at-risk assets for subsequent conservation and restoration work. It is the first heritage task force of its kind, and it includes Carabinieri from Italy’s art crime police force, and experts from its culture ministry, including art historians, restorers, and scholars.
In response to Minister Knight’s request for technical assistance, the Ambassador stated: “We can work together, in the sense that we can show you how it is built in our country; how it’s an easy task for us because wherever you go, and you look around to see monuments all over, even the inner City of Rome.
“But certainly, you have to find those assets as pertaining to Barbados as a whole. I was wondering if you have archaeological sites, and archaeological underwater sites that might be an asset to promote because the sea and archaeology are connected to tourism. And so, the more you have people interested in those assets, the more they feel connected,” the Ambassador said.
Minister Munro-Knight identified the Newton Burial Ground as one of those sites, while suggesting that developing resilience in the area of acquiring security services for built and non-built heritage was also a priority.
The officials also discussed climate change in relation to documents; innovation and governance; small island developing states; the Bridgetown Initiative; international insurance; and preservation of records during a disaster.
Barbados and Italy established diplomatic relations on August 23, 1977.