???The Empire will rise again!???
Those words of assurance came from Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, recently, while giving the feature address at the launch of CARITALENTS, at the Walcott Warner Theatre, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
CARITALENTS is a training programme designed to develop understanding and expertise in Heritage Studies, and to develop the professional new media skills of young people.
Senator McClean was speaking in response to the film Fallen Empire which was shown during the launch and documents the historical importance of the Empire Theatre in Bridgetown.
She stated: ???I cannot tell you that you will see the cobwebs removed in the next couple of weeks but I can tell you there are ongoing discussions and plans and it is very much a part of an effort to re-energise Bridgetown.???
She added that Government was vested with capturing and preserving Barbadian heritage and that the CARITALENTS programme was well placed to do so.
???Government has sought through a mix of actions, legislative, as well as through the provision of incentives and investment of resources, to demonstrate that it recognises the importance of heritage.
“In effect, tangible efforts have been undertaken by Government to foster an environment supportive of the effort of other stakeholders, for example, the University of the West Indies, particularly through the EBCCI and the work of the Barbados Museum,??? the Minister noted.
The Minister also pointed out that CARITALENTS was part of the continuing building of relations between Italy and this country, and urged participants to take maximum advantage of the opportunities it offers.
Barbados established diplomatic relations with Italy on August 23, 1977, and since then the two countries have engaged bilaterally and through the European Union.
kim.ramsay-moore@barbados.gov.bb