Participants from left to right: Harriet Daisley, Ingrid Iton, Elizabeth Watson, Cherri-Ann Beckles (both partially hidden), Harriet Pierce, Billy Gollop, Greta Payne, Sharon Alexander-Gooding, Marilynne Walker, Ingrid Marshall, (missing Andrea Wells)

 

 

While in Barbados on other business Mrs. Roslyn Russell of Roslyn Russell Associates, Australia conducted a workshop with a number of representatives from Barbadian of organisations holding collections deemed to be of hereditary significance for the island.  In addition to being Chair, Register Sub-Committee of UNESCO's MoW Programme, Mrs. Russell is very active in MoW Australia.

Participants

Miss Alissandra Cummins - Chair, Barbados Nat. Commission for UNESCO and Director, Barbados Museum

Miss Elizabeth Watson - Chair MoW, Barbados and The University of the West Indies, Learning Resources Centre

Mrs. Sharon Alexander-Gooding - The University of the West Indies, Federal Archives

Mrs. Cherrie-Ann Beckles - The University of the West Indies, Federal Archives

Mr. Billy William Gollop - Barbados National Trust

Mrs. Ingrid Iton - The University of the West Indies, Main Library

Mrs. Ingrid Marshall - Dept. of Archives

Mrs. Greta Payne - Barbados Museum, Shilstone Memorial Library

Miss Harriet Pierce - Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation

Mrs. Marilynne Walker - National Library Service

Mrs. Andrea Wells - National Cultural Foundation

Miss Harriet Daisley - Sec. Gen.  Barbados Nat. Commission for UNESCO

                                     
Handouts
Prior to her arrival in Barbados, Mrs. Russell sent 3 documents "Documentary heritage: definitions"; "MoW nomination form and guide for completing the form"; and "Registers of the MoW".  These were duplicated and handed out distributed as well as a programme for the morning's activities and a short biographical statement on Mrs. Russell.  A copy of each of these documents is attached.


Conduct of the Workshop
Mrs. Russell discussed the goals of the MoW programme and why countries should seek to have their documentary heritage listed.  She made reference to the cultural power that MoW listings provide. This general discussion was proceeded by discussions on specific points on the forms which were circulated.
To place this discussion in context, the preparation of a nomination of the Federal Archives formed the basis of subsequent discussions.

Among the points that emerged were:
1.  Nominations need to be as specific as possible and geared to the level of listing that is being sought.  The detail required for an international listing is higher than that at the regional level.  Between the regional and local levels a similar differential exists.

2.  Nominations can be a group of documents, mixed media or a single item - its documentary significance at the international, regional or local levels being the major criteria for its inclusion.

3.  Recommendations for nominations need to be as full and detailed as possible in order to assist the committee in coming to its determination.  As many of the committee members are unfamiliar with the Caribbean, information supporting West Indian nominations should be comprehensive in order to assist the committee's arrival at a decision that is favourable to the nomination.  For example, if historical information from previous eras provides important background data, this should be succinctly stated in order to place the nomination in historical context.

4.  The local and regional nominations should take cognizance of the international time table for MoW so that nominations are made in a timely manner.

5.  Participants were reminded that physical possession of an item/s was not necessary in order to make a nomination.  The case of the Buljo Jikji Simche Yojeol also known as the Jikji Book which while domiciled in France was successfully nominated by the Republic of Korea where it was produced was shared with participants.

6.  Participants also heard that they should not assume that they need to work in isolation and that they should call on the UNESCO Barbados National Commission for UNESCO , the Memory of the World Committee and persons with pertinent knowledge about the programme and items being nominated for assistance.

7.  A part of the discussion centered on the types of materials that could be nominated.  An example that was cited were working class clothing which were unique to their times and which are no longer worn and necessarily there are few exemplars to be found.

8.  Participants requested copies of the MoW folder.  The Sec. Gen. is to follow up on this.  


Practical work
Upon conclusion of the general introduction, the facilitator and participants discussed the steps needed to be taken to make a nomination to the International Register.  The Federal Archives of the defunct 1950s West Indian Federation served as the basis for this nomination.  Participants found that this exercise to be particularly useful and they made contributions as to the type of information that could be included in the nomination proposal.

Potential Barbadian Nominations
The workshop concluded with a discussion about possible nominations ( in addition to those already indicated ) to the MoW local, regional and international registers.  Among the potential collections with their location are the following:
1937 records - Archives and other locations
Advocate Archives and photograph library - Advocate
Anglican Church Records - Archives
Bruce St. John Archives - Personal holdings
Independence Recordings - CBC
Dame Nita Barrow Collection - UWI Library
Dame Eugenia Charles Collection - UWI Library
Federal Archives - UWI Archives
Euchard Fitzpatrick and Edward Stoute photographic collections - Barbados National Trust
Frank Collymore Archives - Archives
George Lamming Archive - US and personal holdings
Kamau Brathwaite Library/Archives - Personal holdings
Moravian church Records - Archives
The Richard Allsopp Archives - UWI Library
Shilstone Notebook Collection - Barbados Museum and Historical Society
Historical Photograph Collection - Barbados Museum and Historical Society
The Sir Shridath Ramphal Collection - UWI Archives

Other decisions
The situation with regard to the potential sale of the Advocate's Archives and photographic library to an overseas entity was discussed.  This collection is the only newspaper image collection that spans the pre and post independence eras.  It would therefore be a resource that tells the story of Barbados' social and other histories through a broad spectrum of images.  The meeting felt that no effort should be spared to retain this collection in Barbados and resolved to make an effort to deter the potential sale of this collection to an interested overseas party.  In highlighting the national significance of this collection, Mrs. Russell indicated that she would have liked to have been able to include some of those images in the Museum that she is currently curating for the Parliament of Barbados.

Follow-up
Participants were encouraged to look at their holdings and develop nominations for the various registers of the MoW programme.

Vote of thanks
Mrs. Iton moved the vote of thanks.  She particularly thanked Mrs. Russell for facilitating such an informative workshop and that it indicated the vital relevance of the MoW programme to the preservation of the documentary heritage of Barbados. These sentiments were endorsed by the other participants.

Report prepared by Elizabeth F. Watson
MoW Barbados
August 2006

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