Port Royal Classified Officially as World Heritage Site

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has received the Certificate of Inscription classifying Port Royal as a World Heritage Site.

The presentation was made recently at the Ministry, in Kingston, by Regional Director and Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Cluster Office of the Caribbean, Eric Falt.

“On behalf of UNESCO it has been a great pleasure to be here today and to be able to deliver this certificate of inscription of Port Royal on the World Heritage List of UNESCO,” Mr. Falt said.

“It has been a long time in the making… it was truly a moment of joy when it was inscribed, and it was a great moment of joy for all the stakeholders. It is a great deal and means more attention will be brought to Port Royal. It’s a place of great significance in the history of Jamaica and now in the history of humankind. It’s only the beginning; first the inscription, now we have to work together, primarily the stakeholders involved, the Government, to make sure this is a sustainable inscription,” he continued.

Minister Grange, who hosted the UNESCO Caribbean Office for the occasion, described the moment as both historic and deeply personal.

“I’m happy that I could host the UNESCO Caribbean Office. It was a long journey and it took a lot of work… but we were able to get our nomination to UNESCO for Port Royal to be declared a heritage site. We finally got it done and for me it was an honour to receive the certificate,” she said.

“What is left now is for us to ensure that we maintain the heritage site, we maintain Port Royal, we further enhance what is there and we have Port Royal as a site where visitors will come,” the Minister added.

Ms. Grange noted that Port Royal has a rich history, citing its 17th century archaeology landscape, both underwater, underground and above ground.

The Minister said that the Inscription is not only an achievement but it is an emotional, touching experience “because that was the port where our enslaved ancestors were brought and received as enslaved Africans”.

“They passed through that route, and I can just imagine what was going through their minds, the experiences they had there… . For the people of Port Royal, it’s an achievement for us; it is a goal that we have achieved on behalf of the people,” she added.

With the official inscription now secured, both UNESCO and the Government have emphasised that the next steps will focus on safeguarding the site, enhancing its features, and ensuring that Port Royal’s legacy is preserved for generations to come.