The Minister of Youth and Culture, the Hon. Lisa Hanna, MP has received a Jamaican ‘cyas’ drum used in the Kumina religion, which had been in the United States for a quarter of a century. The drum which belonged to the late Kumina leader Imogene ‘Queenie’ Kennedy had been in the possession of the Smithsonian Institute’s Director of Cultural Heritage...

The electronic version of ‘Gold Anthology’, a collection of gold medal winning short stories from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Festival was launched on July 22. This collection, which was launched in book format in November last year, features top entries from 1999 and 2006, with contributions from Dionne Jackson Miller, Rudolph Wallace, Michael Record and Carroll Edwards, among...

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was founded on July 20, 1914 when Marcus Garvey recruited its first member, Miss Amy Ashwood, and held the organization’s first meeting at 121 Orange Street in Kingston. A month later the UNIA began holding weekly public meetings at the Collegiate Hall on Church Street and by 1920 the UNIA was the largest pan...

On Sunday, July 20, the second session of the Independence Signature Conversations will get underway at the Institute of Jamaica’s (IOJ) East Street complex in downtown, Kingston. The three-hour long session, starting at 2:00 p.m, is entitled: ‘Up Ye Mighty Race: Garveyism and the National Agenda’. It will explore the profound impact of the teachings of Jamaica’s first National Hero,...

The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) is putting in place a number of measures to attract more visitors to its East Street complex, downtown Kingston. These include adding a Saturday opening day and introducing new programmes and activities for children and adults. Executive Director of the IOJ, Anne Marie Bonner, said that members of the public can now visit the Institute...

Glenmuir High School’s Jodi Morgan has copped the coveted Best Photo Award in the 2013/2014 Jamaica National Resolution Project. Her photo, ‘The Real Me’, was selected as the top piece from more than 200 entries from students across the island, who entered the 10th staging of the annual competition. The 18 year old also walked away with the prizes for...

On Saturday, July 19, 13 talented young women will grace the stage at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, in Kingston, to vie for the national title of Miss Jamaica Festival Queen, under the theme: ‘Jamaican Women…Shaping our Culture and our Nation’. The competition has become one of the main platforms for young women who want to contribute to nation building,...