Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, is encouraging Jamaicans to engender greater love of the family and community. She said that it is love of the immediate family that will prompt love of the community and, ultimately, country. Ms. Grange was speaking at Sunday’s (August 5) National Emancipation and Independence Thanksgiving Service at the Constant Spring...

Located about 10 miles north of Spanish Town, St. Catherine, is Jamaica’s first free village, Sligoville. The property was purchased by Baptist Minister and abolitionist, Rev. James Mursell Phillippo, who arrived in Jamaica in 1823. He campaigned for the abolition of slavery, which came in 1834, and for the establishment of free villages for the emancipated slaves. It was in...

As Jamaica marks 184 years since Emancipation and the 56th anniversary of Independence, Executive Director of the Institute of Jamaica (IoJ), Vivian Crawford, is highlighting the need for greater focus on the country’s rich heritage. He points out that there are important lessons to learn from how the ancestors lived and conducted themselves, including the social norms and values, which,...

Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, says plans are in place to revive the country’s Culinary Arts Festival and Competition beginning next year. Introduced during the 1970s, the festival, which showcased the island’s rich culinary food and delights, was later discontinued after having been staged for a number of years. “It will now be resuscitated and have...

Mr. Patrick Campbell, wearing the Jamaican colours, views the ‘Yaadi Bites’ booth at the opening of Independence Village at the National Arena in Kingston on August 1. The Village, which will open daily to the public until August 6, features a number of family-friendly activities, including booth displays, food courts, lunch-hour concerts and a children’s village.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has paid tribute to persons who fought for Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence. Speaking on Wednesday’s (August 1) official opening of the Independence Village at the National Arena in Kingston, Minister Grange noted that she has tremendous respect for “those who fought the good fight and sacrificed their lives in our...

My fellow Jamaicans, Each year, the Emancipation celebrations give us an opportunity to reflect on the struggle of our ancestors for freedom, against a system that denied them their dignity and humanity, often through brutally oppressive and violent means. It must have been a euphoric day, today the first of August, 180 years ago, when our forebear gathered in their...