Youth Urged to Join World Heritage Site Campaign

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, is urging the country’s youth to get involved in the campaign to have the Blue and John Crow Mountains included on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

She made the appeal at the closing of a Youth Leadership Training in Heritage Preservation and Protection Workshop held on March 27, at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

The workshop, held from March 25-27, through sponsorship from UNESCO, was aimed at raising awareness among young people regarding heritage preservation.

It was also used to highlight the importance of Jamaica having a World Heritage Site.

The Youth and Culture Minister noted that although Jamaica is considered a cultural superpower, the country does not have a World Heritage Site.

“One of the reasons we have pushed the youth dialogue, particularly through UNESCO, is (so) that you understand the significance…of what can redound to Jamaica’s best interest if we have a World Heritage Site,” she said.

“Nanny, who galvanised the precursor to full abolition, resided in the Blue and John Crow Mountains. You can see what a significant site this can be to Jamaica’s international prowess and also to people, who are interested in history and in other aspects of culture. The Blue and John Crow Mountains is (proposed) as a mixed site, both in terms of the flora, the fauna and the heritage,” she pointed out.

The Minister, in the meantime informed that she will be leading a delegation to participate in UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention slated for Berlin, Germany in June.

The three-day workshop, which included a field trip to the historic sites of the Blue Mountains and Port Royal, introduced the youth leaders to the ideals of the World Heritage Convention and offered guidance on the roles that they can play in the protection and preservation of national heritage sites.

Organised by the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO, the workshop was attended by young leaders from UNESCO clubs, Aspenet, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) culture clubs, and the Maroon Youth Council.