With the theme for this year’s Carib Week celebrations being “Using the past, building the future”, Minister for Carib Affairs Ashton Graneau has urged Kalinago people to use the events of their history to guide their future endeavours.
Yesterday the Carib Council launched its annual Carib Week festivities which are scheduled to run from September 11-19.
“It is important that in building the future you reflect on the past. It is your past industry that determines how and what direction you go in the future and I think that is one of the reasons why this theme has been chosen…” Graneau said. “I think it is at an opportune time now that we use this theme to our advantage … and as we move on from here I would want to see … we use the events of the past to build on what is to come…”
Meanwhile, Counsellor of the Carib Council Irvince Auguiste said that the event is one which is of great significance to the Kalinago people as it will give an opportunity for them to present themselves to the outside world.
“It is very important to us, not only the fact that we are telling our people and warming our people up as to remembering and being proud and addressing questions of identity and so forth for us as a Carib Kalinago but more so it gives us an opportunity to reach out to the wider world. So persons can understand where we are coming from, our history and how we can really improve the relationships within ourselves,” Auguiste said.
A health fair on traditional and conventional medicine, school lectures on Kalinago history and a youth symposium will be part of the celebrations next week. A combined Miss Kalinago and Princess Natarie Pageant Show is also on the cards.
The activities are organised in collaboration with the Events Committee, Karina Cultural Group, Karifuna cultural Group and community leaders.
Local telecommunication company LIME is the flagship sponsor of the event. Country Manager for the company Jeffery Baptiste said that though this is the first partnership, LIME will look to continuing its support.
Carib Week has been held every year since 1986.
@ PAIN: Stop being ignorant…Lets be positive and optimistic and hope for d best.
Using the past poverty to bring in more future poverty to the Kal..people.
harsh insensitive statement…. not far fetched either. yet i agree with mabrika, thats the kinda .. u wanna keep to urself PAIN.