Minister Anthony receives technical report from ICOMOS
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport of Guyana Dr. Frank Anthony on Wednesday received a technical report on Georgetown from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) following a fact-finding mission by the council in May. This initiative is to afford prestigious Georgetown a spot on the UNESCO Heritage list.
Vice-President of the Cultural Organisation of ICOMOS (Suriname), James Ramlall presented the report to the Minister in the presence of Director of Culture Dr James Rose and Permanent Secretary Alfred King.
James Ramlall (Bhai)
Ramlall noted that Suriname and Barbados have already secured their spot on the heritage list.
Dr. Rose said that the report entails a study of the city and gives priority to some of the things that were relevant. He stated that there has been some technical support from UNESCO and in order for this process to proceed; a national committee and a management plan need to be established, historic Georgetown has to be reassessed, to re-evaluate the uniqueness of the area and this report will be prepared for submission to UNESCO by next year. Dr. Rose is very grateful that the technical report is available because Suriname has reinforced its commitment in crafting Georgetown on the Heritage list.
Dr. Rose appreciated Suriname’s promise to make all their human resource institutional knowledge available to Guyana so as to move forward this process. Minister Anthony said that from the study, works will be done to see how they can advance the process and several sites around the city are being assessed to obtain a place on the list. He went on to say that about a month ago, he visited Suriname where he signed a cultural agreement for the first ever Inter-Guyana Cultural Festival that will be held in the neighbouring country at the end of August.
Minister Anthony said that a strong contingent of 40 persons will be attending this event and participating in the six areas selected: culinary arts, fine arts, drama, craft, literature and theatre.
ICOMOS is the only international non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting the application of theory, methodology and scientific techniques to the conservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage. Its work is based on the principles enshrined in the 1964 International Chapter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (the Venice Chapter).
[Bron: GINA, Guyana Government Information Agency, 30 June 2011]
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