Government

Salvaging Efforts At Archives Department Moving Apace

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight, is pleased with the salvaging efforts by the teams assembled to restore several pages of historic records damaged during a recent fire at the Department of Archives.

Speaking during a walk-through of an offsite facility on Monday, Senator Munro-Knight noted that the salvage and triaging teams assembled to preserve and restore the documents were able to restore and recover “what we thought was lost”.

She proffered that the teams assembled of over 20 persons are doing everything “they possibly can” to salvage and repair the material.

“I am really grateful to the team and [Ann Bancroft] for being able to recover the document. As you can see, this is meticulous work as it relates to how you open up the documents and treat them and these folks are working around the clock to make it happen,” Senator Minister Munro-Knight assured.

Though buoyed by the level of support from the public, she said the outpouring of support did not come as a surprise since more Barbadians were more knowledgeable and interested in learning more about their history.

“If you look at the amount of visitors that the Archives Department was having this year alone, we understood that there was a renewed interest post-COVID by Barbadians to understand and connect, so it is not necessarily surprising, but we are definitely grateful for it,” she stated.

Senator Munro-Knight stressed that there were daily debriefing meetings and gave the assurance that whatever materials or equipment needs would be addressed by the government given the importance of the records to the country.

“This is a whole of government approach, and we’re 100 per cent committed to seeing that the effort, where there’s a possibility for restoration, that it happens.”

Meanwhile, Head of Conservation and Collection Care at the Barbados Museum, Ann Bancroft, said the salvage teams were recovering hundreds of volumes on a daily basis at the Department of Archives’ site, which was now secured.

She pointed out that it was a national response which was supported by national repositories and sister institutions who were “rallying around our comrades at the Archives”.

“This is a lot of work going forward. This is not a sprint…this is a marathon…While we can’t control what happened, we can control how we respond to it and everything that can be done, I really feel is being done,” Ms. Bancroft underlined.

Heritage Consultant at the Department of Archives, Anisha Wood, gave an insight into the process that includes, but is not limited to, air drying the objects using various techniques before they are digitised. (PR/GIS)

Government

Barbados Votes To End Embargo On Cuba

Barbados joined the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in condemning the United States’ economic embargo of Cuba for the 32nd consecutive year, when the resolution entitled: “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” was considered during a meeting held on Wednesday, October 30.

The United Nations overwhelmingly passed the resolution by a vote of 187 (in favour) to two (against), with one abstention. Only the United States and Israel voted against it.

During the delivery of the national statement, Chargé d’Affaires/Deputy Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations, Kereeta Whyte, informed the UNGA that: “The sentiments we express today are not new. They reflect the deep conviction we have articulated in this Assembly over the years. Indeed, since this resolution was first introduced in the General Assembly at its 46th session, in 1991.

“The Government of Barbados once again calls for an immediate end to the embargo and urges the removal of Cuba from the US Department of State’s list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that only exacerbates the suffering of the Cuban people.

“We believe that dialogue is the path forward. Barbados values its strong relations with both the United States and Cuba and calls on the US Government to engage in meaningful negotiations with Cuba to normalise relations. This step would not only reduce tensions but also pave the way for greater peace, cooperation, and development in our region.

“Barbados will continue to advocate for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade, which is critical for the people and Government of Cuba to achieve full prosperity.” (PR/GIS)

Government

MORE WORK NEEDED TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

As the year 2030 quickly approaches, countries, including Barbados, need to speed up their efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This word comes from Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Senator Chad Blackman, as he addressed Friday’s Validation Workshop for the Baseline Study on the Priority Sustainable Development Goals Indicators for Barbados at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business, where he insisted that countries had become too lax in meeting the necessary targets for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which adopted by all UN Member States almost a decade prior.

He said, “We are virtually at the end of 2024, which now leaves us just six years to that magic number of 2030. Whilst there are a lot of goals that Barbados has achieved, the world, including Barbados, has still not met a number of them in the way that we should. And, therefore, we have six years to really redouble, or some might argue, re-triple our efforts, so as to be able to tangibly achieve these objectives. But, we can’t do it alone.
He added, “The government can’t do it on its own; the private sector can’t do it on its own; civil society can’t do it on its own; it has to be government, private sector, civil society, the man on the street…. So that the entire society moves forward in a cohesive way…to meet these targets. Therefore, it calls for an out of box approach so as to ensure that we can meet these targets. Therefore, we have to use all our creativity. We have to use nonconventional ways of trying to help us to achieve these targets.”
Blackman noted that an “out-of-the-box” will be necessary for Barbados and other countries to effectively move the needle to reach the set targets.

Government

XVI Ministerial Forum On Development Starts October 30

The Government of Barbados, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will host the XVI Ministerial Forum on Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, as a space to discuss opportunities to build resilience against future shocks that continue to challenge development in the region.

The Forum will be held from Wednesday, October 30 to Friday,1 November at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle. The event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, and ECLAC Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, and is expected to have over 150 participants, including more than 20 Government delegations from the region. The full agenda is available here.

This gathering builds on the discussions initiated at the XIII Ministerial Forum in Antigua and Barbuda in 2021, which discussed disasters and social protection systems in the context of protracted crises. The XVI Ministerial Forum will discuss how the region can advance and protect social gains in the context of more frequent and intense shocks.

A Ministerial Declaration is expected to be the outcome of the Forum. The Declaration aims to be a roadmap for transformative policy action and impactful initiatives that transcend boundaries, ultimately steering the region toward a more equitable and resilient future.