Caribbean news. On 22nd February 2014, St. Lucia will celebrate 35 years since it gained full independence from Britain. To commemorate this milestone, an exhibition is being staged by a group of Saint Lucians in the UK, to showcase some of our honoured citizens who were instrumental in the island’s development and advancement, and others, who symbolise our academic excellence.
The exhibition will also give a brief overview of the journey to independence through images, and highlight some important events in St Lucia’s history. The event will also include the screening of short films, cultural performance by traditional drummers and messages from dignitaries. This is the first exhibition of its kind to be staged in the UK, so we are expecting friends, families and more importantly our younger generation to attend.
The event will not give a detailed historical perspective on St Lucia, as the group did not believe that it had the necessary intellect to tackle such a mammoth undertaking. However what we set out to accomplish, within our constraints, were to work with known institutions and others (in St Lucia and elsewhere) to briefly trace and understand our island’s journey to independence, and simultaneously, celebrate the achievements of some of the iconic figures who played key roles in the island’s history.
It unfortunate that we could not cover everyone, so if there are gaps, we hope to stage other similar exhibitions where we will pay the necessary homage to those who were omitted. So, the first phase of our exhibition will only give a vivid snapshot of our journey and achievements.
We are hopeful that this event will generate sufficient interest amongst our overseas 2nd 3rd and even 4th generation, to take up the baton and indulge in exploring and making further discovery; and establish a forum whereby they could broaden the community’s knowledge and understanding of our island’s rich culture, history and tradition. This we envisage will also have the added benefit of re-engaging our overseas Diaspora with their homeland.
Normally we support a designated charity, so we are keeping with this tradition and will be supporting two – The St Lucia Diabetes Project & St Lucia Healthcare & Ambulance Project which are based in the UK.
From Bertram O. Leon, SLPM – President of the Union of St Lucian Overseas Associations (USLOA) and Chairman of the Exhibition Committee.
