Barbados to build a Heritage District

Bridgetown, Barbados: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley made the announcement on Saturday that her administration will formulate a Barbados Heritage District. 

This heritage will basically be an area that will include a memorial, major global research institute, and a museum located in Newton Plantation. 

PM Mottley cited, “In the wake of Barbados’ transition to the Parliamentary Republic, the Barbados Heritage District would also serve as a cornerstone & catalyst for the ongoing development of Barbados’ independent identity, culture, and place on the world stage”. 

It will be a symbolic heritage dedicated to depicting the historical and contemporary impact of slavery on Barbados as well as on the lives of individuals, cultures, and nations of the Western hemisphere. 

David Adjaye has been given the responsibility to design this historic heritage, while the groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for the next year Independence Day of Barbados. 

“Barbados is authentically cherishing our history and protecting the past as we reimagine our world and continue to contribute to global humanity. It is a moral imperative but also an equally an economic necessity”, the prime minister further added. 

This heritage will bring manifold job opportunities for the general public, providing significant growth to the new industries, construction sector and technology.  

The Office of the Prime Minister, the Barbados Archives Department, and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society will come together in a partnership to build the heritage district. \

At present, they all are working in collaboration with a team of Barbadian scholars, initiated by Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of the – UWI – University of the West Indies. 

This project will be developed in phases; at first, a Newton Enslaved Burial Ground Memorial will be built. This memorial will signify and will serve as a place of remembrance, the enslaved ancestors and honouring those individuals who have been affected by the effects of forced migration of the island.