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Kingston, 24 January 2021 - On the occasion of the World Day for African and Afro-Descendant Culture, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport  of Jamaica and the Jamaica National Council on Reparations in partnership with UNESCO, represented by its Cluster Office for the Caribbean, located in Kingston, hosted a webinar under the theme "People of African Descent:  Defamation, Race Relations, and Development Institutions". The World Day is commemorated every year on 24 January since its adoption at the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019.

The speakers and panelists who participated at the webinar, which brought together over 3100 people on Sunday evening, included Hon. Olivia Grange, Minister of Gender, Culture, Entertainment and Sport (MCGES) Saadia Sanchez-Vegas, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean, Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR),  Hon. Alando Terrelonge, State Minister in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to Jamaica, Laleta Davis Mattis, Chair of the National Council on Reparations, Barbara Blake Hannah, Cultural Liaison Officer, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Professor Sir Godfrey Palmer, OBE, CD, Jamaica’s Honorary Consul, Scotland Professor Earle Taylor, Jamaica’s Honorary Consul, Namibia, Dr. Jermaine Omar Mc Calpin, Assistant Professor, Chair of African and African American Studies and Nattecia Bohardsingh, Attorney at Law.

After an introduction by Laleta Davis Mattis, Director Saadia Sanchez-Vegas read the Message from the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, prior to presenting her own Opening Remarks.

The World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture celebrates the many vibrant cultures of the African continent and African Diasporas around the world and promotes them as an effective lever for sustainable development, dialogue and peace. In her Opening Remarks, Saadia Sanchez-Vegas pointed out that the promotion of African and Afro-descendant culture as a rich source of shared world heritage is crucial for the development of the continent and for humanity. In Jamaica, for example, living heritage such as and, which owe their spirit to the influences of African culture, have both been designated by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Director Sanchez-Vegas stressed the importance of the historical memory of the “transatlantic slave trade” referring to the trade transportation of millions of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. She reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to end racism, racial discrimination, injustice and prevent recurrence through building up a culture of peace and non-violence and the promotion of inclusion, cultural pluralism, intercultural dialogue, tolerance and diversity to strengthen respect, understanding and solidarity among cultures, ethnicities, nations and people.

Subsequently, Hon. Minister Grange recalled Jamaica's past, how it liberated itself from oppressors and restored its dignity and integrity to the culture and identity of Jamaica, having elevated itself to a global brand.

She concluded her remarks with the powerful quote from Kwame Nkrumah, which she slightly modified: "We have awakened. We will sleep no more. Today, from now on, we are the new Africans in the world!"

Commissioner Margarete May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the Caribbean (IACHR) was the first of six speakers to present. Through a detailed explanation of the mandate and actions of the IACHR, she encouraged Jamaica to address their claims to the institution.

Followed by Dr. Jermaine Omar Mc Calpin, who introduced his talk with Amartya Sen's definition of 'development as freedom'. Although slavery has been officially abolished, he criticized the dominance of the European culture on television and taugh in school and history books throughout the world. Dr. Mc Calpin expressed the urgent need for 'black solidarity', which he explained as the spiritual and cultural emancipation of African and Afro-descendant people from their enslaved ancestors by connecting themselves to an understanding of Africa that is far more history than slavery.

Barbara Blake Hanna, Cultural Liaison Officer, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, shared her own experiences of racism and xenophobia during her time in the English diaspora, which prompted her to return to her native Jamaica. Drawing on the history of the transatlantic slave trade and Jamaican independence, she recalled how enslaved Africans helped enrich European cultures which has created a disparity, still felt today. She pleads for the constant reminder of the true history between Europeans and Africans in order to educate and learn from the past to create a better future.

Professor Earle Taylor, Jamaica's Honorary Consul to Namibia expressed that actions must go beyond re-educating people. According to him, development institutions, research, literature, empirical evidence and international solidarity need to be strengthened and strategic thinking applied in addressing the issue of defamation.

The Honorable Alando Terrelonge, Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, in his closing remarks, pointed out the importance of combating racism at home in Jamaica, which is often inter-ethnic.

He closes his session by quoting Marcus Garvey

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."