St. GEORGE’S, GRENADA – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Grenada National Trust engaged the marketing and professional services of Lashington Agency to lead the media campaign for its Proud of my Heritage project. The 1-year project aims to build the capacity of communities and cultural practitioners to identify, manage and safeguard the Intangible and Living Cultural Heritage elements in Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.
“Living Heritage is important to everyone as it provides warm precious memories from our past. Unfortunately, much of it is lost unintentionally as we often wait too late to save them, then find they regrettably are gone forever,” said Darryl Brathwaite, President of the Grenada National Trust.
The UNESCO-funded project is Proud of my Heritage: Transmission and Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Grenada through inventorying and education initiatives. It aims to record, protect and safeguard most of the Intangible Cultural Heritage elements of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique that are under threat of disappearing and unknown to nationals, especially younger generations.
“The purpose of this project is to allow us to save the old recipes, medicines, seasonings, crafts, stories, photos, songs, dances, games and ways of doing things from earlier times. This special marketing effort is to ensure that Grenadians are aware of what may be the last opportunity to save what matters to us and to share those joyous discoveries with our community,” commented Brathwaite.
The Lashington Agency will be responsible for engaging stakeholders of the Proud of my Heritage project and leading a multimedia campaign to raise awareness about the various elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage elements among the youth, community leaders and the general public at home and in the Grenadian Diaspora.
“As a creative entrepreneur, I’m thrilled to contribute to the success of this Proud of my Heritage project! It is an honour to marry my background in performing arts and public relations to a project that will protect the cultural heritage of my country and create a repository of the various elements for generations to come,” said Chrislyn Lashington, Principal of Lashington Agency.
Lashington brings a wealth of experience in culture and marketing communications. She holds a Master of Public Health and a post-graduate certificate in Marketing. Through her marketing, communications and entertainment agency, she has gained success for many companies including the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Grenada Red Cross, the Grenada Tourism Authority, and even entertainers like
Grammy-award-winning artiste Shaggy. Chrislyn Lashington is also a dancer, musician, and creative director of a traditional Sailor Mas band for carnival.
The three phases of the Proud of my Heritage project include (i) inventorying the intangible cultural heritage of Grenada, (ii) creating a living heritage Heritage Curriculum programme for primary schools, and (iii) increasing awareness through media campaign.
Within the first three months of the Intangible Cultural Heritage – Proud of my Heritage (ICH-PmH) project, formally launched in February, ninety-six (96) ICH coordinators and technicians were trained in techniques and practice of inventorying and documenting intangible cultural heritage elements. They were provided with tools to conduct fieldwork from July to September 2022.
Primary school teachers during the August holidays will assist the ICH-PmH in designing, developing and implementing the Proud of my Heritage Education Programme Resource Guide for students in grades 5 and 6 – a critical phase to raise awareness and transmit the living heritage in Grenada.
