Caribbean Unveiled | Raffaele Paloscia, Michele Morbidoni, Simone Spellucci by DIDA

raffaele paloscia michele morbidoni simone spellucci

Caribbean Unveiled The Caritalents Youth and Territory Project in Barbados and Dominica

italy

dominica

barbados

La collana Ricerche di architettura, restauro, paesaggio, design, città e territorio, ha l’obiettivo di diffondere i risultati della ricerca in architettura, restauro, paesaggio, design, città e territorio, condotta a livello nazionale e internazionale. Ogni volume è soggetto ad una procedura di accettazione e valutazione qualitativa basata sul giudizio tra pari affidata al Comitato Scientifico Editoriale del Dipartimento di Architettura ed al Consiglio editoriale della Firenze University Press. Tutte le pubblicazioni sono inoltre open access sul Web, favorendone non solo la diffusione ma anche una valutazione aperta a tutta la comunità scientifica internazionale. Il Dipartimento di Architettura dell’Università di Firenze e la Firenze University Press promuovono e sostengono questa collana per offrire il loro contributo alla ricerca internazionale sul progetto sia sul piano teorico-critico che operativo.

The Research on architecture, restoration, landscape, design, the city and the territory series of scientific publications has the purpose of divulging the results of national and international research carried out on architecture, restoration, landscape, design, the city and the territory. The volumes are subject to a qualitative process of acceptance and evaluation based on peer review, which is entrusted to the Scientific Publications Committee of the Department of Architecture (DIDA) and to the Editorial Board of Firenze University Press. Furthermore, all publications are available on an open-access basis on the Internet, which not only favors their diffusion, but also fosters an effective evaluation from the entire international scientific community. The Department of Architecture of the University of Florence and the Firenze University Press promote and support this series in order to offer a useful contribution to international research on architectural design, both at the theoretico-critical and operative levels.

ricerche | architettura design territorio

Coordinatore | Scientific coordinator Saverio Mecca | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy Comitato scientifico | Editorial board Elisabetta Benelli | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Marta Berni | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Stefano Bertocci | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Antonio Borri | Università di Perugia, Italy; Molly Bourne | Syracuse University, USA; Andrea Campioli | Politecnico di Milano, Italy; Miquel Casals Casanova | Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Spain; Marguerite Crawford | University of California at Berkeley, USA; Rosa De Marco | ENSA Paris-La-Villette, France; Fabrizio Gai | Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, Italy; Javier Gallego Roja | Universidad de Granada, Spain; Giulio Giovannoni | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Robert Levy| Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; Fabio Lucchesi | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Pietro Matracchi | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Saverio Mecca | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Camilla Mileto | Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain | Bernhard Mueller | Leibniz Institut Ecological and Regional Development, Dresden, Germany; Libby Porter | Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; Rosa Povedano Ferré | Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Pablo Rodriguez-Navarro | Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain; Luisa Rovero | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; José-Carlos Salcedo Hernàndez | Universidad de Extremadura, Spain; Marco Tanganelli | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Maria Chiara Torricelli | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Ulisse Tramonti | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Andrea Vallicelli | Università di Pescara, Italy; Corinna Vasič | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Joan Lluis Zamora i Mestre | Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Spain; Mariella Zoppi | Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy

raffaele paloscia michele morbidoni simone spellucci

Caribbean Unveiled The Caritalents Youth and Territory Project in Barbados and Dominica

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

ERROL BARROW CENTRE FOR CREATIVE IMAGINATION BARBADOS, WEST INDIES

OPEN CAMPUS DOMINICA, WEST INDIES

Laboratorio Città e Territorio nei Paesi del Sud del Mondo

This book is the result of the studies carried out in the Department of Architecture, University of Florence. The volumes are subject to a qualitative process of acceptance and evaluation based on peer review, which is entrusted to the Scientific Publications Committee of the Department of Architecture (DIDA) with blind review system. Furthermore, all publications are available on an open-access basis on the Internet, which not only favors their diffusion, but also fosters an effective evaluation from the entire international scientific community. The production and publication of this volume was possible thanks to the co-financing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation | Directorate General for Development Cooperation and the University of Florence | Department of Architecture, within the framework of the “Caritalents. Youth and Territory” project (coordinator: Prof. Raffaele Paloscia). R. Paloscia, M. Morbidoni, and S. Spellucci contributed equally to this work. Photo Credits Rita Biconne, Claudia Cancellotti, Samantha King, Michele Morbidoni, Raffaele Paloscia, Simone Spellucci, Pablo Vara García, Stefano Visconti © ITACAfreelance This work would not have been completed without the contribution to the Caritalents project of Paola Boncompagni (MAECI/ AICS Consultant), Annalisa Pecoriello (MHC spin off), and the technical-administrative support of: Italy: Gioi Gonnella (DIDA Administration); Cabiria Fossati (DIDA Administration) Barbados: Nicole Pinder (EBCCI); Frances Hinds-Griffith (EBCCI); Ashanti Trotman (Focal Point); Lloyd Denny (Focal Point) Dominica: Kimone Joseph (Open Campus Dominica); Deanna Noel (Open Campus Dominica); Delroy Nesta Williams (Focal Point) A special thanks to Pablo Vara García for his indispensable photographic expertise.

on the cover Drawing by Simone Spellucci.

graphic design

didacommunicationlab Dipartimento di Architettura Università degli Studi di Firenze Susanna Cerri Gaia Lavoratti

Stampato su carta di pura cellulosa Fedrigoni Arcoset

summary

Presentations Laura Frigenti | Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Luigi Dei | Rector of the University of Florence Pietro Sebastiani | Director General for Development Cooperation — MAECI Luz Longsworth | Pro Vice-Chancellor/Principal of The University of West Indies Open Campus Saverio Mecca | Director of the Department of Architecture — University of Florence

13 14 15 16 17

Prefaces Background, Vision and Strategy Raffaele Paloscia

19 21

Heritage Training Project Gladstone Yearwood

Musings on the Caritalents Venture Francis O. Severin

Caritalents: Caribbean-Italian Cooperation in a Word Emanuela Benini

Caritalents in the Caribbean Sheron Johnson

PART I The Project Barbados and Dominica: Two Tales of the Evolving Caribbean

43 45

Trying to Change the Perspective

The project: Actions, Phases

Partnership and Organisation

ToT — The ‘Training of Trainers’ Course

The Experimental Laboratories: Training the Youth Participation

PART II The Teachers’ Contribution Testing the Experts’ Perspective

67 69

The Uneven Certainty of Maps. Mapping as a Tool for Community Heritage Recognition Iacopo Zetti

Agricultural Heritage Ginevra Virginia Lombardi

World Heritage and the Creative City Tara Inniss

Caribbean Vernacular Culture Alwin A. Bully

Craft Design, Local Knowledge and Materials Giuseppe Lotti, Stefano Visconti

Barbados’ Agricultural Heritage Henderson Carter Videomaking. Action-Research Experimentations in Highly Diverse Communities Giovanni Attili

103

105

Dominica’s Agricultural Heritage Colin Bully, Joey Peltier

109

Landship. Ghost or Immemorial Memory Yvonne Weekes

113

Sound Matters — Matters of Sound. Sonic Ecologies as Pedagogic Resources Claudia Cancellotti

119

Participatory Planning as a Strategy for Youth Engagement Elena Tarsi

123

Grassroots Comics. Developing a Social Communication Tool Simone Spellucci

129

Heritage and Vernacular. A Caribbean-Style Approach Michele Morbidoni

135

Environmental Heritage and Community Good Practices Rita Biconne

141

Caribbean Sacred Geographies and Religious Cultures Yanique Hume

147

Heritage in Context: Reconnoitering the Caribbean Islands Laura Colini, Lorenzo Tripodi

151

PART III Experimental Laboratories Experimental Laboratories: overview

155 157

HBG. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison

161

Agriculture. Empowering the Future

167

The Landship. Rockin’ de Boat

175

My Barbados. The Soul of Barbados

181

Riddim Wózó. Performance Culture in Roseau

187

Bath Estate. A Journey in Urban Organic Farming

193

Portsmouth. Art and Farming in Purple Turtle Beach

201

Dubique. A Community in Transition

207

Religious District. Bethesda Methodist Church in Roseau

219

Geneva Estate. Through Cultural Heritage

227

Bawi by the Bay. History, Culture and Tradition

233

PART IV External Evaluation A Stone in the Pound? Perspectives on the Experience Giovanni Allegretti

239 241

PART V Results and Perspectives Charting the Point

251 253

Barbados’ Experimental Laboratories

253

Dominica’s Experimental Laboratories

256

Unveiling the Caribbean Heritage

261

References

265

raffaele paloscia michele morbidoni simone spellucci

Caribbean Unveiled The Caritalents Youth and Territory Project in Barbados and Dominica

presentation Laura Frigenti

Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation

The new Italian Cooperation, outlined by the Law n. 125/2014, can be represented as a unitary system in which a multitude of subjects operate. Among them, the new Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) was set up as an operational platform and implementing Agency of a variety of cooperation projects running worldwide. An important role in this new modern system is entrusted, inter alia, to different actors working in the Italian territory: not only local authorities but also universities and research institutes. Caritalents — Youth and Territory is a realization of extreme interest that demonstrates all the potentialities of the relationship between academic institutions, in this case the University of Florence and the University of West Indies. A synergy of resources capable of attracting intellectual energies to ever-increasing levels of cultural heritage enhancement through the development of modern languages and new experiences. The aim is to link young people to their countries of origin through culturally active and attractive experimental paths that make them aware of local cultural heritage, a real wealth that will help the Barbados and Dominica islands in future development. This volume presents the results of these paths as workshops of ideas and experiences within youth policies in the Caribbean region, and as an example for further projects. The involvement of more than 150 young people and various local institutions and organizations allowed a real rediscovery of the islands contexts through an innovative approach: analysis, performance, maps production and document processing, a sort of original ‘atlas of heritage’ useful for the formation of ‘Young Citizens’.The international meetings, organized in Italy and two in the Barbados and Dominica islands to disseminate the project’s achievement, contributed to strengthening the Italian-Caribbean institutional network and creating partnerships and financial flows to plan a replica of the project. This Project is the first tangible outcome of the Agreement signed by AICS and the University of Florence: a concrete example of those synergies facilitated by the new Law and the positive role that — highly capable and skillful actors like the University of Florence Department of Architecture, coordinator of the Caritalents project, can play in development cooperation. Finally, I would recall that Florence represents a city of particular significance to AICS, being the location — toghether with Rome — of one of its two Italian offices, inheriting historical experience of the Agronomic Institute for the Overseas.

previous page Batts Rock Beach, Barbados

presentation Luigi Dei

Rector of the University of Florence

I am very glad to represent the University of Florence in opening this very meaningful and important publication of the Caritalents project. We are living in a very complex world where the social tensions are very strong and the divarication between poverty and richness seems to increase instead of decreasing. One of the most terrible effects of the different gross national products among countries is the marginalisation and unemployment of young people. We have an important task, as high education institutions, that is to contribute for working in the frame of a global cooperation in those countries where marginalisation, social tension and unemployment represent a dramatic problem. I guess itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sure that the only way to start solving problems of poverty and social injustice is to diffuse culture and education above all to children and young people in order to build a world where competition be gradually substituted by solidarity and cooperation. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fundamental, to reach this goal, that universities play their role incentivizing innovative education methodologies to offer new opportunities to young people residing in these unfortunate countries. The Caritalents project gone well in this direction and I am very proud as Rector of the University of Florence to have been involved with our Department of Architecture and its Laboratory Cities and Territory in the Countries of the South of the World: I want to express my deep gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for funding the project and to the University of West Indies, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination at Barbados our partner. As can be clearly remarked from the following pages, the project vision is to make growing the human capital through new tools for the recognition and enhancement of the territorial heritage as the main resource for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of the life. I guess that Caritalents performed concrete facts and experiences and this is the great added value of the project. The contents of the project encompass many topics: the territorial heritage declined in a very original way, the multidisciplinary approaches and new languages as video-making in diverse communities, craft design, local knowledge and materials, as well as sound and music as multifaceted pedagogic resources. I believe this is the correct approach for making real cooperation and helping educators and young people towards new opportunities for identifying and extracting territorial local values. I feel the Caritalents project completely fulfilled the ambitious objectives that were declared. I would like to wish to all the participants to the project a great success and to continue with enthusiasm and passion on the road they have marked during these years.

presentation Pietro Sebastiani

Director General for Development Cooperation Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Caritalents â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Youth and Territoryâ&#x20AC;? project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is the result of the priority that the Italian development cooperation attaches to three guiding principles: the importance of youth empowerment for the effective implementation the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the strong commitment towards the development of small island developing Countries, especially in the Caribbean; and the relevance of collaborating with Italian Universities and civil society in development cooperation activities. Education is one of the specific 2030 Agenda Goals and also a pre-requisite for its entire implementation as critical factor for building fairer, inclusive societies, and spurring social and economic growth. Our policies principle is clear: we invest on young people, especially in vulnerable situations, as key actors of the future of their Countries. As in Caritalents, they are the main subjects of our projects, where they can directly achieve skills, competences and motivations that enable them to free and put their talents at the service of their communities. We combined this strategy with our long-standing commitment in cooperating for the development of the Caribbean countries, working both with single members and with CARICOM as a whole. Especially since 2008, we focused on youth empowerment, education and the environment. More recently, we invested also in other capacity building activities, especially for the conservation and promotion of the rich Caribbean cultural heritage. We believe as well in a comprehensive approach to common challenges on issues such as adaptation to climate change, environmental protection, renewable energy and sustainable development, working with small island developing states as a whole, including Pacific and African SIDS.However, in order to be successful in this ambitious endeavor, Italy needs the qualified contribution of all the components of the national system of development cooperation, as outlined in the Law n. 125/2014. In this framework, Universities are key actors, thanks to their know-how, institutional capacities, international networks. The Florence University has proved during the years to be an excellent partner of MAECI in development cooperation activities, and the results achieved by the Caritalents project are just a further confirmation of the quality of this collaboration. Not only Caritalents managed to offer educational opportunities and improve teaching methods but, above all, it laid the foundation of lasting partnerships and networks between universities, associations and other Caribbean and Italian actors, paving the way for future, mutually beneficial initiatives.

presentation Luz Longsworth

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Open Campus The University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies is delighted to have participated in this youth empowering Project titled “Caritalents — Youth and Territory”, with two of its departments which are well placed and indeed mandated to conduct such outreach educational initiatives, namely, the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI), Barbados, and the Open Campus Site in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Beyond the foregoing, we are happy that Caritalents has ‘consummated’ and operationalized, for our respective institutions, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in July 2013 between The UWI and Università di Firenze (UNIFI). I have heard many positive testimonies and narratives radiating from this valuable collaborative effort. For me, the fact that two institutions, geographically stationed in two different regions of the world — Europe and the Caribbean — could pool their resources and talent for the boon of youth, is sufficient evidence of what is possible when we acknowledge that culture and distance need not be barriers to mutual development. We view the Caritalents Project as a positive ‘bonfire’ that has the multiplier effect of adding value to the real lives of hundreds of young people in Barbados, Dominica and the Caribbean as a whole. I was particularly fascinated by the innovative pedagogical methods employed with a symbiotic relationship between teachers and learners, as the students brought their community and life experiences to the ‘classrooms’, seminars, labs, workshops and other learning fora. If ever there was a tangible and authentic example of cross-cultural ‘fertilization’, the Caritalents Project must be foremost and eminent in our minds. It is noteworthy to point out here that The UWI Open Campus, officially inaugurated in 2008, is the result of the evolution of a number of the UWI departments since 1948. The UWI is a pioneer in distance teaching, learning, outreach and community activism with a tremendous history and patrimony/heritage in terms of bringing formal, non-formal and informal education to the peoples of the Caribbean Region. At The UWI we remain deeply committed to the partnership and wish to see the direct benefits of the Caritalents Project extend to other jurisdictions of our University. With modern technology, indeed, the prospects for the Project are exciting and limitless. On behalf of the Vice Chancellor and the entire University, we wish to thank and highly commend the partnership between Dipartimento di Architettura — DIDA/UNIFI, the EBCCI/UWI, Barbados, The UWI Open Campus Dominica and the co-funders, AICS/DGCS of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

presentation Saverio Mecca

Director of Department of Architecture University of Florence

In February 2016, the Department of Architecture hosted a small Caribbean delegation at the Caritalents Mid-Term Meeting. They were among the coordinators, teachers and trainees of the project. I gladly welcomed them by opening the Meeting and encouraging their encounter with Italian students. The focus was on new languages for the enhancement of territorial heritage and the involvement of young people at risk in the Caribbean region. Cultural exchanges proposed by events like that pose the question of which knowledge is needed to be a resource for human development, and which languages to use for its representation and transmission. Today we are faced with two great systems of knowledge: scientific, academic and generalizable knowledge on the one hand, and non-academic and contextualised knowledge on the other. The latter is given by so-called local knowledge(s), rooted in places and their stories. They are the result of a daily sharing, strengthened and corrected by a continuous evolution process by trial and error. They are part of the “Cultural Biodiversity” of the sites, which must be protected and valued to ensure human development with important social benefits and widespread economic returns. Much of this heritage arises from individual knowledge which, being often tacit, needs to find effective methods for its representation, transmission, and sharing. In this perspective, commitment to international development cooperation has gradually called universities to a new role: the use of knowledge other than the exclusive scientific one for participatory local management. Valorising local knowledge is today one of the most important challenges in co-operation interventions, and includes strengthening the local identity and raising awareness of the available resources and means. Thus new ‘horizontal’ tools for the conversion of local knowledge from tacit to explicit must accompany the so-called ‘vertical’ transmission of knowledge, which is codified and deposited in archives and libraries. Learning by doing, workshops, study trips and field visits, mutual learning between teachers and trainees they all add up to the classical front lessons. Caritalents is an optimum example of the role the university can play in this approach to cooperation. The project has provided a valuable experience in cultural exchange among the three involved national dimensions. Its structure has been able to foster mediation between local and general academic knowledge through the sharing of theoretical notions and practical activities among all the protagonists. That the reason because by presenting the project results, this book adds a valuable contribution to the ‘Research’ series published by DIDA.

Prefaces

background, vision and strategy Raffaele Paloscia

International Relation Coordinator Department of Architecture University of Florence

On that sunny day in April 2013, the great Onofri Hall at Farnesina, the seat of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) in Rome, was very crowded with people of different countries and backgrounds. A joyous, informal atmosphere and at the same time full of shared awareness and participation in what was being celebrated: the 10th anniversary of Italian Cooperation presence in the Caribbean. Many people have been crossing its path: someone made of cooperation the focus of his working life, with passion and satisfaction, but not without moments of disappointment and uncertainty, and someone in his own country has been the recipient of projects, interventions, initiatives giving them significance and meanings rooted in communities, places, cities and territories subject to frequent dramatic emergencies, and, at the same time, to permanent and structural problems. The writer, because of his experience in promoting and coordinating projects in the Caribbean area, was invited to that event in order to get in touch with the many actors operating in the previous decade. The motivation resided in the desire of those who organized and animated that day (first of all Emanuela Benini, MAECI/DGCS-AICS) to outline a new project that should embed the positive effects that Italian Cooperation was producing in the region, by constituting a coherent and innovative continuation of its work. A peculiar attention was required, as usual for the projects of the previous decade, to the disadvantaged youth. The University of Florence (UNIFI) and, specifically, the Department of Architecture (DIDA), within which the Laboratorio Città e Territorio nei Paesi del Sud del Mondo (Lab Cities and Territories in the Global South — LabPSM) carries on its activity, appeared to be the Italian partner fit for purpose. LabPSM has been in existence for more than twenty years, working in university education and experimental, theoretical, methodological and applied research in the South. Its approach is based on the theory and practice of the ‘territorialist school’ (Magnaghi 2000/2010, 2005; Paloscia 2010, 2011, 2016). The key concept of this approach is Territorio (throughout the book this Italian term will be translated with ‘territory’, although the English word does not match properly its meaning) as the adding up of the natural, built and anthropic environments defined through a co-evolutional process very much similar to that of a very complex living organism. All these elements define the multifaceted and ever-evolving culture and identity of a place, a city, a region, generating the very specific physical and emotional landscape that links territories to their inhabitants. Another ‘territorialist’ key concept is Self-sustainable Local Development (SsLD) intended as the sum-

previous page Meetings moments Dominica, Florence, Barbados

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

ming up of locally based not separable environmental, cultural, social, economic and political sustainability (Magnaghi, 2005). The closely linked and inseparable priority options that define the SsLD can be described as the willingness to: enhance the capability and the tools for self-government and community participation in the study, planning and management of cities and regions where people live; promote the safeguard/development and the sustainable use of ecosystems and the well balanced environmental quality in general; contribute to a locally-oriented economy which is focused on endogenous human and physical resources being aware of positively shared global input; give true value to the cultural identity of the places, to be reproduced through an inclusive and fair practice. The goal of SsLD is something reachable through a process of increasing and intensification of the virtuous synergetic relations quoted before. A process where the involvement and research/action initiatives of planners can give a fruitful, significant contribution. Local is intended independently of size. It could be a small village as a city or a wide region. Each of them is very much defined by its identity — specific endogenous features open to dynamic contaminations — and, at the same time, by its ability to be part of wide, horizontal, not hierarchical networks connecting it with the global dimension. The scenario is that of a more community oriented and liveable cities and regions, of an environment projected into a self-sustainable future, re-establishing all the links between the urban context and the rural and non-rural hinterland, and of a strengthening synergy and cooperation between national and international level. The central role in this process is played by the Patrimonio territoriale, (again, an Italian definition that is not easy to translate), more or less corresponding to ‘territorial’ or ‘local’ heritage in a wide sense, including material and immaterial items. It should be considered as the main multifaceted collective resource to be investigated carefully in order to know its various components, to easy the re-emerging of more hidden elements, to share them with all the inhabitants. A resource that should be protected, through widely accepted regulations and consolidated local customs, and should be reproduced and increased through short, medium and long-term transformation projects. The Patrimonio territoriale is the result of space and time, and of the convergence of the local and global know-how expressed by a specific place or spatial context: from the culture of work and production to the different types of landscape, from local practices and ways of life to the different physical, historical and architectonic components of the urban fabric, and so on. All these elements define the multifaceted and ever-evolving culture and identity of settlements, which are the main resources for the general well being of the settled communities. The Patrimonio territoriale is also a key factor for a significant and well-defined presence at a global level, a feature that, in the contemporary world, cannot be set aside. Operational tools to define the conditions to deeply know and use it in an appropriate, fruitful next page Map of the LabPSM projects during last years, and focus on the Caribbean

way become a strategic issue to be identified and processed. One of such specific and essential tools is education of the new generations (Paloscia, 2016). This vision and its methodological articulations, very much rooted in the Italian context, has been re-

background, vision and strategy • raffaele paloscia

Programma:

Prof. Raffaele Paloscia _ Direttore Dipartim “Università e cooperazione: il contribu

Prof. Paolo Orefice _ Dipartimento Scienz “Saperi locali e saperi globali: un risult

Dott. sa Paola Viero _ DG Ministero Affari “Il ruolo dei giovani nelle politiche e n

Prof. Giancarlo Paba _ DUPT “Pianificare per le diverse età della vit

Arch. Annalisa Pecoriello “La città bambina: esperienze significa

Arch. Elena Tarsi “Il laboratorio di Progettazione Partec Programma: Prof. Raffaele Paloscia _ Direttore Dipartimento di Urbanistica e Pianificazione del Territorio “Università e cooperazione: il contributo della ricerca ai progetti di sviluppo integrato.”

I ragazzi tra Prof. Paolo Orefice _ Dipartimento Scienze della Formazione _ Coordinatore Progetto Interlinkplus “Saperi locali e saperi globali: un risultato concreto del progetto Interlinkplus”

Dott. sa Paola Viero _ DG Ministero Affari Esteri “Il ruolo dei giovani nelle politiche e nelle esperienze della Cooperazione italiana in America L

Programma:

Prof. Giancarlo Paba _ DUPT

Progettazione

Prof. Raffaele Paloscia _ Direttore Dipartimento di Urbanistica e Pianificazione del Territorio “Pianificare peril le diverse della vita.” “Università e cooperazione: contributo dellaetà ricerca ai progetti di sviluppo integrato.”

Prof. Paolo Orefice _ Dipartimento Scienze della Formazione _ Coordinatore Progetto Interlinkplus Arch. Pecoriello “Saperi localiAnnalisa e saperi globali: un risultato concreto del progetto Interlinkplus”

“La città bambina: esperienze significative in Italia e in Toscana.”

Dott. sa Paola Viero _ DG Ministero Affari Esteri “Il ruolo dei giovani nelle politiche e nelle esperienze della Cooperazione italiana in America Latina ”

Arch. Elena Tarsi

Prof. Giancarlo Paba _ DUPT “Il laboratorio didella Progettazione “Pianificare per le diverse età vita.”

Partecipata con i giovani di zona 3 e 7 di Città del Guatemala.

Arch. Annalisa Pecoriello “La città bambina: esperienze significative in Italia e in Toscana.”

I ragazzi trasformano la città

Arch. Elena Tarsi “Il laboratorio di Progettazione Partecipata con i giovani di zona 3 e 7 di Città del Guatemala.”

I ragazzi trasformano la città in Italia e Gu Progettazione partecipata Progettazione partecipata in Italia e Guatemala

17 h.giugno 2008 10:00

martedì martedì 17 giugno 2008

Aula 7M _ DUPT _ via Micheli 2 _ Università di Firenze

Aula 7M _ DUPT _ via Micheli 2 _ Unive

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

visited and reshaped by LabPSM through joint experiences with its vast network of partnerships in the global south. The Lab has become a recognised well-known centre of research and action, supporting multidisciplinary activities of training, scientific investigation and operative programmes in cities, regions and rural areas, where the human potentials and the Patrimonio territoriale are always considered as two not divisible components of SsLD and as primary resources for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of life of citizens, especially targeted on the youngest ones. Its wide gamut of activities include: degree courses in Urban/Rural Physical Planning and Environmental Management with studies and research programmes carried out in situ in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe; graduate, master, and doctoral thesis, managed jointly with foreign universities; plenty of Memorandum of Understanding with universities in the global south aimed at joint research and training programmes on matters as sustainable physical planning, city/slum spatial and socioeconomic relationship, participatory planning processes with youth involvement; international cooperation projects funded by MAECI/DGCS in collaboration with Italian and foreign NGOs, local government bodies and grass root associations. In particular, in the Caribbean and Central America region, LabPSM promoted, coordinated and/or participated in various projects: La Habana-Ecopolis. Urban Renewal and Community Development, in Cuba; León Ecopolis projects, in Nicaragua; The Coffee Road. An Integrated Sustainable Development Programme, in the Dominican Republic; Participatory Process for the Enforcement and Protection of Children and Adolescent Rights, in Guatemala. (Paloscia 1998, 2006, 2009, 2010; Paloscia et al 2012, 2013; Tarsi 2012). Based on this intense practice in the region, LabPSM was ready to take the responsibility of a new project. The prestigious University of the West Indies (UWI) appeared to be the natural Caribbean partner, characterized by a widespread presence in the numerous Anglophone islands. Moreover the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI), a versatile, dense container of artistic expressions and cultural Caribbean traditions, endowed with a promising and evocative name, in partnership with Open Campus Dominica, already successfully experienced previous activities together with Italian Cooperation in the region. Because of that and given the complementarities in their respective skillset in the social, artistic, cultural and Earth sciences, an official Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNIFI and UWI to proceed in the common initiative, through their joint and combined efforts and by providing its proper scientific basis. Barbados and Dominica were therefore selected as the right countries where to carry on the new project: two different examples of Caribbean islands, very diverse in physical, social and economic features, where an indubitable richness in culture, tradition, and natural resources is somehow disregarded respect to its full potential deployment to the advantage of the local population. The Project “Caritalents. Youth and Territory” was so drawn up as inter-university experimental cooperation project, approved and co-funded by MAECI, UNIFI and UWI and implemented since the very beginning of 2015. Its name, Caritalents, recalls the Caribbean as overall context of its targeted-ac-

background, vision and strategy • raffaele paloscia

tions, the contribution of the Italian experts, as well as the idea of developing talents and innovative specialized skills. Taking in clear consideration the required focus on the disadvantaged youth, the project came about from the strategic premise that the two principal elements of sustainable people-centred local development, viz the Patrimonio territoriale and the human potential — in our case specifically the youth — had to be considered together rather than individually. Aiming at knowing, protecting, and making the best culturally sustainable economic use of the Patrimonio, in order to improve the quality of life of youths, the project was supposed to make the young participants more and more aware of the resources around them, whether environmental, man-made or cultural. In order to do that it intended to develop their ability to apprehend, appraise, analyse and identify the single components of the Patrimonio’s latent potential that need to be unveiled and made known to the more or less unaware inhabitants. This implied a strong commitment to improving the scope, nature, form, and content of the relevant educational materials and didactic methods and tools as well as the training of the teaching faculty in the appropriate fields. We did not just hide the difficulties of this initiative, first of all, the wide social and cultural gap between university teaching modes — namely the Italian ones — and the youngest Caribbean people. It was clear that other tools were needed as a vehicle to reach the minds and the feelings of the youngsters. Those tools could be only identified in local trainers, school and outside school educators, get used to a direct contact with the youths. They became therefore the first target of our project as a kind of essential connection between objectives and methodology of the project and its final recipients. A specific training course was designed to fulfil this need. Very much interactive and focused not that much on theory, but more on methodology and applied approaches to develop skills needed to investigate, to decode, and to represent the local heritage through innovative media and languages. In fact the use of new languages (maquettes, storytelling, videomaking, grassroots comics, community mapping, craft design, sonic ecologies, traditional/innovative dance, local/international music, etc.) has been a central qualifying feature of Caritalents educational methodology, very much moving from a fruitful mix of local and global knowledge, potentially much closer to the young culture, feeling and, probably, needs and even desires. The young participants were the main characters of the final step of the projects, the Experimental Laboratories. Very little classroom theory, much activity on the field, direct contact with the reality, observed with different glasses and more targeted to grasp the potential of the various assets in the areas where they moved around. A dedicated section of the book widely presents the importance of the Labs as the very core of the whole project.

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heritage training project Gladstone Yearwood

Caritalents Caribbean Coordinator Director, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West Indies

I am pleased to celebrate the successful completion of the Caritalents: Youth and Territory programme. As Caribbean Coordinator, this inter-university Cooperation Project, which is a partnership between the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (UWI) and the University of Florence, Department of Architecture (UNIFI-DIDA), was a unique opportunity to deliver innovative approaches to heritage education in the Caribbean. Caritalents was financed through a grant from the Government of Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the UWI Open Campus issued certification for the professional training for educators and youth on the subject of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. This collaboration continues to be important because it brings together Italian and the Caribbean youth to engage in a dialogue focusing on innovative approaches to heritage values and modes of articulating natural and cultural heritage. The beginning of the relationship between the University of the West Indies (UWI) and Italian Cooperation began around 2009 when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation/Italian Cooperation (MAECI/IC) funded (Youth-IN): A Caribbean Network for Youth Development Project in the Caribbean Community states (CARICOM) and continued with this inter-university heritage training project. The Caritalents project was facilitated enormously by Professor Eudine V. Barriteau, Principal and Pro-Vice Chancellor of UWI Cave Hill Campus; Dr. Luz Longsworth, Principal, UWI Open Campus; and Dr. Francis Severin, Director, Open Campus Dominica. The objective of the Caritalents programme was to build capacity in heritage by providing training for trainers and youth in the area of tangible and intangible heritage. In particular, it set out to contribute to the educational and professional skills of educators committed to the training of young people on the issue of the making value of local territorial (social, economic, environmental, artistic, cultural) resources; and to provide educators with innovative tools for the involvement and awareness of young people in relation to their environment and to strengthen their ability to respond to environmental and socio-cultural critical conditions. It focused on developing professional media and storytelling skills focusing on the acquisition of skills in the ‘representation and valorisation of the local territory’. Participants received dual certification from UWI and UNIFI. The Caritalents project took place during a 12-month period in two phases — June to December 2015 and January to September 2016. The project was implemented through lectures, workshops, field trips

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and other educational activities by a core team of European and Caribbean lecturers and heritage experts. Part 1 began in June 2015 with a “Training of Trainers” course (ToT). The Training of Trainers course examined tangible and intangible heritage; agriculture heritage; natural resources; and environmental heritage; incorporating local knowledge and materials in craft design as well as vernacular culture in the Caribbean. The curriculum introduced new concepts in mapping heritage using oral histories, innovative technologies and digital media and was aimed at developing skills of educators in two different Caribbean States — Dominica and Barbados. The curriculum of the first trimester consisted of lectures in the theory of Territorial Heritage, Ethnographic Methods, Digital Storytelling, Heritage Resources, and Heritage Education. Heritage experts from the University of Florence and the University of the West Indies shared their knowledge of heritage studies. As coordinator of the project in the Caribbean I felt that it was important to include local knowledge in the project. I was able to identify some of the region’s top cultural proponents and heritage top experts who readily committed to the project. Through field work, tours, peer learning and practicum, the lecturers enhanced the learning process by building on what was learnt from the team from Florence. By introducing the participants to digital storytelling, I was able to explore the concept of heritage in a new and exciting format that could easily be transferred to the youth. The programme of study involved 14 visiting professors from Italy and 8 professors from the University of the West Indies and 6 experts from Barbados and Dominica. Special topics included cultural mapping and a focus on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison in Barbados and Morne Trois Pitons National Park in Dominica. The second trimester featured workshops and laboratories in Caribbean Performance Traditions; Public Performance and Identity; Sound and Music as a Pedagogic Resource; Grassroots Comics as a Tool for Social Communication; and Using Photography and Maquettes for Community Projects. Other topics included (GIS) Geographic Information Systems & Participatory Technologies; Audio-Visual Technology for Heritage Applications and Media for Action-Based Research. The project took place in two phases — June to December 2015 and January to September 2016. The project was implemented through lectures, workshops, field trips and other educational activities by a core team of European and Caribbean lecturers and heritage experts. There was a good response in Dominica and Barbados to the Caritalents project. Heritage education is, for the most part, a new area to teachers and professionals in the region; and the project was received with high expectation and enthusiasm. Participants understood the need to add value to heritage activities in the Caribbean to boost tourism and add economic diversity. In Dominica, teachers and cultural officers comprised the group of trainers; while in Barbados the group represented more diverse occupations; and many held post-graduate degrees. Part 2 of the Caritalents project focused on the Experimental Laboratories, which provided professional training for educators; strengthened opportunities for youth development; and built partnerships between Italian and Caribbean. The educators (‘Trainers’) developed a project plan with youth to address issues affecting identified vulnerable communities. The Trainers worked with youth to identify and re-

heritage training project • gladstone yearwood

search the issue and develop a strategy to address the problem. The Creative Arts played a special role in documenting Caribbean Heritage through representations of folk songs, folk culture, World Heritage Sites, urban heritage, vernacular architecture and culture, as well as religion. The Caritalents project turned out to be a really exciting project on the cutting edge of developments in training for culture and heritage. In August 2015, Dominica suffered physical damage and a heavy emotional toll from Tropical Storm Erika, which killed at least 20 people. The island’s infrastructure was dramatically affected and was estimated to cost tens of millions of U.S. dollars, which set the country back two decades. Damage was not confined to one particular area, but was island-wide. The dislocation wrought by Erika affected teaching in Dominica. When we reached the seven-month point at the beginning of Part 2, these trainers who went through the Certificate programme worked with youth to build and apply these new skills to execute projects using elements of material culture and non-material culture. As a project of Italian Cooperation, Caritalents was offered free of charge to participants. The beneficiaries of the Caritalents project focused on providing educational activities at risk youth and vulnerable communities in order to provide them with professional skills based on the work of the Experimental Laboratories, which would identify new forms of income related to the exploitation of resources and local knowledge. In particular, topics included Digital Stories; Oral Histories; Caribbean Performance; Using Performing Arts and Self-expression in the response to the Post-Erika trauma; Agricultural Heritage; Green Economy; Urban Organic Farming; Cultural Mapping; and UNESCO World Heritage Site — Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison. Both participants in the Training of Trainers course and youth participants gained new forms of knowledge and new modes of speaking about and organizing heritage, which created awareness and greater appreciation for Caribbean cultural heritage. Caritalents introduced participants to new opportunities for micro-business in the area of heritage and culture. The program exposed participants to a variety of tools, which allowed for the interpretation of heritage in a way that is not currently discussed. The project emphasised the collection of data from primary sources that was empowering to individuals and communities. These insights empowered Caribbean youth to paint pictures and forge narratives of life in the region from their own perspective. Most of all, this opens up the documentation of vernacular points of view as opposed to the views of official sources.

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musings on the caritalents venture Francis O. Severin

Director Open Campus Country Sites University of the West Indies

On Friday, June 24th, 2016, I had the exceptional pleasure of addressing a session of prospective Caritalents trainers at The UWI Open Campus Dominica in Roseau, awaiting with much alacrity then, the demos of the experimental laboratories by the groups of trainers. These laboratories represented the fine efforts that the trainers had devoted to their trainees through coaching, instruction and guidance in various facets of culture and heritage. That gathering at which I had offered welcome remarks, afforded the trainers a rare opportunity to narrate and showcase their accomplishments, having participated fully in Caritalents. On reflection, I could not have anticipated the well-articulated, animated and clear presentations based on the creative, innovative and thought-provoking projects (experiments) that emerged from the entire Caritalents experience. I am pleased to say that I have received very positive and promising reports concerning the projects in Dominica, where the Open Campus Dominica and its staff guaranteed, by their diligence and conscientiousness, that Caritalents would not only be successful, but would also flourish and undoubtedly serve as a ‘blueprint’ for further collaborative initiatives between The UWI and the University of Florence. To be sure, as I ponder the demonstrations, the intent of Caritalents has gelled in my mind and truly represents Caribbean patrimony, birthright, cultural inheritance, empowerment, kinship, tradition, humanity and pride. Perhaps more profoundly, in my grasp of the philosophy and goal of the project, is the extent to which the cultural encounter can have the promising economic externalities of adding value and enrichment to our human resources through cultural interventions, and to some extent, immersion. As I ruminate over the foregoing, I find the following quote from Sir Shridath Ramphal (2012), former Chancellor of the UWI resonates: When are we at our best? Surely, when the West Indies is West Indian; when we are as one; with one identity; acting with the strength and courage that oneness gives us. Does anyone doubt that whatever we undertake, we do it better when we do it together?

I am convinced that the above argument can be appropriately applied to the Dominican experiences by the trainers and trainees. The content of the experimental labs indeed validated the wisdom in working together to affirm heritage and culture in a practical and tangible sense. On the matter of culture, George Lamming (2011) persuasively described that phenomenon as: the variety of ways in which men and women interpret and translate, through the imagination, the meaning of that material existence in the light of their concrete experience: religion, philosophy, art, and the institutions which mediate their daily lives, all these — religion, philosophy, art — are influenced, in one way or another by the circumstances of our material existence.

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It is not difficult to find sensibilities of the foregoing Lamming extract from the various Experimental Labs, whether it was a Journey in Urban Organic Farming (Team ‘Bath Estate’); Bawi by the Bay (Team ‘Bawi by the Bay’); Dubique, A Community in Transition/A Community at Risk (Team ‘Dubique’); Geneva Estate through Cultural Heritage (Team ‘Geneva Estate’); Religious District focusing on the Bethesda Methodist Church (Team ‘Religious District, Roseau’); or Riddim Wózó Performance Culture in Roseau (Team ‘Riddim Wózó’). Even though every project was unique, and had its own, flavor, challenges and triumphs, it is quite possible to argue that the common threads may be isolated thus: • a recognition of the richness, vibrancy and ‘multi-origin’ of our culture; • an acknowledgment that pooling resources and working collaboratively can make Challenges lighter and doable; • a pride and jingoism regarding our heritage and culture; • the creative energies that can emanate when youth are engaged and empowered; • a realization that colonization and slavery's vestiges should not continue to enslave our minds; • an appreciation that culture essentially encompasses everything we do — it is our modus operandi; • the consciousness that if we lose our heritage, we lose ourselves as people and our Civilization; • effectiveness of relevant, novel, exciting and unorthodox teaching methods; • a cognizance of the relationship between culture and socioeconomic benefits if our ‘cultural artifacts’ are carefully harnessed; • the numerous learning opportunities and new knowledge that emerged, both planned and unintended, within the Caritalents context; • the encouragement to explore and discover the distinctive potential of our different towns, villages and hamlets, and managing these to stimulate development; • a recognition of the strength of the collectivity and the wisdom in ‘making do with what we have’. There are unquestionably other common themes residing within these experimental labs that I have overlooked so this is by no means a comprehensive list; however, I believe the point is clear. What is even more satisfying for me, from an intellectual outlook, is the ability to find theoretical perspectives as foundations of the Caritalents experimental labs. Any of the experimental labs might be cited; however, the Riddim Wozo Performance Culture in Roseau is didactic in that regard: its flyer indicates, correctly and appropriately, that “Dominica boasts a rich musical heritage as a result of the presence and influences of America, Europe, Africa and Asia in the Caribbean”. Kenneth K. Bilby (1985) urges: Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Caribbean music is its great diversity. As with other cultural domains in the Caribbean, there is a bewildering range of forms […] Most Caribbean musical forms, like Caribbean language forms and other aspects of culture, are characterized by a simultaneous newness and oldness, the heritage of a historical process that has come to be known as creolization. That is, most Caribbean musical forms are the relatively recent products of a meeting and blending of two or more older traditions on new soil, and a subsequent elaboration of form.

musings on the caritalents venture • francis o. severin

In my remarks at the Florence Mid-Term Meeting, February 10-12, 2016, in clarifying the background of the Open Campus, I made the point that during the 1960s, several buildings were erected on what we formerly called the ‘Non-Campus Countries’ with the aim of taking The UWI beyond the walls of the physical or residential campus countries of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados. I added that in the Open Campus, there was a perceptible déjà vu in the following passage about the construction of these physical buildings throughout the Caribbean Region in the countries served by The UWI. Hence: These were more than the establishment of physical infrastructure; they represented the presence and permanence of The UWI and the planting of stakes in its distant communities […] [They would] become a focal point for community activities of a cultural, economic and social nature and a forum for consultation in connection with local problems — education, agriculture, engineering and social affairs. (Fergus, Bernard & Soares, 2007)

I am therefore satisfied that the Open Campus’s and UWI’s collaboration with UNIFI has yielded relevant and productive projects, underscoring what we at the Open Campus view as our raison d'être. This brand of educational outreach is exactly what we do as a Campus, our aim being to break down the walls of the ivory tower and meet people where they are so that we hone the ‘hidden’ talents and skills of our human resources. On a more personal note, and perhaps the positive imponderables of the entire Caritalents project, has been the friendships created which have further bridged cultural gaps between Florence, Italy and the Caribbean, and specifically between The University of the West Indies and the University of Florence. I will not risk mentioning names because there is always the chance of ‘tragic’ omission, sometimes of exactly those whom I interacted with most frequently.

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caritalents: caribbean-italian cooperation in a word Emanuela Benini

Youth & Education Expert, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation

Caribbean Talents — how to listen to and to foster them. Youth talents will emerge in full evidence when they will look at the world, at their country and community, at their peers, at themselves, ready to value the islands’ treasures under their eyes. Italy-I-tal: (v)ital, Rastafarian beneficial and energetic diet to increase energy for life. Italian sense of ‘conviviality’ could be shared with the Caribbean people as it encompasses all aspects of life in a local vs global context. Carita, ‘compassion’ in Italian, here ‘mutual understanding’, with ‘empathy’ and ‘critical thinking’ the triad of attitudes and aptitudes that also support Education for Global Citizenship (EGC) programme goals. The Italian translation for ‘charity’, carità is here vital compassion as the move towards the other who is you and not you, on a peer-to-peer approach, away from paternalism, where the identity is multifaceted and unique, enriched by the encounter. Cari, in Italian: plural of beloved, of expensive, of precious. Lenses, to magnify and understand one’s rich environment: nature, in/tangible heritage, their potentials. Out of many, one world, as in the Jamaican motto, Out of many, One people (again in an EGC prospect), here Out of many, one word. Caritalents promotes and expresses in one word some converging or shared paradigms. What Caribbean and Italian people do have in common? They live in beautiful natural states that are diverse and magnificent, but vulnerable to climate and environmental challenges that result in battered coasts and lands. But maintaining their love for diversity in culture, heritage through their respective magnificent and endless conquered lands, their extended intertwining interculturality, their diverse and unified and resilient people. Caritalents is a development cooperation project financed by the Italian Development Cooperation (IDC) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the University of Florence, the first of such projects to be implemented from remote in the Caribbean, a pilot initiative in the sector of youth engagement, a growing priority for IDC. I wish to share the narrative that started and created Caritalents. Offspring of the IDC/UNDP YOUTH-IN Project, Caritalents was born during the Amerigo Day (from Amerigo Vespucci, the famous Italian navigator) in Rome on the 12th of April 2013. In the wooden meeting room of the Development Cooperation Directorate General of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs DGCD/MAE, at no costs, a wonderful constellation of people gathered: from the Carib-

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bean and Italy and Africa, from all sectors contemplated so far in the projects financed by IDC in the area: the Arts and Culture, from Environment and Agriculture, from Communication and Social Architecture, from a range of actors: ministries, universities, international organisations, societies, NGOs, foundations, research and/or training institutes were represented, all doers doubled with clear thinkers and utmost listeners. The Italian DGCD/MAE, the donor and the catalyser, was there to listen, with Caribbean and with the Pacific partners, states these regions deserving attention and aid. Both regions categorized by the UN as Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). On Amerigo Day, the ‘have-done’ and the ‘would-be’ strategized, narrated and designed ‘why and how’ from a ten-years-old strategic approach to the Caribbean-Italy Development Cooperation, priority should be given to ‘Youth’ and ‘Environment’, separately or together. Accelerated technology, social media and Internet based communications resulted in Environment and Youth projects developed, with hardware and software components. Implemented through UN agencies to access links with current multilateral initiatives e.g. the MDGs (transitioned to the UN/Sustainable Development Goals-SDGs), all projects were designed to leverage the human development capacities and competences existing in the Caribbean. In 10 years, IDC’s attention to the Caribbean went well over 10M€ through hardware and software projects. The hardware were the physical projects meant to demonstrate a new approach to the extraordinary potential in terms of environment and agriculture present in the Caribbean, supported by Italy: with UNEP (Coastal management), FAO (Food Security I & II), UNDP (Enhancing Resilience of Caribbean Vulnerability, on natural disasters). The software were the social projects targeting children, with a special focus on youth access to jobs and education relevant to global changes and impacts of a global economic recession. IDC entailed two different, complementary approaches: with UNICEF to address incidences of child abuse, with UNDP to facilitate inclusion, innovation. In response to the worldwide phenomenon of young men and women calling for meaningful civic, economic, social and political participation […] Identifying development challenges and issues facing youth today, the strategy offers recommendations for strategic entry points and engagement of a broad range of partners in addressing youth empowerment. (Excerpt from UNDP’s Democratic Governance, Peace Building and Youth Empowerment Programme)

It was in this context that IDC support gave birth to Caribbean vision, action and innovation with the implementation of the IDC/UNDP — YOUTH-INnovation Project (Youth-IN): A Caribbean Network for Youth Development. Project outputs were evidence-based and as identified in the report of the CARICOM Youth Commission (2010): ‘Eye on the Future: Investing in YOUTH NOW for Tomorrow’s Community’. The project branded YOUTH-INnovation, INclusion was designed to support the implementation of various Youth Policy components, adopted by Caribbean states: through Advocacy, Creative Industries as well as Youth and Sports components, Communications, Arts, Entrepreneurship, with tools to access to finance, business networking, internships and other key services for young entrepreneurs. In parallel, in Guatemala, the projects Retejoven and Munijoven with UN-

caritalents: caribbean-italian cooperation in a word • emanuela benini

ESCO and UNDP reached the same scope and end, with life shaping impact for many youth and a shift in mind-sets in the areas of interventions. From the IDC articulated attention to children rights, it moves to foster more attentive youth to their context — and self — development. Caritalents was born with a tiny budget in restricted times, trusted by IDC to be the right approach to development in isolated countries, merging the Italian approach to social urbanism with the Caribbean vision. The Caribbean diversity based on its populations’ heritage of nationalities from each corner of the globe presents a wider knowledge of its tangible and intangible heritage to be sustained by youth actions. Caritalents was to engage youth as agents of change towards a more positive perception of their role in their context.It was the first time that IDC engaged directly a national implementer, a university, in a remote area, difficult to reach, with no presence of other national institutions; it has been brave and hard and overcome. The interest of fostering coordination and direct engagement of universities on and exchange with their own territory is key to its development, an IDC paradigm, especially successful in Latin America and increasingly in Africa. The challenges at the heart of Caritalents and its outcomes are not only brave history, they deserve thorough listening and studying, as for their cultural richness and geographic isolation the Caribbean islands could be considered as precious world labs. How did it go? The choice of the two countries targets, Barbados and Dominica, could not have been a better one. Dominica with a strong identity and a carefully loved environment in cultural terms as well, an open-minded people and place, so more isolated than many others, livelier. When hurricane Erika washed out earth and villages, the reactions of a whole country, and mainly of the people of Caritalents were such that the project could go ahead, you will learn how. The IDC contributed to the international effort through the International Red Cross. The principles of Education for Global Citizenship were at the heart of Caritalents without spelling them out: critical thinking, thorough learning by doing in teamwork, mutual understanding and getting the local in the global and the global in the local, the importance of community life and of solidarity, the value of converging and stratifying cultural, tangible and intangible heritage. The IDC has since split between the DGDC the political institution of the now Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, its operational branch. To the Agency, in line with the SDGs and its planned priorities, it would be desirable to set talks to envisage the possibility and conceptualize other initiatives of youth engagement, in the Caribbean surely and elsewhere, to build on lesson learnt and best practices of the positive outcomes of this amazing experience.

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caritalents in the caribbean Sheron Johnson

Senior Cultural Policy Officer Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Barbados

Within the past decade the impact of cultural heritage on the viability, economic growth and development of Small Island Development States (SIDS) has been studied and discussed. Increasingly heritage experts and policy makers are suggesting that the preservation of cultural heritage can benefit SIDS and communities and can become a catalyst for growth in the global economy. For countries in the Caribbean, heritage is a key element in community development that provides cultural, psychological, aesthetic, educational, political and economic benefits. It is what makes these small island nation-states unique. In Barbados and Dominica, as like the rest of the region, the importance of the preservation of heritage is an issue that is still under-devalued, under-appreciated and under-documented. To a large extent, the study of the region’s cultural heritage lies within the realm of academia and with heritage experts. Amongst the general population, particularly the youth, there is limited engagement with heritage. In Barbados for example, there is a sense of apathy towards the country’s colonial past and the school curriculum does not adequately facilitate the teaching of the history of the island. In both islands the proliferation of American values, culture and content has had a profound impact on the youth’s acceptance of their cultural heritage. Barbados has been in the forefront of behavioural and attitudinal change towards the region’s cultural heritage through its work with international organisations — UNESCO and the Organisation of American States (OAS) — and through its national programmes to sensitise the public about the importance of heritage. In addition, both Dominica and Barbados, as signatories to the World Heritage Convention have sought to put plans in place to develop their heritage sectors. Therefore, the implementation of Caritalents in Barbados and Dominica was a welcomed intervention. Barbados and Dominica, like many other developing countries view heritage as an economic driver and as a means to make the country sustainable and competitive. One of the successes of Caritalents is that it has built capacity within the heritage sector by providing a corps of persons from the media, the arts and culture, agriculture and education sectors with knowledge of their countries’ heritage and with skills that will assist in preserving, transmitting and translating that heritage to communities. The interactive programme was taught through tours, lectures, field trips and presentations. Through the lecturers from the Caribbean and Florence the trainers were sensitized to the various aspects of heritage-agricultural, tangible and intangible heritage. The trainers received hands-on training in various

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Architectural heritage, Barbados

methodologies including mapping, using film to create digital stories, interviewing techniques, participant and non-participant observation. Of particular interest was the mapping exercises that allowed the trainers to identify issues that negatively impact on a particular site and through interviews and observation, they were able to document their findings in digital stories and the development of maps. These trainers in turn worked with at risk youth from various communities to translate their knowledge and skills to develop heritage projects that either mapped or celebrated the heritage of the two islands. As a member of the Steering Committee, I was able to observe the participants’ immersion in the programme, particularly in Barbados and their attitudinal change towards their cultural heritage. This was particularly evident in Barbados where the trainers undertook a number of field trips with both the local and international lecturers into ‘Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison’- Barbados’ UNESCO World Heritage site. Likewise the eagerness of the youth attached to the various groups as they explored and documented their heritage in various forms whether through dance, digital stories or photos was encouraging. There were a number of notable outcomes of the project that should be mentioned: • all the participants including the trainers and the youth exhibited a better understanding of why heritage is important to the Caribbean and what makes their respective countries unique; • the participants acquired a better understanding of the need to preserve their heritage and the role of heritage to national development and identity; • the participants learn new skills in mapping heritage resources and in using digital technology to document oral stories;

caritalents in the caribbean • sheron johnson

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Architectural heritage, Barbados

• the participants have acquired an international perspective of heritage and about the possible economic benefits; • interventions were made at the community level that could auger well for the expansion of the project. The finals projects from the groups in both countries point to the wealth of research and documentation undertaken and indeed shows that there has been a transfer of knowledge and skills. The groups have investigated and documented a wide range of heritage resources and cultural phenomena including sacred and religious traditions, cultural organisations and community activities, many of which have not been adequately recognised and preserved at the governmental level, but which are important to them and their communities. The project has built vital networks, not only amongst the participants in both countries but between the Caribbean and Florence. Professor Gladstone Yearwood from Barbados and Professor Raffaele Paloscia from Florence as well as the many lecturers and fellow Steering Committee Members and the participants must be credited for the success of the project.

PART I The Project

the project

Barbados and Dominica: Two Tales of the Evolving Caribbean Due to the particular role that the Caribbean had in the history of relations between Americas, Europe, and Africa, since the time of Columbus’s expedition, the imaginary related to its territory, inhabitants, and lifestyles, has been given a huge resonance, which more recently has expanded to a global dimension. Any reflection on the territorial and cultural heritage of the islands cannot ignore this ‘classic’ imaginary of the Caribbean. Over time, it has been conveyed, reproduced and reinforced first through the colonial iconography, the later romantic literature, music and touristic promotion of post-colonial times, to the latest world-famous film productions that set up pirate stories in a Caribbean-inspired environment as fantastic as it resulted credible and recognizable to the widest audience. However, academic studies have started to unveil the dummy mask concealing the Caribbean’s real face, showing how much of the classic image of the Caribbean is actually the result of a construction initially developed in a functional way to the needs of the colonial system (Thompson, 2006; Mohammed, 2009). After the various liberation and independence vicissitudes that led to the current geopolitical set-up, its definition has knowingly continued, mutatis mutandis, to the advantage of the tourist industry, nowadays representing the main economic sector for the islands. Probably only the Great Caribbean and some other contexts, such as Trinidad or the islands still in French territory, have over the years demonstrated the political will and cultural capacities needed to influence and govern at least partially this generic imaginary production, through the expression of the distinct and original features proper to the creolization phenomenon. While it is certainly not possible to deny similar impulses in the smaller islands, such as Barbados and Dominica, their national parameters and the potentialities they been and are able to express make much more challenging the mission of pursuing similar achievements. Furthermore, the stereotyped perception of the local heritage, to which the economic structure of the two countries remains strongly tied, progressively widen its discrepancy respect to the evolving natural, social, and cultural actuality that rapidly turns away the physical and immaterial landscape of Barbados and Dominica from their consolidated frame. This impacts negatively on citizens’ life, by affecting in particular young people, who often experience problematic conditions, as reported in international studies (The World Bank, 2003; Bailey and Charles, 2008). Both islands have had a similar destiny with respect to their pre-Columbian history, with differenc-

•

Topic and Tools icons, made for labs’ design previous page Views of Dominica

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

es during the colonial period that, along with geographical conditions, contributed to their nowadays political, economic and social diversity. Even taking into account the very first native, Spanish, and Portuguese presences, during his history, Barbados was almost exclusively a Britain colony, absorbing over time so many English characters to deserve the name of ‘Little England’ (Frank, 1920). The eastern position respect to others islands in the Caribbean arch allowed Barbados to exercise a strategic hub and military function on the English domains in the area, as the first arrival port for slave trading and the principal clearing house for slaves sent from West Africa: the most solid legacy of that history is the UNESCO property encompassing historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (Ministry of Community Development and Culture, Barbados, 2010). The flat shape of the island and the ease in installing sugar plantations encouraged a rapid economic development and structured society according to the classical colonial system. The later collapse of the sugar market and the release of slavery instead generate the formation of the current society that pushed the country towards independence. In the Caribbean political arena, Dominica is an exception as well as a peripheral island with respect to the dynamics of exploitation and control by European colonial systems. Despite being a long controversial territory in English and French colonial logics, Dominica was not a totally desirable domain. Because of its mountainous shape, the natives managed to turn it into a stronghold of resistance from colonists. The mountains also make the land’s extensive exploitation impossible, partly preserving the island from the effects of the colonial epoch. Even after the definitive defeat of native populations, the British conquest was slow and discontinuous. This hybrid context allowed in Dominica the coexistence of diverse — Native, French, English, and African — cultures, finally synthesised by the Creole one, currently the syncretic and inexhaustible source of Dominica’s cultural production. The great change of the past century represents the end of a process of independence that lasted decades and culminated in 1966 with the transformation of Barbados in a realm of the Commonwealth of Nations and in 1978 with the proclamation of the parliamentary republic in Dominica. Today Barbados is leading the Caribbean tourism, with revenues totalled approximately USD $1billion in 2014, 519,601 long-stay visitors and 557,898 cruise passengers. The island has recently focused on high-sector tourism, with luxurious tourist infrastructures scattered across the coast, extremely high receptivity, and a continuous stream of visitors barely influenced by the alternation of the wet/dry season. Despite both islands are touched by main cruise ship lines receiving a constant amount of visitors during high season, while Barbados is clearly recognized and integrated as tourist destination, Dominica struggles to intercept a specific flow of visitors. There the tourism management sways uncertainly between welcoming yachters and realizing luxury resorts in the north of the island, and targeting backpackers and hikers’ with the Waitukubuli National Trail offer, a coast-to-coast route that allows visitors enjoying the amazing naturalistic heritage of the island. next page Views of Barbados

The volcanic, wild and mountainous nature of Dominica does not fit the idea of a Caribbean tourist destination as the Barbados coral reef does; the overall shortage of tourist infrastructure (including

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

an international airport) makes Dominica further less appealing to the typical Caribbean tourist flow. Howsoever a debate on tourism is rather mandatory for both islands. Tourism, estimable up to 70% of the GDP, is a central matter for Barbados’ future, especially for its ability in modifying in many ways the local heritage. Secondly, the excessive spread of urbanization from coastal areas to the inland (once merely occupied by plantation estates and sugar mills) jeopardizes the delicate environmental balance of the island, bringing Barbados on the verge to make alternative decisions: to devote definitely its territory to tourism, or trying to face the future In terms of sustainability. Furthermore, the tourism development has influenced the local youth condition. Barbados is visited mainly by middle-aged retirees who, during their stays, have often few or no contacts with local population apart from staff employed in tourism or, in the worst case, with people involved in sex tourism. This with the result that internationalization is not capable of producing an open and creatively active society and, in some way, there is no real possibility for young people to build constructive relationships and achieve personal progress out of employment in tourism sector. Ecotourism represents the next challenging opportunity for Dominica (Perry-Fingal, 2001). The local government is currently developing an elite tourism interested in the island as a naturalistic uncontaminated ‘paradise’, somewhat against the idea of a massive tourism. The growth of tourism industry continues to be along with the exploitation of geothermal energy, the ideal direction for the economic recovery of the island. However, the passage of Hurricane Erika in August 2015 has compromised the island’s internal communication, by revealing how environmental fragility may compromise the whole project. Land use shows almost opposite relationship with agriculture in the two islands. Sugarcane plantations and related activities once dominated the economy of Barbados, by shaping its society and cultural heritage. Nowadays agriculture and breeding sector have dramatically decreased, dealing with the depletion of land due to centuries of monoculture. The impoverishment of agro-food production is not accompanied by a decrease in consumption needs, which go far beyond production possibilities because of increased tourist demand; the trend is confirmed by the proliferation of large distribution, with the arising of a network of shopping malls and the consequent de-structuring of retail trade. Virtually abandoning agricultural production and having fully implemented a large-scale distribution system have obvious consequences: the dizzying increase in imports makes the island completely dependent on foreign markets fluctuations and the rise in the cost of living — already exacerbated by the tourist pressure — generates the rise in prices for real estate and other sectors. Another consequence is the disappearance agricultural knowledge among young people as well as increasingly difficult access to land for the new generations. Dominica’s agriculture reached its present shape with the 1990s’ bananas industry downturn, which in fact greatly reduced the volume of agricultural exports market to running through a permanent crisis, apart virtuous examples as bay oil commerce. Thus Dominica’s agro-food production is still linked to the concept of subsistence, as part of a weak economy that meanwhile guarantees food security and

the project

income stability to a large part of the population. The distribution system is based on the small familiar business that uses markets (essentially Roseau and Portsmouth) as hubs to sell rural overproduction. The farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s figure is socially recognized and respected, rural skills are quite widespread and the property of a plot of land where to implement a heterogeneous cultivation is still considered, along with a house, the desirable basic wealth by many young people. In both islands, natural, agricultural and built landscape is threatened by environmental fragility as another element impacting on juvenile condition. Those territories are fragile both morphologically and from the anthropic point of view, because their geological conformation has a relatively recent and well-defined history. Barbados is a coral island formed by the ocean floor lifting. The island does not have significant mountain ranges, this affecting the level of rainfalls and the speed with which waters leave the mainland. Decrease in precipitation, run-off and soil moisture coupled with an increase in evaporation and temperatures affect the recharge to the aquifers and water availability. Dominica is a volcanic island with very high reliefs mostly formed by non-coated pyroclastic material. In addition to the hills intercepting rainfalls, its conformation suffers from hydrogeological disruption with landslides and mud waterfalls due to slipping in the case of heavy rain precipitation. In line with climate change projections, high destructive meteorological phenomena have become much more frequent in recent years, while sea level rise is yet a concrete threat. The entity of related damages is influenced by anthropogenic factors weakening both islands. In fact, building modalities do not take into account appropriately the land characteristics, and choice of settlement sites often does not save watercourses margins and flooding areas. Barbados has not experienced catastrophic hurricanes since the 1950s. However, changes in rainfall patterns could result in more flooding especially in the coastal areas, precisely where many of the residential and touristic infrastructures are established. In Dominica, the land property logic predominates in choosing where to build. The implementation of planning tools is slowed by the extreme unpopularity of restrictions to the use of land for housing or cultivation, as the local custom provides. It is important to note that information on proper land management is not widespread among youths. The impairment of knowledge on land management is one of the facets of the increasing gap between the territory, its features and history, and the local culture. The mix of intertwined African, European and Caribbean influences produced in centuries a richness of peculiar cultural expressions recognizable in dialects, architecture, music and dance, religious manifestations, handicrafts, and culinary traditions that, in the wave of globalisation, progressively lose meanings and contact with origins. This is partly due to pursuing a cultural â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;normalisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; functional to the touristic exploitation, as may be testified by some major events as the Crop Over in Barbados and the Carnival in Dominica, or by the difficulties in preserving the traditional architectural typologies (Honychurch, 2000) compared to the standardisation of accommodation facilities. Behind the static postcards of white beaches and lush rainforests sought by the actual masses (Barbados)

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

or the desired elites (Dominica) of the new touristic ‘colonisation’, the real physical and cultural landscape of the two islands evolves rapidly. The young people undergo this uncertain transformation, facing the difficult task of deciphering the actual consistency of local heritage resources to gain greater awareness in the search and choice of more consistent life opportunities. Whether it will mean staying rooted in the islands or venturing a projection to the global sphere, fostering them to unveil the current Caribbean’s true face may switch their role from victims to protagonists of change. Trying to Change the Perspective Thus Caritalents sought to achieve the ambitious objective of focusing on territorial heritage by the perspective of young people, by training them to look at it on a new way. Since the designing of the project, it clearly appeared that such operation would have been more significant by following some general rules: • including as possible those young people who currently obtain fewer opportunities from the social-economic environment; this in order to criticise the most the current ‘frame’; • enjoying as possible the existing knowledge and skills on local heritage as well as on working with youths, both at the expert level and by inviting adults to change their customary approach in dealing with young people by raising the share of involvement and participation; • proposing innovative training paths and tools for the study of the local assets, by making use conscientiously of an ‘external’ knowledge derived from the experience of the Italian teachers. This experimental training concept previewed a two-steps transfer of knowledge. First, the course was aimed to the qualification and specialization of education personnel working in the field of youth activities, having as the first target different professionals linked to cultural, educational and leisure institutions, both of formal and non-formal origin. Those initial recipients of Caritalents (called ‘Trainers’ for their recognized role in training activities with youngster audiences) were trained to the analysis, representation, and enhancement of the territory and its material as well as immaterial resources, with the goal to provide them with innovative skills through the construction of a site-specific Training Course. The half-year course involved two groups of local educators, in charge of educational activities with youth groups and namely at risk of social exclusion, and included lectures and workshops provided by the Caribbean and Italian experts in the fields of territorial heritage. Then, the professional skills provided to the Trainers seek to impact a larger range of social actors, targeting them through actions aimed at enhancing the awareness and knowledge about the territorial heritage. Thus the second target of Caritalents was composed by young citizens ‘in situation of risk’ (called ‘Students’’ in the project), which were involved in different activities by the above mentioned professionals during specific laboratories, with the view of improving their living and working conditions through raising their awareness and valuing the resources of their territorial contexts.

the project

In particular, a set of five months Experimental Laboratories designed and led by the trained educators with the support of the Caribbean and Italian tutors were implemented. The selection of the targeted participants was performed with attention to gender issues. During these activities, the main goal of the Trainers’ work was that of attracting the young participants into a collective environment based on the construction of shared knowledge and skills, which could facilitate the identification of new income sources related to the exploitation of local resources and knowledge. The highly innovative methodological and operative approach included technologically advanced and artistic languages, called ‘Tools’ in the project. Through the experience of Trainers, the Tools facilitate the activation of young people and their own redefinition of the heritage, by offering an access key to it in innovative and calibrated ways. The rediscovering of the Heritage is then defined as a ‘participatory method’, a sort of maieutic process that leads locals to find it according to their own experience of life as adults who know the territory, or as youngsters who start building its future. The project training strategy initially offered to the Trainers two types of inputs, both of which have broken characters over the given frame: a. endogenous, based on a local expert knowledge, which tries to further promote the knowledge on the territorial heritage outside of the academic environment; in this respect the project involved Caribbean university teachers and experts in sharing their knowledge at a non-university level (Caribbean ‘Teachers’); b. exogenous, based on previous research and training experiences with participatory methodologies that can be declined according to the specific context; this was achieved through the participation to the project of other — Italian and international — experts (Italian ‘Teachers’). Subsequently, the learning process continued to cascade: from the Caribbean and Italian Teachers to the Trainers, and finally to the Students. This, however, hadn’t to happen in deterministic ways: in fact, the innovation character and the openness of the proposed tools and activities made that the results were unpredictable, at each level stimuli were offered that were reworked, reinterpreted and appropriate by the final recipients. The expected results around which the project was shaped can be formally stated as follows: R1 — The implementation of two courses of one-year overall length, in the UWI locations of Barbados and Dominica, by training educators on the valorisation of local territorial resources with the achievement of official certificates given by UWI and UNIFI. This was aimed at contributing to the professional and vocational qualification of educators engaged in youth training through the dissemination of knowledge on local territorial (social, economic, environmental, artistic, cultural) resources;

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

R2 — The creation of Experimental Laboratories for the Analysis and Valorisation of Territorial Heritage, involving young people in the two Caribbean contexts. This was intended to raise youths’ awareness in relation to the local territorial heritage, seen as a resource for strengthening their responsiveness to environmental and socio-cultural critical elements, in order to be able to propose them as protagonists of change; R3 — The construction of a long-lasting inter-university partnership for training and scientific collaboration between UWI and UNIFI; R4 — The creation of a permanent network of university institutions, associations, NGOs and other Caribbean and Italian actors, thus also contributing to reinforce an inter-Caribbean network, in particular by encouraging exchanges on youth training and participation methods and tools. However, the serendipity ideal that led the learning process should inform the evaluation of its achievements too. Given the experimental approach of the project, aimed at ‘unlocking’ energies imprisoned in pre-arranged schemes, any output from project action should be assessed with respect to its degree of innovation and ability to ‘break through’. The project: Actions, Phases Basing on the above-mentioned expected outputs, the Operational Time Plan (OTP) designed and detailed a set of specific actions, whose implementation started officially on January 1st, 2015, and lasted for a total length of 18 months, with a subdivision of that period into three semesters: 1. Start-up phase, from January to May 2015; 2. The ‘Training of Trainers’ Course — Teaching Modules, from June to December 2015; 3. The ‘Training of Trainers’ Course — Experimental Laboratories, from January to June 2016. A summary of the various actions and the development of the three successive phases are reported in the chronogram of Table 2; the following paragraphs will account more in detail the second and third phases. Until the end of August 2015, when Hurricane Erika stroked the Caribbean area, the Program took place with a substantially regular pace. The delays and the partial blockage of teaching activities imposed by the natural catastrophe motivated a request of extension (with no additional costs) for the program deadline to December 31st, 2016. Nevertheless, the central actions provided by the OTP were substantially carried out in planned time, being postponed to the end of 2016 only the realization of the final dissemination meetings, and still having to be completed exclusively some assessment and technical functions. Finally, a further extension until June 30th, 2017 was lately agreed with MAECI in order to allow the completion of the administrative closing of the project, postponed because of a strong delay in the funds transfer. In these additional time, the collection, arrangement, and process-

the project

ing of all documentary materials have been carried out in order to elaborate scientific publications and other dissemination products suitable for providing interpretations and specific assessments of the impact of the project on the targeted socio-territorial contexts. Especially, the project’s independent external evaluation has been realised taking into account the data gathered in four different locations (Rome and Florence in Italy, and the islands of Barbados and Dominica in the Caribbean area). The entrusted expert evaluator, Dr. Arch. Giovanni Allegretti (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal), carried out that function through interviews with the main actors and the examination of reports and produced documents. The section ‘External Evaluation’ of this book includes a synthesis of his remarks. The indicated period was invested also in adequate studies and analyses aimed at a subsequent phase of research and development that would take into account the network of relations established with the territories covered by the project. This will allow exploring the possibilities and conditions for its replication or continuation. Partnership and Organisation This project in partnership with UWI arises out of the experience gained by LabPSM in carrying out study and training activities in the field of the Territorial Heritage, and in particular the interest shown by Central American and CARICOM countries in issues concerning the preservation and rational exploitation of the national heritage with the active participation of the resident population. Caritalents was consistent with previous actions, as the Youth-INNOVATION project — a Caribbean Network for Youth Development, funded by the Italian Technical Cooperation Department and implemented by the UNDP Barbados Office. UWI, at its three campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, provided institutional support to the Youth-IN program. Indeed, the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI) at the Cave Hill Campus (Barbados) has produced, in partnership with Youth-IN, a series of innovative activities in various sectors (television journalism, documentaries, audio-visual productions and editing) in collaboration with Italian centres of excellence such as Rai3 and the Università La Sapienza in Rome. In the first five months of 2015, the start-up phase has been implemented, with detailed programming of the project and its launch in the two islands. More in detail, during that period the Memorandum of Understanding, intended to frame the interuniversity partnership, was signed between UNIFI and UWI. The universities ran the project according to the organization chart represented in Table 4: the action of the two academic partners (UWI being based on the two islands with different headquarters and organizations) received guidance by the Coordinators and was supported by the international members of the Steering Committee. Its members were appointed in agreement with the Caribbean partner. Other functions and tasks were equally distributed as possible to operatives, Tutors and teaching per-

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

functions/countries

italy

financing

maeci/aics italian agency for development cooperation

coordination

planning/organization/ scientific control

barbados

dominica

unifi/dida cash and in-kind contribution

uwi/ebcci in-kind contribution

uwi/oc in-kind contribution

unifi/dida university of florence/ department of architecture

uwi/ebcci university of the west indies/ errol barrow centre for creative imagination

uwi/oc university of the west indies/ open campus dominica

general coordinator

caribbean coordinator

steering committee six representatives of italy/maeci, unifi — barbados/uwi ebcci, ministry of culture — dominica/2 uwi open campus

administration

logistics/bureaucracy/budget/ international logistics

administration office bursary

secretary administration office focal point barbados

implementation

lectures/workshops/ experimental laboratories

12 italian

experts —

administration office focal point dominica

teachers barbadian experts —

dominican experts

coordinator of training italy’s tutors

project assistant

barbados’ tutor

20 barbadian

dominica’s tutor

trainers participants — 25 dominican

participants

isaiah thomas secondary school pierre charles secondary school

involved institutions logistics/support/ providing students

florence municipality

barbados museum and historical society

old mill cultural centre

fiesole municipality

barbados youth action programme

wesley high school

fondazione giovanni michelucci

graydon sealy secondary school

cobra tours & yacht services

agronomic institute for the overseas

haynesville youth club

dominica grammar school orion academy convent high school

outputs florence mid term meeting/ caribbean final meetings organization committee

evaluation dissemination

evaluation unit publication unit

>50 barbadian

students recipients — >100 dominican

bridgetown final meeting organization committee

roseau final meeting organization committee

recipients

the project

sonnel of different nationality, with respect to site-specific exigencies, by pursuing the three involved Countries providing a balanced and adequate contribution. Several preparatory meetings were held in person or video conference among UNIFI, AICS and UWI representatives, aiming to define the Program budget and to finalize and agree the Operational Temporary Plan (OTP) previously drafted by UNIFI-LabPSM with indications of methodologies, tools and teaching materials for the training course and criteria for the selection of participants in the ToT course. The ToT course was programmed and the partners activated their respective procedures for its validation as a Training Course (UNIFI) and a Postgraduate Specialization Course (UWI). The General Coordinator performed a first international mission, by meeting the Caribbean Coordinator in Barbados and Dominica, for the purpose of defining the Partnership Agreement, the logistical organization of the following phase, scheduling the training course and its public launch. After that, a call for application to the training course has been jointly drafted by UNIFI and UWI and disseminated through local media in the two islands. Finally, a UNIFI representative and a MAECI/ DGCS consultant held a joint mission on the two islands of Barbados and Dominica aimed at providing technical and scientific support to the local partner for the selection of participants in the training course. During the second semester, while the ToT course was implemented, the project experienced some difficulties in the areas of financial management and information circulation, producing a risky influence on the regular progress of the project and the full deployment of its potential. This was due to two factors. First, the two university systems showed a sensibly different functioning from the point of view of the administrative organization, having to answer different national regulations regarding the drafting and registration of contracts and the accounting of expenses. In addition, the international bank regulations on monetary transfers between the two islands prevented the possibility to make available a share of the budget to Open Campus Dominica in order to manage autonomously the expenses related to the course implementation. The bureaucratic constraints required a lapse before clarity was put on administrative impediments and possible solutions could be elaborated, shared and agreed upon by all partners. The Steering Committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s timely coordinated action has proved effective with regard to the necessary rearrangements. The second reason has been the late transferring of the first budget tranche from the donor to the local partners. This has led to the slowdown in some payment and management operations. In this moment, a new Focal Point succeeded to the one formerly employed in Barbados. These difficulties have been overcome mainly by virtue of a supplementary administrative and coordination function suitably carried out by the UNIFI staff depending on the need.

previous page Organogram of the project

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

The ‘Training of Trainers’ Course As stated above, Caritalents focused its interventions on the creation of the ‘Training of Trainers’ (ToT) course, entitled ‘Heritage for Cultural and Human Resources’, whose curriculum and certificate were approved by the Academic Senate of the University of Florence pursuant to the rules for the establishment and operation of specialization courses and post-graduate courses for professional development issued by Rector Decree on February 22nd, 2011. Moreover, by completing the course, all the trainees with an academic degree in the two islands would be enabled to achieve a post-graduate certificate from The University of West Indies. Finally, the registered trainees in Dominica who actively participated in the course received a certificate of attendance by UWI Open Campus. Such a course has been characterized by a highly innovative methodological and operating approach, which included technologically advanced multimedia languages and stimulating artistic forms, easily conveyed by young citizens. The specific mission of EBCCI helped to such integrated approach to languages, being the main creative arts centre of the Caribbean University seeking to ‘redefine the artistic spirit of the people’ (mainly dance, theatre, music, film and visual art) through different academic and outreach programs. Since the conception of Caritalents, the main goals of the ToT course were stated as being: 1. to contribute to the educational and professional skills of educators committed to the training of young people on issues related to making value of local territorial resources (and their social, economic, environmental, artistic and cultural dimensions); 2. to provide educators with innovative tools and readily accessible and attractive languages for involving young people and raising their awareness in relation to their environment and for strengthening their abilities to respond to environmental and socio-cultural critical conditions; 3. allowing a deepening of the cooperation between the University of Florence and the University of the West Indies (intended in its polycentric structure of open campuses in different islands) while fostering the relationship between a large range of different Italian and Caribbean actors (Central Government, local authorities, associations, NGOs, grassroots groups, etc.). Under this perspective, the teaching methodology of the ToT course was shaped in two main parts, with a two-step process of knowledge transfer, in order to progressively include competencies and resources from the local contexts: a. teaching and workshop modules intended for local educators (‘Trainers’), provided by lecturers and experts selected by UNIFI and UWI; b. experimental Laboratories, conceived and planned by the Trainers with the support of local and international tutors and intended to be participated by young ‘at risk’ citizens. During the second semester (from June to December 2015) the first part of the ToT course was held, by performing a series of teaching modules and workshops provided by Italian and Caribbean teachers. This part of the course had a duration of 180 hours and involved 29 teachers (balanced in gender, espe-

the project

dominica

barbados

trainers registered at the beginning of the tot course

number of confirmed participants

4/16

4/25

males/females drop-outs during the first month

trainers who completed the tot (including experimental laboratory and submission of deliverables)

confirmed participants holding a ba

90%

58%

average attendance at the end of tot

80%

75%

average age of participants

cially the 12 members of the Italian team). Out of the 29 teachers, 10 were from Barbados and 7 from Dominica. They provided teaching modules and workshop modules focused both on the characters of the local heritage, history, and culture and on innovative tools suitable to their understanding and valorisation (e.g. video, story-telling, photography, comics, contaminations of ethnic music, sports, etc.). The number of enrolments in the two seats, initially higher (73, of which 31 in Barbados and 42 in Dominica), decreased to that of the actual participants in the early days of lessons. The Caribbean teachers commented that this was due to the gratuity of the course (a very rare case in the local university context), which increased the number of enrolments including at the beginning people who were not really interested in the contents of the course and who almost immediately abandoned (6 Barbados and 11 in Dominica). In fact, the cases of dropouts during the course were more limited (5 in Barbados and 6 in Dominica) and are mainly related to inevitable personal commitments of the Trainers. The average attendance rate, more than satisfactory, was slightly lower in Dominica as a result of the logistical difficulties encountered by Trainers resident in the areas most affected by the hurricane.The implementation of the two courses show visible differences between the two islands (especially in terms of formal educational level of participants), although there are also similarities in the percentage of overall completion of the course (a bit above 50% for both the islands) and in the unbalance between women and men participating in the course. During the second quarter, the Italian teachers held a seminar in Florence and the Caribbean ones two meetings at their respective locations in Roseau and Bridgetown, in order to evaluate the course progress and agree on the didactics and operational/administrative details for subsequent phases. The Coordinator of Educational Activities took part at the three meetings. During the same period, the Trainers were asked to complete a personal assessment module for the course, which also produced useful elements for defining the design of Experimental Laboratories.

â&#x20AC;˘

ToT Course stats

5-6 june

barbados

dominica

11/12/13 june

18/19/20 june

25/26/27 june

2/3/4 july

heritage resources territorial ethnography for in barbados’ history participatory heritage/ heritage & culture/world mapping theory & methodology & cultural resources heritage site

caribbean vernacular culture

raffaele paloscia

iacopo zetti

trevor marshall

heritage resources in dominica’s ethnography for territorial history & heritage heritage/ culture/world & cultural resources theory & methodology heritage site & cabrits

heritage in the classroom/ dominica heritage resources; roseau historic district

participatory mapping

gladstone yearwood

raffaele paloscia

lennox honychurch

carla armour

iacopo zetti

4/5 june

10/11/12 june

17/18/19 june

24/25/26 june

1/2/3 july

gladstone yearwood

karl watson

17/18/19 sept.

24/25/26 sept.

1/2/3 october

8/9/10 october

15/16/17 oct.

22/23/24 oct.

cancelled

caribbean movement & performance

sound & music environments

caribbean soundscapes, rhythms & dance

grassroots comics as tool for social communication

representation & communication for community projects

yvonne weekes

claudia cancellotti

stefan walcott

simone spellucci

elena tarsi

caribbean movement & performance traditions

heritage digital stories

caribbean soundscapes, rhythms & dance

sound & music environments

representation & communication for community projects

grassroots comics as tool for social communication

raymond lawrence daryl phillip

gladstone yearwood

stefan walcott

claudia cancellotti

elena tarsi

simone spellucci

16/17/18 sept.

23/24/25 sept.

30 sept. 1/2 oct.

7/8/9 october

14/15/16 oct

21/22/23 oct.

•

Tot Courses

Both the Caribbean and Italian professors and Trainers have expressed a strong appreciation of the training proposal and, in particular, of its innovative scope. This has given confidence to the Trainers and the staff respect about the challenging next phase of the Experimental Laboratories, both from the organizational point of view and from the appropriate involvement of the young citizens at risk. The unpredictable and catastrophic crash of Hurricane Erika on the island of Dominica forced the cancellation of a training module and the slip of the following ones; likewise, the Steering Committee has decided to pause the course schedule in Barbados, in order not to create differences and discrepancies. Topics and schedule of that part of the training course are summarized in the following tables. An international meeting was held in Florence between the completion of the first part of the ToT course and the beginning of the design phase of the Experimental Laboratories. The meeting, originally scheduled at the end of the second semester, was postponed on 9th-12th February 2016 on the basis of the need to extend the ToT course modules until December, due to the forced suspension of lessons and delays from the Erika event. The meeting was attended by the representatives of MAECI (Head of the DGCS — Office V, and Project Manager) and UNIFI (Rector and Pro-Rector for International Relations), the members of

9/10/11 july

16/17/18 july

23/24/25 july

30/31 july

3/4/5 sept.

10/11/12 sept.

agricultural production, food, quality of life & identity

heritage in the classroom /barbadosheritage resources

craft design, local knowledge & material

barbados’ agriculture heritage

audio/visual languages as catalysts for dialogue between communities

using audio & video production tools to tell heritage stories

g.virginia lombardi

tara a. inniss

giuseppe lotti stefano visconti

henderson carter

giovanni attili

ron farley

using audio & video production tools to tell heritage stories

agricultural production, food, quality of life & identity

7-22 roseau historic district 7-23/24 caribbean vernacular culture

craft design, local knowledge & materials

cancelled

dominica’s agricultural heritage

jason russell

g.virginia lombardi

carla armour alwin a. bully

giuseppe lotti stefano visconti

8/9/10 july

15/16/17 july

22/23/24 july

29/30/31 july

2/3/4 september

10/11 september

29/30/31 oct

5/6/7 november

12/13/14 nov.

19/20/21 nov.

26/27/28 nov.

3/4/5 december

creating a timeline using imovie

vernacular city, public performances & identity

natural resources & environmental heritage

caribbean sacred geographies & religious cultures

territorial narratives & multimedia content organization/module 1

territorial narratives & multimedia content organization/module 2

jason russel ron farley

michele morbidoni

rita biconne

yanique hume

laura colini

lorenzo tripodi

natural resources & environmental heritage

territorial narrative & multimedia content organization/module 1

territorial narratives & multimedia content organization/module 2

rita biconne

lorenzo tripodi

laura colini

18/19/20 nov.

25/26/27 nov.

2/3/4 december

vernacular city, public performances & identity

national holiday

cancelled

michele morbidoni 28/29 october

11/12/13 nov.

colin bully joseph peltier

the Steering Committee, the project’s Coordinators and staff, two delegations from Dominica and Barbados (each including a selected representatives of Trainers), a representative of the Florence Municipality, Italian teachers engaged in the ToT course, and several cooperation experts, as well as a large audience of public (mainly students interested in the discussed topics). During three days, a number of guided visits to the cities of Florence and Fiesole were carried out in collaboration with the Municipality of Florence, the Municipality of Fiesole and the Fondazione Giovanni Michelucci, aiming at sharing examples of policies and best practices for the enhancement and valorisation of the local territorial heritage. On the closing day, a meeting of participants of the Caritalents project and other international cooperation projects was held at the new AICS headquarters in Florence (former IAO — Agronomic Institute for the Overseas), along with a Steering Committee meeting. The Meeting has proved to be a remarkable tool for presenting and disseminating the Caritalents specific approach to development cooperation both to experts and a wider public, by gathering interest from numerous participants and valuable contributions on the addressed issues and methodologies. That event highly contributed to the creation of a permanent network of university institutions other Caribbean and Italian actors, starting from mutual contacts and partnership established during the ac-

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

tivities of the ToT and inviting foreign guest interested in the cooperation with Caribbean countries in several of its events. A specific effort was done with the Seminar held at the new seat of MAECI/AIC on February 12th, 2016 (at the end of the mid-term event in Florence), which made the project dialogue with a larger series of international projects of cooperation. At the end of the first semester, exercises were carried out by the Trainers to simulate the formation of working groups, the choice of topics for the following phase of the Experimental Laboratories and the definition of teaching tools. This represented a first moment where local participants were allowed to re-elaborate concepts and methodologies learned from the international experts following an autonomous self-organization pattern. The Experimental Laboratories: Training the Youth Participation The third semester was devoted to the implementation of the Experimental Laboratories with the young participants. This phase of the project was led by the Coordinator of Training Activities as Tutor in Barbados, by the second Italian Tutor for Dominica and by the two new figures of the ‘Local Tutors’ introduced during work to provide an adequate integration of laboratory activities to the local context, as well as by the UWI-EBCCI and UWI-OC staffs involved in the project. The two Focal Points, already engaged in supporting the first semester of the ToT course, remained available for subsequent project developments, by caring some logistical aspects. The second, more relevant, opportunity for the Trainers to autonomously express their own potentialities and capabilities respect to the presented topics and tools was the Experimental Laboratories’ design phase. Not only Trainers were to interpret the received inputs, but also they had to imagine context-specific workshop activities related to the target youth group they expected to involve in their laboratory proposal. This meant also being able to imagine the Labs structure as flexible enough to receive the likely criticisms and/or active contributions of the young Students, as well as to be resilient to unpredictable events. The accumulated delays partially affected the starting of the Experimental Laboratories structuring phase, held between January and March 2016, instead than in December 2015 as initially planned. However, since November 2015, the Coordinator of Training Activities and some of the Italian teachers had prepared and submitted to Trainers the general criteria and guidelines for the design of the Experimental Laboratories, by offering clarifications on the attendance and participation conditions required to the trainers and criteria for the selection of the young participants. The laboratories gathered different Trainers in a collective work, subdivided into 11 teams, 4 in Barbados and 7 in Dominica. The design of the laboratories was carried out within the various groups of Trainers collectively in Barbados, and individually and coordinated in Dominica, and was promptly followed by the four Tutors and the two Focal Points through weekly review meetings. The concept of the Experimental Laboratories showed a different development in the two contexts of Dominica and

the project

Barbados, depending on the different ability of the Trainers to relate to the local context and the specific support received from the program staffs in finding opportunities of implementation and in involving youths. Indeed, in Dominica, in view of the considerable difficulties of transportation throughout the island, the formation of teams and the setting of the topics took place mainly on a geographical focus. The presence of many lower school teachers in the Trainers group facilitated Students’ enrolment and the definition of teaching tools, suitably tailored to the specific prerequisites of the approach promoted by Caritalents. Thus the project staff has been able to easily coordinate the action taken independently by the Trainers by managing and caring for the outward communication. In Barbados, where logistics was not problematic, group formation and the setting up of the laboratories were mainly on a thematic approach. Trainers, however, immediately expressed their difficulties in contacting and involving an adequate number of young participants for the laboratories; moreover, some of them filed complaints about the inconsistency of the preparation procedures implemented by the local staff since the second half of December 2015, due to a shortage of information sharing during the Christmas university stop. These problems were clarified and solved providing specific support since January, for example through the organization of a coordination meeting at the Department of Youth Affairs of the local Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, although some delay in operations remained inevitable. Despite time constraints posed objective difficulties in activating close partnership with schools, youth groups, and other programs already in progress, at this stage the Trainers — supported by both Italian and local tutors — have been able to successfully rearrange the search for groups of young people interested in the laboratories through their own self-contained channels. The structure of the latter was then defined by paying particular attention to the considerations expressed by the Students. Finally, in Barbados, the topics were the following: ‘Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison’; ‘Agriculture. Empowering the Future’; ‘My Barbados. The Soul of Barbados’; ‘The Landship. Rockin’ de Boat’. In Dominica, the selected themes and sites were the following: ‘Riddim Wózó’; ‘Bath Estate’ and ‘Religious District’, developed in Roseau; ‘Portsmouth’, developed in Portsmouth Area; ‘Dubique’ and ‘Geneva Estate’, developed in Grand Bay; ‘Bawi By the Bay’, held in Salisbury. Themes and activities of the laboratories are illustrated in detail in Chapter III. Because of the above-mentioned problems in transferring the budget, the launch of the laboratories in the two locations was partially affected by the unavailability of the funds provided for their implementation, which initially inhibited some Trainers in the programming and implementation of the designed activities. A different distribution scheme between the two local headquarters would have implied extreme bureaucratic difficulties. To address that situation, UNIFI intervened by means of direct transfer of funds and their management to the two Italian Tutors, timely enough as to enable the subsequent regular

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

expected outputs

actions

macro-areas

operational time plan elaboration

r.1

one-year courses on heritage for cultural and human resource training and development, one in each uwi campus

definition and formulation of the training tools, methodologies and materials

start-up phase

1.2

definition of criteria and selection of course participants

1.3

conduct of the training course on â&#x20AC;&#x153;participatory development of the physical and socio-cultural heritageâ&#x20AC;?

tot course phase 1 (lectures, workshops)

1.4

participatory definition of methodologies and tools for the realization of experimental laboratories

2.1

r.2

experimental laboratories for the analysis and valorisation of territorial heritage

experimental laboratories design phase

definition of selection criteria and selection of the young participants

2.2

launch of the cycle of experimental laboratories led by the newly-trained educators

2.3

elaboration of materials for heritage atlases and results presentation at the final international meetings

tot course phase 2 (experimental laboratories)

3.1

r.3

creation of a long lasting unifi/uwi partnership for training and scientific exchange

joint creation of a quality unifi/uwi roster of individuals and university institutes

3.2

organization and implementation of an international meeting in italy

3.3

organization and realization of international final project meetings in the caribbean

r.4

creation of a permanent network of university institutions, associations, ngos and other caribbean and italian actors

4.1

creation and management of a website to support the exchange among youths, italian-caribbean actors, and for the visibility

4.2

involvement of italian and caribbean actors active in cooperation on project themes

2016

2017

j f m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m j

1.0

1.1

2015

networking and dissemination of project results

the project

running of the laboratories. At the same time, funds for laboratories’ expenditures have also been significantly increased by adjusting the budget to the requirements set out in the estimated budgets draft by the Trainers for each laboratory, so that the activities could be optimally carried out. As it regards the logistical aspects, the unavailability of certain EBCCI facilities and equipment, due to the absence of collateral for the related management costs, has been overcome by finding alternative solutions within the collaboration frame established with organizations and institutions involved in the laboratories. The audio-video equipment for the production and documentation of the laboratories was provided to Dominica’s headquarters by transferring them directly from Barbados. In summary, thanks to adequate adaptations of the initial planning, the laboratory activities have been progressively regularized and almost all the laboratories have entered into force, although in some cases it was necessary to extend the period initially foreseen for their realization to recover the accumulated delays. The risk factor represented by the continuing logistical impediments in Dominica related to the Erika event did not have a significant impact on the subsequent implementation of the project thanks to the gradual adaptation to the new conditions and to the strong motivation of all the participants. The laboratories lasted from March 15th to July 5th, 2016, considering as extremes of the time period the launch of the first activated laboratory and the closing date of the last completed one. Each laboratory had to guarantee at least 9 hours of engagement per week, shared between field-visits, frontal lectures and methodological activities. The Trainers, self-organized within their groups, provided coverage of the assistance and guidance to the Students for that commitment in hours, to which are added periodical meetings of each Experimental Laboratory with local and international Tutors to verify the maintenance of a general coherence in relation to the established goals. An almost monthly meeting was also established to coordinate among them the activities of the different laboratories, having in mind a public open event to present to a larger audience the product elaborated by the trainers with the students. The overall number of registered young participants is 163, being 111 the participants in Dominica and 52 in Barbados. In Dominica, groups ranged from 10 to 21 participants, while in Barbados the smallest Experimental Laboratory had 7 participants and the larger 27, with different levels of engagement during the entire duration of the laboratory depending on the personal approach and interest in the proposed activities. To support this phase of the ToT course, Caritalents’ website (www.caritalents.org) was activated since January. Various operators, including Tutors and Project Assistant, have processed its contents by gathering the basic information about the first semester of the ToT course (calendar, goals, training modules’ synopsis and reports) and those related to laboratories’ themes, sites, and teams. The website was conceived as a dynamic blog relying mainly on connections with the various Facebook pages of the project, the social network chosen for sharing training experiences and teaching materials for teachers and participants in the Barbados and Dominica courses. This way, the website served as a communication element at the start-up phase of Experimental Laboratories, for the involvement of the Students

previous page Chronogram of the project

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

and to encourage the establishment of various collaborations. Thus, being substantially managed by Inter-University Cooperation Programme to develop expertise, tools and innovative training as part of youth policies in the Caribbean Region

Mid-term seminar: the Italian contribution

Experiences, results, perspectives Saverio Mecca DIDA Director W elcome Raffaele Paloscia Vision and actions Iacopo Zetti Participatory mapping Ginevra Virginia Lombardi Agricolture, food and identity Giuseppe Lotti, Stefano Visconti Craft design and local knowledge Giovanni Attili Audio-visual languages as catalysts for dialogue Michele Morbidoni On-going activities The lecturers of the second trimester will participate: Rita Biconne, Claudia Cancellotti, Laura Colini, Anna Lisa Pecoriello, Simone Spellucci, Elena Tarsi, Lorenzo Tripodi

the Trainers themselves through the social network, at this stage its function was primarily intended to the internal and local information sharing, more than to a wider external audience. The experimental character of the Experimental Laboratories and the variety of topics dealt with, the varied composition of the Trainers and youth groups, the different geographical and social contexts in which they have been activated are all factors that have led to a remarkable variety and articulation of laboratory activities. This way, the participants have been able to engage in a broad spectrum of themes and issues related to local territorial heritage, involving groups of people of different abilities and activating collaborations

8 th October, 2015 3.00 pm

Aula delle Pietre Via Micheli, 2 Florence

â&#x20AC;˘

Mid-term seminar in Florence, October 2015, flyer

with local authorities, schools, and other organizations. In most cases, the involved parties expressed their interest and intention to pursue the most appropriate opportunities for cooperation. At the end of Experimental Laboratories, 38 Trainers (16 in Barbados and 22 in Dominica) completed the course. The reports and assignments requested to the Trainers as documentation of the held activities were submitted within the deadlines and received a total positive evaluation from the project Coordinators. That way, the Trainers were eligible to receive the training certificates from the University of Florence (a ludicrous and sad event resulted in the conferral of a post-mortem title). UWI-Open Campus decided to deliver to Dominican Trainers different attendance certificates, graduated on the level and quality of their participation in the course, including those who have not fully completed the course. UWI-EBCCI, finally, has carefully evaluated the training achieved by the Trainers, and the issue of certificates linked to the ToT course took place in 2017. The Final International Meetings, the main dissemination events for the project, were postponed to the end of November 2016. Originally planned to happen in the sole Barbados, they were finally duplicated in order to allow the largest participation of trainers, students, representatives of institution and organizations involved in the ToT course and the Experimental Laboratories. Most of the participants in the ToT course were available to the Meetings organization, showing a gratifying and satisfactory level of interaction and participation during the preparation of materials and presentations even in the absence of a formal obligation to attend the project activities. In particular in Barbados, due to the known uncertainties in the project financing flow, it was preferred to avoid the total commitment of structures, equipment and materials from the local partner, by resorting to alternative solutions found at no cost through the network of relationships built with institutions formerly attached to the laboratories (in this sense the Barbados Museum & Historical Society highly supported to the meeting realization). Anyway, the EBCCI contributed to the use of audio-video recording equipment maneuvered by internal staff, and also cared announcements, invitations, and refreshments. In Dominica the meeting organization did not show any significant criticality, reaching all the goals for which it had been scheduled. As with the Experimental Laboratories, the difficulties associated with

the project

the transfer of funds between the two islands were planned and circumvented through the direct management of the budget prepared for the meeting by the Italian Tutor. The local partner contributed by offering the use of facilities and equipment, taking care of the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s publicity and providing transportation for some of the participants (Trainers and Students). The Meetings included the public delivery of the Italian training certificates; thus, beside of presenting the project contents and delivering the first remarks on its results, the two-days final meetings marked with a scientific perspective but also with a celebratory and festive spirit the official closure of the training activities on the two islands. In the eight months passed between the end of the laboratories and the closure of the project, some incipient middle-term impacts started to make themselves already visible. In the two islands, the Experimental Laboratories were the main opportunity to enter in contact with local grassroots organizations and community-based ones. In some cases, local pre-existing cultural groups absorbed some of the students of the Experimental Laboratories that wanted to continue to do activities in the field experienced during Caritalents. Many participants, local operators and representatives of the involved organizations expressed and agreed on the idea of giving continuity to some laboratories, through the creation of new movements or social groups supported by an expected replication of the program.

PART II The Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Contribution

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

testing the experts' perspective

The teaching modules represented the moment of the ToT course, where Barbadian, Dominican and Italian Teachers, through frontal lessons, workshops, exercises, and visits, cared for the transfer of expert knowledge to the Trainers. Teachers, all of whom coming from individual paths of remarkable academic or professional quality, shared the origin, meaning and ultimate goals of Caritalents, in keeping with the participatory and grass-root approach proposed by the project. Attention was focused on a twofold challenging mission: the need to adapt the usual techniques and teaching methods, aimed at producing high-level skills, to a generally non-academic audience; and, the care of structuring the training proposal in view of the subsequent involvement in the workshops of other recipients of the project in addition to the Trainers: young people and local communities. The first lessons addressed the most general topics of the course, clarifying its meaning and objectives. Raffaele Paloscia, full professor at UNIFI, director of LabPSM and responsible for the international relations of DIDA, as General Coordinator and very first deviser of Caritalents introduced the participants to the “Territorial Heritage: Theory & Methodology”. Gladstone Yearwood, full professor at UWI, Director of EBCCI, as Caribbean Coordinator of the project presented “Ethnography for Heritage and Cultural Resources”. The modules were delivered by Lennox Honychurch, the most noted historian in Dominica (“Heritage Resources in Dominica’s History and Culture — World Heritage Site & Cabrits Garrison”) and Karl Watson, Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, UWI (“Heritage Resources in Barbados’ History and Culture — World Heritage Site”), provided a conceptual framework with which to understand the heritage of Caribbean peoples and how the region’s heritage should be understood in the contemporary context. The Caribbean Vernacular Culture topic was addressed in modules delivered by: Carla Armour, visual artist, writer, performer, event & entertainment producer in UK and Dominica (“Heritage in the Classroom — Dominica Heritage Resources; Roseau Historic District”); Trevor Marshall, well-noted Barbadian scholar who made significant contributions to historical research and African Caribbean heritage (“Caribbean Vernacular Culture — Barbados”); Alwin Anthony Bully, first Chief Cultural Officer of Dominica for ten years and UNESCO Advisor for Culture in Jamaica for two decades, then Cultural Advisor to the Government of Dominica (“Caribbean Vernacular Culture — Dominica”); Yanique Hume, PhD at Emory University specialised in Caribbean cultural politics, African dias-

previous page Isles Antilles ou du Vent, avec les Isles Sous le Vent (detail) Abbé Grenet, 1790 By kind permission of David Rumsey, Historical Map Collection

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

poric religions and spiritualties, migration, tourism and cultural performance (“Caribbean Sacred Geographies & Religious Cultures — A Heritage perspective”). Topics related to the huge and significant field of Agriculture Heritage were presented by: Ginevra Virginia Lombardi, PhD and Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics at UNIFI (“Agricultural Production, Food, Quality of Life & Identity”); Henderson Carter, Lecturer in History at the UWI (“Barbados’ Agriculture Heritage”); Collin Bully, Executive Director of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Export Development Unit and Chief Agricultural Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture of Dominica, who was assisted by Joey Peltier, Dominican politician and expert in development through participatory learning (“Dominica’s Agriculture Heritage”). Themes related to Sound, Music and Dance Heritage in the Caribbean and the two islands were discussed in lectures and workshops held by: Yvonne Weekes, writer, actor, director, producer, performance poet, teacher facilitator and the first Barbados’ Director of Culture (“Caribbean Movement and Performance”); Claudia Cancellotti PhD at The University of Bologna, professional musician, ethnomusicologist, and independent researcher in music pedagogy (“Sound & Music Environments”); Stefan Walcott, PhD at UWI professional musician and Barbadian pianist, composer and academic (“Caribbean Soundscapes, Rhythms and Dance”). Some original interpretations of the Territorial Heritage were provided by the perspectives offered by: Tara Inniss, PhD at the UWI, and Masters in International Social Development at the University of New South Wales in Sydney (“Heritage in the Classroom — Barbados’ Heritage Resources”); Giuseppe Lotti, PhD, Full Professor and President of the undergraduate program in Design at UNIFI, jointly with Stefano Visconti, freelance industrial designer (“Craft Design, Local Knowledge and Material”); and Rita Biconne, architect and PhD at UNIFI, expert of Development Cooperation (“Natural Resources & Environmental Heritage”). The Coordinator of Teaching Activities Michele Morbidoni, PhD at UNIFI and Contract Professor at the University of Camerino, and Simone Spellucci, PhD at UNIFI and expert of graphics communication, who would be both tutors for the subsequent Experimental Laboratories offered their competences respectively in the study of urban informality (“Vernacular City, Public Performances and Identity”) and innovative participatory methodologies (“Grassroots Comics as Tool for Social Communication”); similarly, other tools facilitating people’s participation in urban and territorial planning have been widely explained and tested in the teaching modules delivered by Iacopo Zetti, Associate Professor at UNIFI, expert of GIS and participatory planning (“Participatory Mapping”); and Elena Tarsi, architect, PhD at UNIFI, Post-Doc at CES of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), coordinator of participanext page Downtown Bridgetown, Inner Harbour By kind permission of Loozrboy Roseau overview, Dominica By kind permission of Gary Bembridge

tory process with inhabitants of informal settlements in South and Central America (“Representation & Communication for Community Projects”). Finally, a number of training modules covered the use of digital media in heritage and community projects, both from a theoretical perspective, thanks to the lectures held by: Giovanni Attili, Associate Professor at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, expert of multimedia for social interaction in ur-

testing the experts’ perspective

ban planning processes (“Audio-visual Languages as Catalysts for Dialogue between Communities”); again Gladstone Yearwood (“Heritage Digital Stories”); Lorenzo Tripodi, architect, PhD at UNIFI, independent researcher in urban and media studies, jointly with Laura Colini, PhD at UNIFI, Senior Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning in Erkner, Germany, and co-founder with Lorenzo Tripodi of Tesserae Urban Social Research (“Territorial Narratives and Multimedia Content Organization — modules 1 & 2”); and, from a more technical point of view, with Ron Farley and Jason Russell, both expert Film Technical Officers at UWI, EBCCI, who shared the teaching of “Using Audio and Video Production Tools to Tell Heritage Stories” and “Creating a Timeline Using iMovies”. As can be seen, according to their competencies, the task of presenting multiple aspects of the local, Caribbean, and more specifically of the two islands territorial heritage, was mainly devoted to Caribbean teachers. Italian teachers, on the other hand, have focused on the tools for its exploration, sharing and enhancement, and thus they used often a more practical methodological approach based on workshops and ‘hand-on’ activities. This logical and someway natural setting however required coordinating the various competencies and approaches for an integrated training offer. For example, the problem of agreeing on terminology was shown: and at the beginning of the course, some of the terms such as ‘heritage’, ‘culture’ and ‘heritage culture’ were not clearly shared in their multiple meanings and needed discussion and revision. All Teachers have been required to adhere to a template resuming the contents, methodology and objectives of their teaching modules so as to favour the comparison of individual contributions. Despite the difficulty in bringing in a standardized scheme the varied contents of the modules, the templates utility was acknowledged with respect to the following objectives: • allow the Trainers to retrieve and use the materials and concepts presented during the ToT for the Experimental Laboratories; • make publicly accessible an overview, albeit partial, of the modules’ content through the project website. The challenging and original features of this teaching experience made it meaningful for the same teachers, who had to adapt their methods for sharing knowledge and skills with trainees, getting a better way of presenting and deepening the topics. Many Teachers proposed further their involvement in the evaluation and final assessment of the Trainers in particular in order to assess their readiness for the Experimental Laboratories project. Following this evaluation, the participants who would attend the February 2016 Meeting in Italy were selected. In keeping with the participatory approach of Caritalents and in view of the methodological heterogeneity of the training proposal, it was decided not to organize this evaluation as a usual school or university study, rather it was proposed to participants to compile a questionnaire that would allow the global assessment of that course phase and receive feedback from the Trainers’ point of view. Thus the report aimed mainly to be a tool of verification of training activities carried out in the first part of the course and at the same time to encourage the organization of subsequent Experimental

previous page Tot Course at UWI Open Campus, Roseau, Dominica

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

Laboratories. The questionnaire included the below-listed 10 key-questions and a space for personal considerations: 1. What are the 3 (maximum) topics of the course, which are most interesting to you? 2. These topics are related in some way to your previous training/working experience? 3. What moments of the course have been more pleasant and fun? 4. What moments of the course have been more difficult and not so useful? 5. What approaches, tools and methodologies would you like to explore more? 6. Do you think these tools and methodologies may appeal to the youth? Why? 7. Did you acquire new knowledge to be used for youth education? What? 8. What specific goals would you like to achieve using the acquired knowledge? 9. Do you know places, situations, groups of persons who could benefit from such tools and methodologies? How? 10. Did you found similarities or opportunities for collaboration with other classmates? In that occasion, Trainers said that discussion on cultures and recognition and respect for differences of the islands in the Caribbean was appreciated. The class conversations were animated and lively, and the course was perceived as generally interesting, stimulating, and fun. However, the Trainers also criticized some logistic and methodological aspects, complaining for example of some miscommunication on changes in the schedule or that the Italian teachers were ‘pitching too high’ with the sessions, lacking at their eyes a clear link with what they imagined would have been the ‘final project’ of the course. Actually, the lastly mentioned critical point is part of the obstacles that are relevant to the intercultural encounter between two educational systems, the Italian one and the Caribbean, but which subsequently have repeatedly demonstrated themselves as the limit and opportunity at the same time. Indeed, these limits have made it necessary to find bilateral solutions and arrangements for their overcoming, producing an in itinere mutual learning. This is what happened, for example, to the language incomprehension found between Italians and Caribbeans despite the use of English as the official language of the course, and referring to interpretations and meanings attributed to certain theoretical terms, much more than to heavy differences in pronunciation. Paradoxically, this kind of limitation has spontaneously led to focus on the communicative skills of the innovative media that were presented and experienced in training modules, which would be of great importance to the didactic needs of the next stage of the Laboratories for young disadvantaged people often placed at the margins of school and other educational paths. Some Teachers then voluntarily chose to support the Trainers at some later moments of the project, during the design and implementation of Experimental Laboratories, as they recognized the special value of the course. Doing this they continued and completed their training function. In the majority of cases, teachers wanted to personally testify their experience: the contributions collected in this chapnext page Tot Course at EBCCI, Bridgetown, Barbados

ter, presented in the chronological order of their teaching modules, account of some of the most interesting implications of the original training process proposed at this stage of the ToT course.

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

the uneven certainty of maps. mapping as a tool for community heritage recognition Iacopo Zetti

Introduction: maps and knowledge On October, 12th, 1492, Christopher Columbus’ three caravels reached an island in the Caribbean which he called San Salvador. This event, which changed the geography of the Earth, was possible thanks to a map that the seafarer carried with him. This map, drawn by Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, had been sent to the King of Portugal in 1474, together with a letter in which he maintained that it was possible to reach the East by traveling West, which is exactly what Columbus put in practice a few years later. Toscanelli’s map was wrong not so much regarding the shapes of the lands, but with respect to the dimensions of the globe, which appeared as far too small in comparison with reality. Columbus did not entirely trust the map and recalculated the distances to be covered and the routes to follow, thereby modifying the mistake. He was absolutely determined to face the challenge and convinced of the possibility of success. In order to set sail he fought long and hard against the opinions of doubting sages and then, once at sea, against his own sailors, fearful of the unknown emptiness. His conviction and then his attempt, however, allowed him to modify Toscanelli’s error enough to satisfy his conviction, reducing the distance to be covered to such an extent that if the Americas had not existed, he would have had no hope of survival (he calculated a distance of 4.400 km between the Canary Islands and Japan, instead of the existing 10.000 — Maggini, 2011). This brief tale teaches us that maps are tools of thought and not mathematical images representing the real situation of the Earth, and that, as all thought instruments, especially those of a graphic order, they show us a representation that is strongly charged with the intention of what we are attempting to describe through them. It is due to this that they are especially interesting as instruments for the definition of the cultural heritage by a community. In the history of geography there have been for a long time opposite interpretations on representation as a tool for measuring distances and geography as a cultured description of the relationships that structure the landscape and the forms assumed by the world of mankind. The alleged objectivity of maps, measured and in scale, has ancient origins, rooted in the philosophy that guided measurement and production techniques and which is related to the development of Florentine perspective that characterised the Renaissance art (Farinelli, 2003). Additionally, our everyday experience in the use of the said instruments (to find our way when in a car, to reach a museum in a city that is new to us, to trek in the mountains, etc.) makes us believe they are faithful representations of reality (Dematteis, 1985), without, however, asking ourselves continuously as to they instrumental nature. Yet in the tradition of urban studies,

teaching module participatory mapping teacher iacopo zetti barbados 6/25

6/26

dominica 6/27

7/1

7/2

7/3

attendance 15

previous page Dominica Thomas Jefferys 1775 By kind permission of David Rumsey, Historical Map Collection

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

at least in Italy, the use of the zenithal image in scale, typical of cartography, has been studied and used as a tool for distinguishing typical traits of a landscape, the qualities of a settlement, the cornerstones which keep a community linked to a territory, in other words what is usually understood as the territorial heritage (Magnaghi, 2005). Clearly a technical instrument, but also the basis for the self-recognition of the said heritage, which cannot be identified merely through academic studies, but through the participation of local communities. To draw maps of the heritage is thus a creative operation for the reconstruction of a collective memory, in which young and elderly enter a dialogue, building a bridge between the memories of a far away past and the everyday uses of the territory, and where the recognition of valuable places and buildings is superposed on the intangible heritage of history and memory. However, the traditional map sets limits to which it is difficult to escape: it is produced by technicians (often military) according to precise rules; it represents objects according to codified forms (captions and signs); it does not admit a plurality of authors; it is apparently timeless, or rather draws the situation of a place in a precise moment in history. Recently, in relation to the long time of the representation of geographical space, new and interesting possibilities have opened for introducing plural points of view to the practice of mapping, and for building archives of geo-localised information derived from different sources, in order to take advantage of what has been defined as ‘the potential of the crowd’ (Dodge, Kitchin, 2013). This is due to the possibilities offered by the use of online cartography instruments and by the increasing diffusion of locative devices which, through the use of GPS, permit tracing one’s own geographical situation (any simple smart-phone does it) and to accumulate geo-localised information (in the form of texts, photographs, recordings, images, etc.). This presents various possibilities for the creative use of maps and for the building of collaborative instruments useful for the definition and transmission of information relative to the territorial heritage of a community. The map can become plural, include more points of view, tell stories and not only give measures of distances between points. The topics of the workshop In the three days devoted to the workshop on maps a series of theoretical issues were addressed which tried to provide a quick, yet comprehensive, framework regarding the map as an instrument for the reading and description of the urban environment. The question of the alleged rationality and neutrality of these tools was discussed, trying to make evident the intentional nature of the map, for then taking advantage precisely of this contradiction which exists between neutrality and partiality as an interesting element for proposing the use of innovative mapping instruments to groups of inhabitants, young people and students, for the study of the cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, of their own communities. Briefly illustrating the technical process of the drawing of maps and its historical evolution, from the period in which aerial photographs were the main work-tool of the cartographer, to the present in which measuring and localisation tools such as the ‘Global Positioning System’ (GPS) have

the uneven certainty of maps. mapping as a tool for community heritage recognition â&#x20AC;˘ iacopo zetti

become the norm, we arrived to support the idea of the necessity to substitute the old traditional map, which theorises a single point of view, with new forms of complex, descriptive and plural mapping. This type of map presents innovative features, since it is rich in data which can be connected to a specific location and put in relationship to each other, yet at the same time potentially multi-dimensional, multi-temporal, and derived form a much greater plurality of sources. Thanks to I.T. tools of almost everyday use, the said map can be interactive, easily constructed by a collective effort and easily communicable (open and inclusive). The various possibilities offered by shared mapping techniques as an educational tool or as an instrument for research were analysed. All of this based upon a reinterpretation of the map through more traditional instruments (drawing, collage, the superposition of thematic strata to models, its use as a basis for participative discussions), and through the use of multimedia technological and locative tools which are widely available today, since most mobile phones in the market today contain a GPS and are capable of making video and audio recordings. The various work-sessions analysed the most useful tools for the activities programmed in the project, and a decision was taken to test the use of online collaborative maps. Naturally the test was based on the simplicity of the research to be done and on the time-frames, modes and especially the potentials of the tools. To experiment in practice helped to highlight the way in which these instruments permit working in an innovative and non-traditional way, not only and not so much in terms of the utility of maps as tools for the study of the territorial heritage, but of the points of view that the authors of the mapping develop regarding the environment of their everyday lives. During the workshop we revealed (rendered visible) the way in which stories, images, sounds and sensations interact to form our perception of the values of the urban environment. A heritage atlas originates from this discovery, connecting the material nature of the places to the intangible nature of the links that keep us anchored to them. An experiment Collaborative mapping has become a quite diffused instrument for some time now, even in the process of drawing of basic cartography (as the long experience of Openstreetmap attests, as well as the fact that its materials are also used in institutional projects, for example for territorial planning). The available technical instruments are many, each with its own features and more or less adequate for different purposes. Many websites were illustrated and experimented which use various forms of mapping for proposing contents. Complex sites and systems which provide online collaborative mapping services according to a variety of standards were also experimented with. It is clearly a universe in continuous and extraordinarily fast evolution and the participants themselves found original solutions and possibilities regarding the initial proposal, although most of them were initially not used to those instruments. The maps constructed during the course are very simple. A little more than a test carried out during a collective stroll, a sort of small Situationist drift (Debord, 1956; Tripodi & Zetti, 2010). The experiment was, however, later retaken in one of the various workshops proposed by the trainers in Bridgetown.

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

The resulting map, which in the spirit of collaborative web tools should always be considered as a work in progress, includes the many notes made by the work group. We can find some classical elements that illustrate notable objects from the built historical heritage, such as, for example: “Designed by Thomas Marshall, and erected in 1861, Marshall`s Hall is one of those historic buildings found in Bridgetown, Barbados”. In other cases the indications are more tourism-related and linked to the presence of bars, markets, and places for rest or entertainment. In the most interesting cases personal observations are combined with the geography of places and to encounters which are sometimes casual: “we know of Bread vans, but who would of thought about a bread cart. This was one of the highlights at the races. Something unusual but still spectacular”, and sometimes repeated: “When it is hot outside and you need to be cool, snow-cones are the best thing to have. You can have flavours such as ginger, coconut, orange, pineapple, blueberry and cherry. A snow-cone is never complete without milk”. What is highlighted from these experiences is the capacity to involve a group of young people around an instrument which we usually assume to belong to the realm of technology, but which on this occasion has offered the possibility to a small community united in what we can very seriously define as a game (since we are very young we learn that play is the first learning and interaction tool), to work on perception and communication regarding their everyday spaces. Building such a story is the first step toward becoming aware of the value of the landscape of one’s own life. From this experience othnext page Carte de l'Isle de la Barbade J. Nicolas Bellin, 1758 By kind permission of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

er more in-depth research on cultural heritage may be derived, but also processes of collective care of shared spaces, of putting together places, resources and energies, which are the essential elements for generating tightly-knit local communities, and certainly for involving groups of young people in processes of social and spatial enhancement of their own living environments.

agricultural heritage Ginevra Virginia Lombardi

Introduction Agriculture has, and has had, a wide range of meanings for humankind. Agriculture could be merely seen as an economic activity for income generation or as the primary sector that converts sunlight into food to meet human needs or yet as a multifunctional sector providing the society with jointly produced1 goods and services benefiting environment, societies, rural tradition and territories. Our present day dependence on agriculture is misjudged; regional and international trade and food imports have substituted the production of local food and the agriculture role is marginally and poorly perceived by contemporary societies. The local diverse traditional food production systems have collapsed under market pressure, selecting on the economic performances of the production systems (market competition and minimum cost standards). It is commonly recognised that agriculture plays an important role that goes beyond the production of private goods for the market; agriculture is a multifunctional sector providing the societies with public goods jointly supplied with private goods. It preserves environment and landscapes, local tradition and know-how, biodiversity and agrobiodiversity, hydrogeological asset; it empowers local communities, bolstering rural sustainable development and social cohesion in rural and urban areas, it ensures food security. Population concentrated in urban settles are net food buyers demanding food supplied by rural areas or by food imports. To meet the requirements of the growing population, Agriculture has been increasing its productivity by adopting high input production techniques and by cultivating high yielding improved varieties of crops. The main effects of this process are associated to environment hazards and to loss in biodiversity. In fact, more than 90% (75% since 1900) of crop varieties have been lost, 50% of breeds are lost and 30% are at risk of extinction. Thus our food system relies on few plant and animal species. Today, 12 plant species and 5 animal species supply the 75% of the total worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food demand; despite around 300.000 plant species are known edible, only 150 plant species are commercially grown for food (excepted spices). Only three cereals (rice, maize and wheat) provide the 60% of plant protein intake, while animals provide around 30% of human proteins needs (FAO, 1999b). The agrobiodiversity erosion and the loss of traditional crops threaten local knowledge, cultural heritage, skills and tradi1 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jointnessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; occurs when the production of one good or service is linked the production of another. Agriculture provides multiple outputs of which some are private goods (sold in the markets) and other are public goods not remunerated by the markets. Often in the agricultural production processes, the supply of private goods implies integrated provision of public goods.

teaching module agricultural production, food, quality of life & identity teacher ginevra virginia lombardi barbados 7/09

7/10

dominica 7/11

7/15

7/16

7/17

attendance 15

previous page Mango tree, Barbados Bread tree, Dominica Local market produces, Roseau, Dominica

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

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Table 1 Land Distribution Source FAO, 2014 Table 2 Food imports Selected food groups (kg/person/yr) Source FAOSTAT, 2006

barbados

dominica

country area (ha)

43.000

75.000

land area (ha)

43.000

75.000

agricultural area (ha)

14.000

25.000

forest (ha)

6.300

43.600

cereals & prod. (excl. beer)

meat (slaughtered) & prod.

fruits & prod. (excl. wine)

vegetables & products

milk & products

1969- 1990- 2001- 1969- 1990- 2001- 1969- 1990- 2001- 1969- 1990- 2001- 1969- 1990- 20011971 1991 2003 1971 1991 2003 1971 1991 2003 1971 1991 2003 1971 1991 2003

barbados

137

285

272

119

115

106

dominica

117

109

110

tion that are integral parts of local varieties biodiversity managements. “Local knowledge and culture can therefore be considered as integral parts of agrobiodiversity, because it is the human activity of agriculture that shapes and conserves this biodiversity” (FAO, 1999a). Agriculture in Barbados and Dominica It was assessed that Barbados’ agriculture contributed to GDP to approximately 3.6% for the period 2005-2010 (FAO et al., 2012); nevertheless its contribution has showed a constant decline from the 6.4% of GDP over the period 1995-2000 to approximately 5% in 2003. As the last 1989 Agricultural Census shows Barbados has a highly skewed land distribution pattern. Less than 1% of the farms (94 sugar plantations farms) hold approximately 78% of total agricultural land, while the other 99% are smallholders, approximately 17.000 people, hold only the 22% of agricultural land. So far this skewed land ownership pattern is persisting. The 90% of farmers owned farms of 0,5 hectare or less between them the 24% have farms with size smaller then 0,025 ha. The land distribution pattern shows deep weakness, it limits agriculture contribution to the national economic system and to the rural development, and it reduces productivity and production to supply local demand. The Barbados food import bill, which was estimated at USD 312 million in 2011 (FAO, 2015). Dominica’s agriculture has been very vulnerable to weather condition and climate changes but it is still playing an important role in the local economic system: it contributes over 20% of GDP and employing around 40% of the work force. Although, the trends in agriculture employers shows a decline in the farmer’s numbers as well an increase in the farmers’ age; the average age of farmers is between 55 to 60 years. Young people are not interested in agricultural employments and enterprises so the senescence of the sector is negatively affecting the sector ability to contrast production decline and land abandon. Dominica has a subsistence agriculture based on smallholder farming systems with a farm size ranging from 0,5-10 ha, producing a wide range of crops for self-consumption and the local and regional mar-

agricultural heritage • ginevra virginia lombardi

kets. Approximately 30% of the total country land is agricultural land, of which 54% is utilised agricultural area (1995 Dominica Agricultural Census). The agricultural sector is traditionally characterized by banana production along with traditional crops such as citrus, root crops, coconuts, plantains and other food crops, grown mainly in multiple cropping traditional systems, while banana is cultivated in monoculture specialised plantations. Traditionally banana was the most important cash crop and it accounted for 1,3% of agricultural exports in 1991. Since then the banana sector experienced a strong decline shifting from 23.100 farms in the 1994 to the 5.300 farms in the 2003. Dominica food import bill is estimated at around 26 million USD. Sharing experiences Dominica’s and Barbados’ food import bill offers the opportunity to significantly promote and bolster local agricultural production systems to replace food import and to supply Caribbean region market. This challenging opportunity gives the chance for tailoring a renewed and broadened role for the local agriculture, enhancing the sector’s multifunctionality (environmental, social, cultural and economic functions) and recovering the relationships between agriculture and the society, changing the role of agricultural activities in pursuing sustainable and inclusive local development. During the Caritalents experiences, we shared concepts and visions on agriculture. We stressed the role of agriculture in defining cultures, traditions, seasons, religion and territories; we shared our perception of agriculture heritage and our beautiful memories of agriculture. We discovered its linkage with the local cultures, the territories, the traditions, local skills and know-how and we conversed on the possible adaptations of the agriculture’s diverse social and environmental functions to the local communities' needs and characteristics. We introduced the history of agriculture and of our civilization and we discussed present-day agriculture’s main features based on the concept of Multifunctional Agriculture (MFA). The concept was mainly focused on FAO approach based on the wide range and on the different nature of agricultural activities, functions and contribution to the societies. The MFA is mainly associated with its provision of joint productions of environmental services and goods and with wide range of benefits to the societies like food security, poverty alleviation, social welfare and cultural heritage. This concept (MFA) opens up new innovative perspectives on potential ability of the sector to solve crucial problems of contemporary society acting in a local, bottom up approach to enhance social inclusion, community’s empowerment, sustainable local development. We shared some experiences undertaken in order to enhance and to extend the role of agriculture to promote youth involvement in agricultural activities and to meet society's requirements in term of environmental and social issues. Giving the agriculture’s situation of both Dominica’s e Barbados’ island and the innovative perspectives opened up by the multifunctional role of agriculture, we introduced some projects, tools and experiences focusing on the food re-localization and on the promotion of a sustainable social agriculture.

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

Sustainable public food procurement (PFP) is the use of the public buying power to address social environmental goals in the food production systems, promoting the re-localization of the food production systems and increasing money circulation within the community. The PFP has a multiplier effect on the local economy with wider positive socioeconomic and environmental effects on vulnerable people (farmers, consumers and youth) and on the whole society. We focused on the opportunities offered by schools canteens thought the implementation of farms to school programs. Farm to school is the practice of providing schools, preschools and cafeterias with local food as education opportunity to bring into the youths and their families attention to agriculture and its contribution to cultural heritage conservation and to health and nutrition issues (high incidence of obesity related diseases in both countries). It encompasses school gardens, farm field trips and cooking lessons to connect youth directly with food production, agriculture, local culture and territory. Farm to school programs support local and regional farmers in order to enhance food security in terms of local production and food access and creates synergies between urban, peri-urban and rural areas, establishing urban food strategies for sustainable city-regions and inclusive societies. Different actions can be put in place to promote sustainable public food procurement and farm to school initiatives, such as events or celebrative days for specific crop or production (sugar cane, banana, roots crops, citrus), school markets for selling local seasonal products, farmers visits to school to share tradition and lost crops, farm stories, cooking and growing techniques. Besides that, farm field trips or a short stay in farmhouses can be carried out to let students to have on-farm experiences and to experience landscape and rural environment. We discussed some options to bring local agricultural heritage into actions involving vulnerable youth, farmers and consumers in a re-localization of value food chain in sustainable local perspectives. Framers cooperatives, traditional production systems, farms diversification, organic agriculture, cooperative extension, market integration, PFP and farms to schools programs were recognised as key factors to implement the innovative MFA able to preserve and valuing the local agricultural heritage. At the end of our training period, we compared the two definition of agriculture each participant gave at the beginning and at the end of the course. The early definition were more related to economic/production aspects: “Agriculture is an economic activity for the production of varies crops: sugar cane is one such example”. Each definition adopted economic and technical words describing trade and production related characteristics. In our structured debate in Barbados, nobody connected the words ‘landscape’, ‘rural’ or ‘sustainable’ to the agriculture and the memories we shared in Barbados deal mainly with sugarcane fields, and grandmother or grandfather vegetable gardens stories. In Dominica during the debate, more knowledge on rural areas, agriculture and tradition arose and more knowledge on agriculture activities has emerged. In Dominica cultural heritage is still perceived as rooted in agricultural and in rural tradition and the current agricultural decline is seen as a threat for the local identity and culture.

agricultural heritage â&#x20AC;˘ ginevra virginia lombardi

fruits

milk

vegetables

cereals

antigua and barbuda

14,7

48,9

15,9

98,7

bahamas

45,9

95,1

27,1

99,5

barbados

78,9

78,4

28,5

110,4

belize

0,3

86,3

25,9

29,2

cuba

0,0

38,1

0,7

63,2

dominica

0,1

54,9

9,7

97,7

dominican republic

0,9

11,5

1,2

65,0

grenada

0,4

95,0

18,7

176,2

guyana

0,5

61,4

14,1

19,5

haiti

0,0

46,8

3,3

62,0

jamaica

0,3

80,6

5,9

100,0

saint kitts and nevis

33,8

81,5

68,7

100,0

saint lucia

0,6

94,5

76,4

100,0

saint vincent /grenadines

0,4

86,6

13,8

205,9

suriname

1,4

35,6

13,8

22,5

trinidad and tobago

11,6

95,5

50,4

103,9

1st round

2nd round

production*

environment

crops*

consumption*

food/growth*

sustainability

import/export*

society

economy*

life

farming*

human

plant*

food

rear*

nature

consumption*

recycle

industry*

experience/culture/heritage

livestock*

health

land*

landscape

â&#x20AC;˘

Table 3 Imports as a percentage of domestic supply of selected food groups. Source FAOSTAT, 2006 Table 4 Words used to describe agriculture during the course

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

At the end of the period both in Barbados and Dominica the definition of agriculture accounted for a broad role and for the diverse contributions agriculture may deliver to the societies: “Agriculture is a multifunctional sector that has hidden potentiality in terms of environmental protection and socioeconomic development. Through the agricultural policies we have the possibility to manage landscapes, environment societies, and to build human relationships”. To better understand the evolution of our vision of agriculture after sharing concepts and experiences we analysed and accounted the words used by participants in defining agriculture. In the first time definition the words used to describe agriculture were technical and economical words (indicated with star in the table) referring to the productivistic role of agriculture. The more frequently used words were ‘production’, ‘crops’, ‘growth’, ‘import/export’ and ‘economy’; while the last definition included words more related to environmental, cultural and social function of agriculture. The more frequently used words at this phase were ‘environment’, ‘consumption’, ‘sustainability’, ‘society’ and words like ‘cultural heritage’ and ‘landscape’ come into the definition. During the course, the agriculture’s vision has changed, shedding light on the multifunctional innovative role of agriculture and on the potentiality of this sector in terms of pursuit sustainable inclusive development and cultural heritage conservation, providing opportunities to youth and to the whole society in terms of inclusive sustainable development.

world heritage and the creative city Tara A. Inniss

Since obtaining the UNESCO World Heritage designation for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison

teaching module

in 2011, Barbados has not yet fully realized the potential for the inscription of the property to enhance

heritage in the classroom barbados’ heritage resources

and protect its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) as well as become a conduit for the revitaliza-

teacher

tion of the island nation’s capital city. The inscription of the World Heritage property coincided with a prolonged economic downturn that has meant that relative little public investment could initially be made in highlighting the heritage and cultural values of the site. Also, despite the initial enthusiastic interest of the private sector in the promise of attracting more visitors to the island’s major shopping hub, investment from this source too has been frustrated by the economic situation. With the exception of a few heritage-related projects — some involving restoration of heritage buildings and small districts as well as several sensitization workshops and public tours of the site, there has been few consultations with various communities about the World Heritage designation. Caritalents became one way that participants could engage with action research to support their learning in the programme and provide some critical insights into the development needs of the property to ensure that Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison could become a creative city. What is a Creative City? Creative cities are urban centres that inspire creative thinking among the people who live and work in them. People bring creative thinking to life and they become the human capital of a city’s economy. Over the past decade, small and medium-sized cities in Europe, many of which have historic urban centres, have been investing in the development of their creative sector. Culture and heritage are seen as key planks for urban regeneration and the development of the creative industries. In fact, throughout industrialized urban markets, the culture sector is seen as a necessary aspect of public spending that can stimulate job creation and economic development. Industries that promote multimedia (TV, radio and film) and events organised around the culinary, musical, theatrical and literary arts can encourage innovation and small business development in the creative industries. At the core of any society embarking on the creative economy, there must be talented people who drive innovation and who are skilled in art, design, fashion, music and performance. Policy makers and planners, especially those responsible for the built environment, must find ways to leverage cultural assets by designating spaces for the development of the creative arts, not only within

tara a. inniss barbados 7/16

7/17

dominica 7/18

attendance 15

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

schools, but also in public spaces that are used for recreation, commerce, and tourism. They must understand the needs of creative people to network, exhibit and exchange ideas in order to attract and retain a talented and creative workforce. This cannot only be achieved in a rigid education system in which grammar and mathematics are privileged above other life skills. Increasingly, younger generations need to participate in dynamic spaces that encourage critical and creative thinking through technology. Therefore, creativity-friendly spaces are needed for all generations to reflect and innovate. Research also suggests that Creative Cities need special assets to stimulate innovation. It is not surprising that like several small and medium historic centres in Europe where this model is being pursued, Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison displays similar historic and contemporary attributes for the successful planning of the creative city. Many of the factors that provided UNESCO with the justification to inscribe Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a World Heritage property also endow the site’s creative engine to propel its economic potential. The Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) highlighted that, Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison participated in the international trade of goods and the transmission of ideas and cultures that characterized colonial enterprise in the Atlantic World. Today, Bridgetown is poised to continue this tradition through the protection and enhancement of the OUV of its tangible and intangible heritage and provide spaces for creativity and the transmission of ideas and cultures in our globalizing world. Caritalents, World Heritage and the Creative City The Caritalents team participated in a two-part workshop on developing a model for creative interventions for the physical and cultural development of the property, particularly within Historic Bridgetown. The first part was an in-class session aimed at introducing the group to the conceptual framework of World Heritage and the historical development of the property and its justification for inscription. This was followed by a discussion of the property’s historical development as a creative city. The second part included a field visit to Historic Bridgetown where participants were led on a tour through Western Bridgetown commencing in Jubilee Gardens, a historic site of memory for the marketing activities of enslaved workers since the 18th century and now civic space. Caritalents Trainers toured the surrounding area including, St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Back Church Street, the Old Town Hall and Hincks Street. Participants were asked to complete a two-part assignment including a reflection on the field trip and a short project brief outlining their interventions for improvements to the area’s physical environment and its interpretation. They were also asked to consider how Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison could become a creative, livable city for artists and craftspeople with arts programming. Finally, they were asked to outline how these ideas may integrate in the restoration of at least one building or streetscape within the city. Trainers' responses highlighted a range of well articulated projects that were submitted with most of

world heritage and the creative city • tara a. inniss

•

Chattel houses Bridgetown,Barbados Abandoned building in The Garrison area, St Michael, Barbados

them considering the limitations of Barbados’ depressed economy at the moment. Therefore, their interventions were sensitive to the limited budgets of Government agencies, which forced several of them to be strategic in their selection of projects. There were a number of Trainers, for example, who identified that poor lighting in the city was an impediment to cultural development making streets unsafe for both physical hazards and threats to personal security. Lighting was also identified as a way of highlighting the aesthetic value of some of the city’s buildings. They concluded that if a lighting study was conducted to ensure safe pathways for visitors and to create ambience in the city by showcasing its architectural values at night, then small businesses such as restaurants and wine bars as well as theatre spaces and cultural activity could extend their opening hours into the evening creating a more vibrant nighttime culture in the city. At present, the city felt abandoned and unsafe to most of the Trainers. At least one student used video to record her experience walking from one end of the city to the other on an evening. With their permission, some of these experiences through photos and video

world heritage and the creative city • tara a. inniss

were shared on Facebook Group called “The History Forum” which is utilized by the Department of History and Philosophy at Cave Hill Campus, UWI to disseminate information about history and heritage. Members often discuss topical issues and exchange information. Comments from users resonated with these experiences with Caritalents Trainers. Trainers identified a range of issues including poor road maintenance the effects of overgrown vegetation and air pollution on heritage structures. They desired to see heritage skills training in conservation techniques developed for the site and especially for residents who needed employment. Trainers also called for more interpretative signage to create awareness about the historical significance of the city and its environs. In addition to these observations, participants also identified several interventions to improve arts programming in the city, including a programme of events, night markets and festivals. Overwhelmingly, Trainers wished to see Bridgetown’s cultural activities extended into the evening and they saw public spaces being critical to this development. Trainers also wished to see greater efforts placed on the restoration of buildings and streetscapes as well as affordable housing and workspaces dedicated to creative talent. Their ideas were shared in a project brief sent to members of the Barbados World Heritage Committee and it was hoped that student suggestions would be discussed during the Committee’s deliberations. The exercise demonstrated to Trainers that they each have a role to play in the enhancement and protection of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison’s Outstanding Universal Value. By being able to document the site through their own reflections, photographs and videos, Trainers became critical observers and analysts of the site’s potential for creative development. Having their ideas communicated to the public via online discussion and to the Barbados World Heritage Committee empowered them to feel like their voices could be agents of change instead of waiting for authorities to become more aware of the inputs required to make Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison a livable, creative city.

previous page Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill, Barbados

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

caribbean vernacular culture Alwin A. Bully1

The teaching module “Caribbean Vernacular Culture”, delivered by Dr Alwin Anthony Bully, be-

teaching module

longs to that section of the training intended to frame the local territorial heritage by inviting the partic-

caribbean vernacular culture

ipants to compare the experts’ interpretations and Trainers’ personal experiences, knowledge and point

teacher

of views. Dr Bully is a cultural administrator, playwright and director. His teaching module was mainly focused on Dominica, as he was the first Chief Cultural Officer of the island from 1977 to 1987, and, from 2008 to 2010, Cultural Advisor to the Government of Dominica. His dedication to the development of the creative arts is evident in his involvement in many committees and groups who plan and execute programmes, festivals and activities: the national flag of the Commonwealth of Dominica, designed by Dr Alwin A. Bully in 1978, can be assumed somehow as the most visible and notorious recognition of its commitment to the definition of the island’s identity. The first part of the module aimed at defining the Caribbean Vernacular Culture through by the analysis of development patterns as realized through the history of the region, viz. Pre-Columbian era — Early Amerindian Cultures (Tiano/Arawakan Cultures); Carib/Kalinago People; Arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean; French and British occupation of Dominica and the region; Arrival of Africans — the Slave Trade; Slave Societies; Emancipation; African Cultures; Arrival of Indentured Workers in the region — East Indians, Chinese etc. in second half of 19th Century; Creation of Modern Caribbean Societies — Cross Fertilization of Cultures; ‘Melting Pot’ Syndrome; Globalization. Then the Caribbean Identity was explored by considering cultural and historical influences and how the Caribbean people interpret and make sense of the World was examined through Patterns and Movements; Interactive modes of Communication; Life-styles; Aesthetics; Modes of Expressive Cultures. A classification of Caribbean Culture was proposed by Genre; Groups; Aesthetics. Similarly, a definition of Creole Heritage founded on History and Influences was advanced. Namely, the module approached the Dominican Expressive Folk Culture by the study of a wide spectrum of interrelated cultural elements, as described in Tab. 5. The subject ‘Dance’ was briefly discussed as it was already covered in a separate course module. Suggested references for these contents were books on history of the Caribbean (Honychurch, 1995, 1998; Badillo, 2003), and institutional documents on cultural policies in the Caribbean (Bully et al., 2007; CARICOM, 1997). 1

Edited from Alwin Bully's syllabus.

alwin a. bully barbados -

dominica -

7/22

7/23

7/24

attendance -

previous page Traditional carvings of a face at the Touna Kalinago Heritage Village, St Andrew, Dominica

caribbean unveiled • raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

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Table 5 Courses topics

language (kweyol)

games

mysticism

origin

traditional

mythology

structure

contemporary

beliefs and superstitions

usage

music

religion

dress

genres: folk, contemporary

cuisine

traditional

calypso, bouyon

foods, root crops, agriculture

interpretation

commercialisation

dance

festivals

theatre

traditional

carnival/masquerade

folk

influences

world creole music festival

modern

Topics were presented in lecture format with support of PowerPoint slides. Much space was provided for interactive discussion in the classroom. Trainers were encouraged to describe their own response to various forms of Cultural Expression in their local environments. Lists of the most prevalent art forms were mapped and methodology for identifying Cultural Indicators was explored. Trainers were to compile a list of Cultural Indicators in their community and to describe how best they manifest themselves as vibrant forms of Cultural Expression. Unfortunately, no fieldwork or hands-on activities were performed in this module due to time limitations and the lack of funding for travel to rural communities, where several folk traditions are still vibrant. However, in a related module — Vernacular Architecture, tutored by Mrs Carla Armour Thomas — Trainers were taken on a guided walking tour of Roseau. Participants emerged with an enhanced understanding of their Caribbean identity and the events and forces that shaped it. Their perception of, and attitude to the indigenous Kalinago (formally Carib) people was changed upon examination of recent research on their history and Pre-Columbian lifestyles. Traditional cultural practices which they previously took for granted and to which they generally attributed little or no value, were seen in new light. Trainers can now identify and map cultural indicators present in their communities and are more familiar with the historical events that influenced beliefs, attitudes and responses to present-day practices that are, in some cases, unique to their immediate environment. Information gleaned from the two lectures covered a wide range of topics, which equipped Trainers with a basic understanding of the role and function of culture in the approach to the economies of Small Island Developing Sates (SIDS). They are now able to more easily identify projects in the field of Arts and Culture that can be implemented by young/disadvantaged people. Such next page Celebration during Creole Festival, Roseau, Dominica

income generating programmes have the potential to make meaningful contributions in the improvement of living standards and to the development of the Cultural Industries Sector in Dominica.

Table 5 Course topics

caribbean unveiled â&#x20AC;˘ raffaele paloscia, michele morbidoni, simone spellucci

craft design, local knowledge and materials Giuseppe Lotti, Stefano Visconti

Design, intended as multidimensional system involving product, communication and services design,

teaching module

is one of the local development actors. In particular, design can contribute to the success of local hand-

craft design, local knowledge and material

icraft production improving technical and formal quality, providing an effective way of communicat-

teacher

ing added value, and identifying new marketing strategies. A careful reflection on the concept of local material/immaterial heritage, evolving through the exchange and the contrast with the diversity, allows us to overcome boring repetitions of obsolete models and, at the same time, it helps us to counter the process of globalization that provides solutions not in continuity with places. This overview is consistent with current market sensibility towards ‘unique’ products, representing expressions of local knowledge and social value of the production process. The development of a specific territory is strictly linked to a broader and deeper reflection on its identity. Especially in the first phase of brainstorming, along with designers they should be involved different local stakeholders who will participate actively in order to define ‘competitive scenarios’ according to a participatory process. The Design thinking appears as the appropriate methodology to define possible scenarios for the development of the territories due to its ability to develop project not only of products, but even of procedures, services, trade, pleasures, the media, labor relations. All this also thanks to the ability to turn setbacks into opportunities, observation capacity for the understanding of the needs (Brown, 2009). This methodology has been applied to the Caritalents project, an international cooperation between Italy and the Caribbean, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), organized in partnership by the University of Florence and The University of the West Indies, held in Barbados and Dominica. The project included a training program for trainers (teachers of primary, secondary and higher school), which carry out educational activities with groups of young people ‘at risk’ (the trainees, so called ‘Students’), to provide their expertise aimed at increasing their awareness with respect to the territory they live in and facilitating the identification of new opportunities linked to the exploitation of resources and local knowledge. In particular the module sees the application of the phases of ‘Empathize, Define, Designed’, typical of the design thinking, according with the objectives, the target and the timing. We have been working three days in Barbados and other three days in Dominica, starting from a few moments of real knowledge of the territory through visits to local artisans and sites of particular histor-

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ical and cultural interest. The goal of our activities was to develop a hypothesis of strategy (design driven) to increase the competitiveness of local craft production (both in Barbados and Dominica), starting from the Caribbean identity and from the tangible and intangible heritage, with particular focus to the social value of the production and to the teaching contributions. In detail, we worked on the topic of enhancing production from local resources (social, economic, environmental, artistic and cultural), providing new tools to the trainers involved in training their young Students, in order to strengthen their ability to respond to environmental and socio-cultural issues. All this with the participation of an interdisciplinary team composed of professors and researchers coming from different Universities, from urban planning to landscape, from agriculture to design. Our form has been structured through a series of lectures, during which we have shown some examples in order to establish a simple and easily applicable methodology at the beginning of the creative process. During the final part of the course, we have proposed a practical exercise aimed at establishing two different reference scenarios, one in Barbados and one in Dominica, working on the main issue: how to promote the Caribbean crafts (both in Barbados and Dominica), starting from local and cultural identity. Our goals, the target and the timing forced us to a limited work to the definition phase of the intervention scenarios. During the first part of theoretical lessons, we have been working on topics such as: Sustainable Design and Sustainable Development; Strategic Design (Product/Communications/ Service); Design for Local Sustainable Development (Territory as an added value); local identity (always changing); Material and Immaterial Heritage; the social value of the productions. Then we asked the Trainers to help us to define the identity of the place (Barbados/Dominica), by choosing keywords to combine with images, with a specific focus on the concept of ‘competitive identity’, beyond the stereotype (Caribbean not only as a crystal-clear sea, fabulous beaches and tropical beauty/Anholt, 2007). The work was stimulated by our definition of key words and images, as if to promote the creativity of the participants. In particular, we focused on the specificities of Caribbean culture as a Creole culture, which is a mix of local culture, European culture and African culture. The ‘creolization’ as an important source of creativity, perhaps the most important. We opened the brainstorming starting from a reflection on the similarities that exist between the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The two areas have fostered and still foster important intercultural exchanges. Romans, Greeks, Africans, Arabs, British, whites, blacks in the Mediterranean; Spanish, French, Germans, Africans, indigenous peoples in the Caribbean area. Caribbean Sea as a ‘tropical Mediterranean’ (Nicola Bottiglieri), but also highlighting the differences: “The Mediterranean is a sea that focuses, an inland sea, surrounded by continents […] The Caribbean, by contrast, are a meeting and passing place in a sea that diffracted, where composite cultures born from the creolization, from contacts between cultures” (Edouard Glissant). Why Creole culture is contemporary? Why it might be interesting for new models of development and the market? Trying to answer these questions, the Trainers have identified a number of keywords

craft design, local knowledge and materials â&#x20AC;˘ giuseppe lotti, stefano visconti

that were then linked to emerging scenarios, to demonstrate the contemporaneity of Caribbean identity (particularly Dominican), in an attempt to identify some strategies linked to the already mentioned product system (as a mix of product, communication and service), in the knowledge that part of the success of enterprises and territories starts from here. Beyond the specific contributions (some immediately applicable, others on medium-long term), the overall picture of the proposals appears articulate and convincing enough. There are inevitable contact points between the three directions of work (product, communication and service). The package of proposals was summarized in a final presentation left as a shared heritage of all participants. In conclusion there are many considerations to make, starting from substantial differences between Barbados and Dominica. Barbados is a place with a higher rate of growth mostly based on tourism, with not much handcraft production. On the other hand Dominica, with a lower rate of development but with a strong craftsmanship presence (specially plaiting and ceramics, also related to agribusiness). A real interest in the issues of sustainability (environmental, social and cultural) and enhancement of cultural heritage has been confirmed by the strong involvement of the participants (especially Dominicans), with productive exchanges and various contributions also related to the cultural specificities of each one of them. The experience has contributed to open new scenarios thanks to the application of specific methodologies of design thinking, as a method for defining possible ways and means for the development of both territories.

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barbados’ agricultural heritage Henderson Carter1

The perspective provided on “Barbados’ Agricultural Heritage” by Henderson Carter has been built

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on the historical, economics and social meanings of agriculture as an element of the Barbadian ter-ri-

barbados’ agriculture heritage

torial heritage. Namely, the module introduced trainees to three key aspects of Barbados’ agri-cultur-

teacher

al heritage — the sugar story, plantations and planters/labourers, and the non-sugar heritage. Opportune bibliographical references were suggested to support the study of the presented his-torical contents (Badley, 2008; Dunn, 1972, Williams, 1970) and other relevant aspects, including the Teacher’s ground-breaking study ‘Business in Bim’ in 2007 (Carter, 2008). The module examined the historical and contemporary issues regarding this heritage, with particular emphasis on how the Trainers can use text, documentaries and other media to provide refreshing analyses for public consumption. Two field trips allowed them to experience the heritage first-hand and discuss issues with the lecturer: a visit to Quaw’s Quest, the site of a plantation in the 1830s (Trainers were able to discuss the plantation labourers who worked on the site during slavery); and the tour of sites related to the history of sugarcane plantations and slavery. The participants received basic assignments useful to better understand the various dimensions of the island’s agricultural heritage and to develop strategies for its ‘exploitation’ and development. Thus they were to choose a topic on Barbados’ agricultural heritage for a 30 minutes documentary, by outlining the main content areas to be covered. Then they were asked to imagine how to reuse the old Bulkeley Sugar Factory for heritage tourism. Finally, they designed a plan for the development of the Newton Burial Ground. These activities, including technical aspects of documentary production, were intended to deepen knowledge and reflections on the agricultural heritage, and to expose participants to content areas of the agricultural heritage which could be used for the development of documentaries, thus paying special attention to the possibility to link the module to the themes taught in other modules.

Edited from Henderson Carter’s syllabus.

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videomaking. action-research experimentations in highly diverse communities Giovanni Attili

Within the Caritalents didactic framework, I’ve been teaching the module “Videomaking: action-re-

teaching module

search experimentations in highly diverse communities”. The main goal of these lessons was to provide

audio-visual languages as catalysts for dialogue between communities

students the main tools to reflect on and develop autonomous research projects based on the potentialities of audiovisual languages. In particular, these lessons have been an incredibly interesting occasion to involve students in a complex debate on a specific research case study I’ve been working on, together with Prof Leonie Sandercock (University of British Columbia, Vancouver), in the last years. What follows is an account of that research project, and its wider multilayered implications. The project “Finding Our Way” is based in Northern British Columbia (Canada) where two First Nations, the Ts’il Kaz Koh Nation and the Cheslatta Carrier Nation face ongoing tensions with the non-Native world. People dispossessed, deep historic wounds, and still unresolved conflicts are the ingredients of a story where two separate worlds, two solitudes, exist side by side, Natives and settlers, each with vastly different life experiences. This research is an investigation of the inconvenient truth of Canada’s apartheid. It is an exploration of the very process of colonization and its devastating and lasting consequences on First Nations communities. It is the attempt to understand the historic and ongoing situation of Indigenous peoples: dispossessed of their traditional lands by European ‘settlers’ (or colonizers); forced onto marginal patches of land under the 19th century land policy known as the Reserve System of Indian Lands; disempowered as a result of generations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of the Residential School system. These First Nations communities seem today to be facing a Sisyphean task of healing as well as of economic and social development. Here is a classic case of uneven development as a result of discriminatory practices that only in the past several decades were being challenged in the courts and addressed through legislation. But many First Nations had been so disempowered by almost two centuries of colonization that it is still difficult for some of them to actually assert their new rights, and equally difficult for the dominant culture to accept this assertion, let alone its material consequences. In this framework, “Finding Our Way” is an action-research experiment based on a communicative and collaborative planning approach whose goal is to encourage a dialogue among conflicting subjectivities. In order to achieve these goals we’ve been developing a 3 years ethnographic research aimed at building a polyphonic narrative through the intersection of multiple voices, Native and non-Native. Our intent was to depict a conflicted ‘voicescape’ characterized by tensions and multi-focal vi-

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Videomaking course, EBCCI, Barbados

sions, which are often antagonistic and irreducible. These voices were captured through a series of in-depth-interviews that required a long and intense interactive process. In this process we had to overcome our ignorance and intimidation, deal with our outsiderness, learn the arts of the contact zone and live through a space where different worlds meet, clash, grapple with each other. We had to progressively cross a vast cultural distance and jointly find a way together as co-researchers and partners, experimenting a challenging collaborative research approach. From this perspective we tried to till the field for an open dialogue to sow: many contacts were nourished all through the process where we progressively started knowing each other, building a mutual trust relationship, sharing and collaboratively discussing the research objectives and creating the space for deeper interaction to occur. We experienced this process as a humble and humbling activity: a learning journey. As previously outlined, the analysis was based on an ethnographic approach: a tool that is potentially able to penetrate the darkness of the unknown, to extricate tangles of forests, to make differences available for discussion. Nevertheless, ethnographies do not pretend to give an objective and neutral account of the reality researchers want to investigate. Every description is necessarily partial, opinionated and value-driven, and therefore political. We constantly apply filters to make sense of the world. In that forest we use a cone of light to illuminate what is relevant to us, through judgments and moral assumptions. From this perspective the ethnographic account we ended up building couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be conceived as the transparent revealing of an ontological reality that existed independently from us. We needed to abandon the obsession with a mimetic representation in order to experience a significant metaphorical shift: from discovery and findings to constructing and making. Constructing a story. Making sense of the world we experienced. The objective of the research was to open up a new space for dialogue about the past, present, and future: a dialogue that can potentially lead to action, to different ways of doing things, to alternative imaginings that can re-shape the fragile co-existence of two peoples, Native and non-Native Canadians,

next page Frames from the documentary Finding Our Way by G. Attili and L. Sandercock

towards reconciliation and partnership. What kind of language was the most appropriate to socialize a delicate story and to engage people in a profound dialogue about their conflicted communities? We decided to take advantage of the potentialities of filmic languages. As we already experimented in

videomaking. action-research experimentations in highly diverse communities • giovanni attili

a previous project (Attili & Sandercock, 2007; Sandercock & Attili, 2009) digital languages strengthen the expressive possibilities of ethnographies, connecting a qualitative study to the potentialities of richer communicative languages. Digital ethnographies expressively narrate stories, whose role is now widely recognized in the planning field (Attili, 2008). In simple terms, they are able to communicate narratives through aesthetic involvements, which are crucial in social interactions. From this point of view, digital ethnographies can be interpreted as ‘relational and communicative tools’ that “help building social bonds through learning and knowledge exchange; communicative tools that are able to listen to, to combine and to give expression to diversity” (Levy, 1997). These tools invite people to suggest modifications, further narrations through a dynamic knowledge management to be explored “not only conversationally but even through sensitive modalities according to significant paths and associations” (Levy, 1997). Understanding that Reason doesn’t produce the totality of our actions, to create real communicative space, and induce people to act it is not enough to ‘tell’, rather it is necessary to transfer energies, make sentiments and emotions vibrate, awaken latent aspirations, knowledge, and energies, rediscovering the powerful role of artistic and poetic languages. It is necessary to focus on the cognitive and communicative performance of aesthetic pleasure, a pleasure that is not an accessory but rather a central moment of every communicative process (Gargani, 1999; Decandia, 2000). This aesthetic pleasure is connected with the capacity new media have to contextually use different expressive languages. They are complex scores of multi-sensory idioms that can be creatively reassembled to express and communicate specific contents. Potentially, new media have as many epistemologies and languages as you can find in the world itself (Levy, 1997). They represent an extremely versatile and dynamic container, inside which it is possible to build complex ‘images’: signs and communicative

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metaphors, which are co-involved and interpenetrated. The creative bricolage of media and diversified messages produce something more than the simple summation of these elements: it is a digital poetics that is germinative of new meanings. The narration of this case study together with the projection of the documentary recalled a great involvement in the Caritalents students. Although the case study is undoubtedly rooted in a specific socio-cultural context, it helped students to focus on different and more general themes: racial discrimination, conflicts, land issues, differences and objectifying categorizations. Moreover it was the occasion to reflect on the construction of a collaborative research project: in this approach researchers and communities are connected by a mutual, collaborative and pedagogical relationship. In this respect, “participants have a co-equal say in how research should be conducted, what should be studied, which methods should be used, which findings are valid and acceptable, how the findings have to be implemented and how the consequences of such actions are to be assessed” (Denzin, 2003). They have a co-equal say even in dealing with ethically sensitive issues. It is what we call ‘situational ethics’ (Sandercock & Attili, 2010): an approach which transgresses a universal pre-established or pre-approved set of procedures. In this respect, the research cannot be guided by a monocultural ethical rationalism. Rather, it needs to be built in collaborative ways through a mutual learning process: the different subjects who are part of this process have a co-responsibility in defining the proper strategies to deal with ethically sensitive issues. This approach is particularly relevant in multicultural contexts characterized by a plurality of ethical perspectives, values and views. Finally, the lessons have been the occasion to reflect on how a filmic and collaborative research project could have been developed in the Caribbean context and to what extent it could potentially open up a new space for dialogue about the past, present, and future of this.

dominica’s agricultural heritage Colin Bully, Joey Peltier1

Dr Colin Bully and Dr Joseph Peltier, two Dominican experts, delivered this teaching module joint-

teaching module

ly by introducing students to the culture, agriculture, geography, and history of Dominica: from the

dominica’s agricultural heritage

perspective of the agricultural heritage, they covered political, economic, social, environmental and

teacher

cultural themes and examined the major developments of Dominica’s history. The module, initially planned to include visits to Roseau City, The Cabrits Garrison Restoration Project and Morne Trois Pitons World Heritage Site, was the first re-scheduled after the passage of tropical storm Erika. Trainers were encouraged to conduct a web search query on the main Dominica Environmental Issues and international agricultural projects (especially on the websites of: www.Indexmundi.com; FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems project; FAO's Farming Systems web site) and to explore specialist literature (Honychurch, 1995). The main topics were the following: 1. the concept of Agricultural Heritage Systems developed over thousands of years, as they represent a wealth of accumulated knowledge and biodiversity that needs to be preserved; 2. agriculture as the art and science of growing plants and other crops and the raising of animals for food, other human needs, or economic gain; 3. an introduction to rainfall, topography and vegetation mapping: Dominica Soil Maps and cropping patterns; 4. the evolution of agricultural production and agro-processing systems in Dominica during the following periods: • Pre and Immediate post Columbian: indigenous agriculture production system; • Colonization and introduction of plantation agriculture; • Transitional period from plantation to estates; • The emergence of Small Farmers with the acceleration of Crown land distribution schemes; • Establishment of Protected Areas and Land Reform Programmes; • Post Hurricane David Agriculture Programming; 5. the “Structure of Land Ownership & Land Distribution Patterns (1961-2001)”; 6. the emergence of the contemporary agricultural sector detailing its key components such as natural resources, access to land, the profile and bio-data of farmers, availability, access to, quality and productivity of labour, access to affordable capital. The current and future challenges in agriculture 1

Edited from Colin Bully and Joey Peltier’s syllabus.

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Rural plot, Wotten Waven, Dominica

were also introduced, including: the aging farming population and a greater involvement of youth in agriculture; securing national food security; technology and the modernisation of agriculture; global challenges of market access, competitiveness and production/market standards; climate change adaptation and mitigation. The planned achievements for the trainees on completing the module were as follows: • Demonstrate knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Dominica’s history, culture,  agriculture, and natural heritage; • Demonstrate an understanding and civic awareness of the need to help safeguard the  Dominica’s cultural and natural heritage for future generations; • Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and settlement of the peoples and  cultures of Dominica; • Identify and articulate key issues of agricultural production relating to Dominica; • Apply fundamental skills in the identification and interpretation of Dominica’s natural and  cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible;

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Compost production, Bellevue Chopin, Dominica Nutmeg drying and mace processing, Bellevue Chopin, Dominica

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the diversity of Dominica’s heritage and respect for Caribbean people and their cultures; • Demonstrate critical thinking and reflective learning by examining heritage issues in the context of the Dominica’s natural and cultural heritage conservation and its related challenges. However, the time allocated to deliver this module was too short for thorough exposure to the patterns of agriculture that evolved beginning in the Pre-Columbian period and their contributions to Dominica’s Agricultural Heritage. Participants therefore were only able to receive an introduction to the genesis of the land resource base of the country, the natural vegetation patterns and the evolution of farming on the island. Nevertheless, they are now familiar with the mapping tools (although they have had no practice in their application in developing farm plans/cropping plans). Participants now have an appreciation of some of the challenges that have been faced in farming and the responses to those that now become facets of our Agricultural Heritage. A discussion was begun on the present day opportunities in Agriculture and the challenges regarding cost of production, availability of farm labour, access to markets, the imperatives of globalization, etc.

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Local Banana production in ripening process, Rosalie Bay, Dominica

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Local production of Tobacco, Wotten Waven, Dominica

landship. ghost or immemorial memory Yvonne Weekes

Meeting the Landship: Skyjuice Barbadian poet and cultural activist Kamau Brathwaite posits that there is an aspect of Barbadian cul-

teaching module

ture that is “hardly-known but rich [in] fishing, pottery and sugar-estate cultures […] and of course the

caribbean movement and performance

peculiarity of the ‘ibo’ culture of the Bajan slaves (and their descendants)”. Brathwaite’s insight into

teacher

Barbadian culture have particular relevance to who happen to come upon this phenomenon called the Barbadian Landship. Indeed Brathwaite’s definition of culture seems most apt, described as, “the shared collective consciousness (and unconscious) experience of a people with submerged underdrones, ghosts, spirits, skyjuices, ancestors, immemorial memories”. So I meet the Landship. It is a Friday night and one of my students takes me to a place called Licorish Village a stone’s throw away from the city of Bridgetown. Sweet! In fact, I learnt later that evening that this was their ‘dock’. And not a trace of sea anywhere. There were two tables of people dressed in what seemed to me like British naval uniforms; specifically there were quite a few females dressed like nurses while two more elderly looking gentlemen looked like sailors from a ship. It seemed a perfect example of an oxymoron. But there were no signs of a ship. My student who had invited me told me that it was also the night when people would pay their ‘meeting turn’. I had never heard the term but based on the quiet exchange of monies that I observed I realised that it was exactly the same as the ‘box hand’ that my mother and grandmother had been doing in London. This ‘box hand’ meant that my brothers and sister and I could get all our shoes bought at the same time. And that mother would give her money every Friday to some woman (I never knew her name) in a dark head tie who spoke a form of English I never could understand. Sometimes I recall talk about whether this woman could really be trusted and there much talk about who would get their ‘hand’ first and who would get it last. My Jamaican friends called it susu, and I later learned that this had always been integral part of the Landship identity, a cultural norm that reflected a West African heritage. This was particularly useful for black people who did not have access to the money held in white banks. Anyway back to my first visit. My student immediately introduces me to Captain Watson (a rank he was at that time) and he says “Welcome to the Landship. We’ve been sailing on dry dock for more than a 100 years”. Some games later — I lost every game to the little nurses — I left wondering how many of these adept domino players had actually gone to sea.

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Responding to the Research: Underdrone Around that same time that I began reading and researching about the Barbados Landship. There were debates on a programme called ‘Brass Tacks’ and conversations — in which I mostly eavesdropped — by learned historians and cultural activists about the ‘lack of culture’ here in Barbados and expressing concerns that the Landship was dying and needed to be revived. I have read about ‘cultural visibility’ but not cultural invisibility. But I guess that when one is negotiating for space in a limited space — Barbados is only 167 square miles — someone I guess is deciding which aspects of the culture is worth saving; which aspects of the culture are most worthy of visibility and so this idea of ‘no culture’ is controversial at best and will continue to recur in the national debates about culture. So our Caritalents graduates should pay particular attention to these conversations. Reading a report on the “Country Cultural System: Profile Barbados” prepared for UNESCO and the National Cultural Foundation by Dr. Glenford Howe (2000) I noted that the Landship is identified as a dance and later as a ‘notable form of cultural expression’. Howe notes that the Landship is performed at ‘various social and cultural events’. This I later discover is significant as it speaks to both the performative as well as a way of presenting the Barbadian self. In that regard, it is important to note that historically the Barbados Landship particularly for the working class became a meeting place of empowerment where they could support each other through a society which provided the means through the meeting turn. Therefore one expects that with the tourism driven economy of Barbados that both visitors and locals alike would be more than aware of a country’s cultural manifestations. Many years later in paying more attention to the Barbados Landship I observed — uniformed group of mostly women, girls and boys and a few much older men marching out in straight-line formation, to the rhythms of the drums and flute of a tuk band. When the Drill Master called out ‘man overboard’ one of the dancers dramatically falls to the ground, and a nurse comes over to revive him with ‘quinine’ — which is actually white rum. There are many other commands or ‘maneuvers’ such as ‘rough seas’, ‘ship ahoy’, ‘wangalo’, ‘pull anchor’. The Barbados Landship is accompanied by a tuk band, known as the engine — comprises a bass drum, kettle drum, flute, and steel triangle. Research by Burrowes found evidence that suggests that other musical combinations, such as the string band. The only remaining ship “BLS Barbados Landship” is under the command of Lord High Admiral, Vernon N. Watson who I had briefly met when he was a Captain. Why was this traditional Barbadian masquerade which combined British naval with an African performance supporting rhythm and musical accompaniment a ghost to so many? I was so committed to being a part of this question that in 2003 when the Barbados Community College had to convert its term to semester, I used this as an opportunity to rewrite the curriculum and ensured that the Barbados Landship became a compulsory component of its Associate Degree in Theatre Arts — Introduction to Movement for Actors. At least I could be assured that every graduate of that programme knew about the Landship both in theory and practice, so that the Barbados Landship was not in fact a ghost. I

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Gentle Steps Arts Academy: Ship Ahoy! 2013 By kind permission of William Cummins (photograph) and Gentle Steps Arts Academy

wanted to play my small part in providing cultural visibility at least in terms of education and training. If Barbadians are to authentically represent the stories of its people, they must know how to tell those stories. Between 2013 and 2015 there was a flurry of activity — stories about the Landship — involving scholarly research, artistic creativity and a greater participation of individuals with the Barbados Landship which sought to ensure that the ancestors who began the Landship in 1837 was not forgotten. This period saw a renewed respect for this indigenous cultural form with of a play written by Winston Farrell “House of Landship” which won the Villa de Paris for a non Francophone play; an award winning dance piece by Gentle Steps Dance Academy entitled “Ship Ahoy!” which won the Barbados Manufactures’ Award at the island’s National Independence of Festival and Creative Arts (NIFCA) (Tanisha Nedd Gibbons & Meghan Williams); on-going research by dance educator and choreographer Gene Carson working with dance students of the Barbados Community College, who sought to identify how the ‘calls’ could be integrated into contemporary folk choreography; numerous lectures around the island and a publication by Dr. Editha (Nancy) Fergusson-Jacobs entitled “Full Steam Ahead! Locating the Barbados Landship” which made the link between Barbados and its African linkages, particularly to the Akan people. There are in fact many dance groups who have Landship dance as part of their company repertory such as Dancin’ Africa and the Pinelands Creative Workshop. All of these manifestations meant that young and old, practitioners and non-practitioners, Barbadians and tourists can experience through these various cultural manifestations the Barbadian Landship. But what is this Barbadian Landship? The Barbados Landship is a unique form of traditional Barbadian masquerade, combining elements of naval lore with African-Caribbean performance tradition, and dating back to the mid nineteenth century. Oral history refers to 1863 as the year when the community ritual of forming ships on land first began. The narrative remembers Moses Wood as the seaman and founder who decided to recreate on land the discipline and camaraderie he had experienced at sea (Burrowes, 2003). But the Barbados Landship is not just a dance it is indeed a significant historical and cultural movement whose organizational origins and structure allowed for the bridging of communities, allowing communities to be supportive of each other. Since blacks had no economic power it provided a mecha-

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Students presenting The Landship performance, St James, Barbados

nism for communities to support each other both financially (through the meeting turn in which each member would commit to a certain amount of monies each week affording each person to do something significant) thereby building a sense of social responsibility and empowering its members. Caritalents: Caribbean Movement and Performance There has always been concern about the survival and sustainability of the Barbados Landship. In 2008 when the Barbados Landship Association celebrated its 145th anniversary Sandiford Garner quoted in the Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (October, 18th, 2008) that the “government will do everything in its power to ensure the survival of Barbados Landship”. Thus the collaboration between the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies with the University of Florence in order to provide an articulated post-graduate programme to train workers in Heritage Studies, comes timely in my own understanding of the Barbados Landship. Indeed, it marks the two institutions’ own efforts to ensure that a cadre of individuals are given the pre-requisite skills to become cultural workers, researchers and activists. The module which I was teaching was Caribbean Movement and Performance. While most participants were not aware of the history, types of Caribbean Theatre and the socio-political and philosophical issues surrounding Caribbean drama even fewer of these participants had ever practiced the maneuvers or had even danced the Barbados Landship. How do we develop individuals who can contribute to a vibrant cultural industry through the preservation of this important heritage? I am happy to report that the participants found the theoretical sessions informative. The first area of discussion involved ascertaining the experiences of the participants. Most had not been involved in the performing arts either theatre or dance. Although one or two had either danced or acted ‘when younger’ and one participant was graduate of EBCCI. Participants were from all works of life, administration, communication, education, journalism, visual arts and a few were retired. The second activity placed participants into groups and each were given a short extract of a Caribbean play. They were asked to examine the thematic concerns and to identify the qualities which they would describe as uniquely Caribbean. The third activity asked participants to identify the emotional, physical, social, historical and political issues of the play. This resulted in a lively discussion about race, identity, language, Caribbean images and discussion about the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on Caribbean writers. The second session discussed cultural forms and the use and functions of ritual movement in telling Caribbean stories. This was followed by a viewing of an extract from Tony Hall’s play “Jean and Dinah”.

The third session was considered by the participants to be the most exciting component of this module and involved a practical session of two cultural forms: the Kumina of Jamaica and the Barbados Landship. Participants through a lecture style presentation were given a historical account of both the Kumina and Landship and then watched an AV presentation of both dances. The lecture of these two forms is significant in that the Kumina’s cultural visibility in Jamaica is not in dispute. Particularly given the fact that the late Professor Rex Nettleford within his company of the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica has spent their life’s work researching, writing and ensuring that Kumina is an integral part of the cultural life of Jamaica both in its original ritual form and in performance. Indeed, anyone who has studies dance at the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica will learn Kumina — it’s not negotiable. Kumina is not a ghost even to those of us living in other Caribbean islands. Naturally, I did not conduct the practical component of either Kumina or Landship. London: Montserrat. Remember. In fact, my co-facilitator was Mrs. Tanisha Gibbons, a Barbados Community College dance graduate. Of note, is the fact that my co-facilitator was herself taught by Gene Carson who continues to research and produce groundbreaking work in the use of the Landship. The participants enjoyed warming up using the drumming rhythms to the Kumina and learnt the concept of inching, working together in partners as well as the significance of ritual movement. Additionally, the practical workshop which focused on the African as preserved in this Caribbean form are evident. The participants were encouraged to think about the way in which their bodies responded to the movements; built collaboration and respond to the fact that it is a ritual form performed at wake ceremonies. On the other hand, the Landship focused on the synergy of both the European and the African elements. References to the sea is always a challenge to our ancestral memory. My own experience of seeing the dark night sea at Dover, England was frightening as a small child. If the sea is History (Walcott, 2007) then it is no wonder we choose dry dock. And if our ancestors ‘sank without tombs’ then let us stay on the dry land where we cannot drown. Despite our colonisers attempt to rip everything African from us, we may have left Africa empty handed but we did not leave empty minded. The session provided the participants with the impetus I hope to do further work in which they could link cultural and material development, develop their Landship dancing skills and be a part of the cultural education that is so necessary to ensure that the Barbados Landship does not end up being just a ghost of the past. This is indeed critical as these Caritalents heritage cultural workers go forward. I have enjoyed the journey from Hackney girl to cultural worker in Barbados. Let’s all work together to make the Barbados Landship a living memory.

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sound matters - matters of sound. sonic ecologies as pedagogic resources Claudia Cancellotti

Sound matters: the sonic dimensions of locales

teaching module

Places resound. The sonic dimension of places — their soundscape (Schafer, 1977) — represents an

sound & music environments

essential element of their geographical and historical identity. Both acoustic and musical phenomena

teacher

contribute significantly to inform our sense of place and to mark our experience, eliciting and sustaining complex cognitive, symbolic and affective processes. The diversities in the sonological competence — the level of awareness of sounds — and in the listening experience of people are closely related to the characteristics of their soundscapes and to the relation that they entertain with them. In the context of the surviving pre-industrial and indigenous cultures, where survival relies on the strict interdependence with local natural ecosystems, soundscapes represent an essential feature of people’s experience and understanding of their environment. In the present time, an ever-increasing number of unique soundscapes is submerged into the cloud of homogenised, anonymous noise that is the contemporary global soundscape. To the reduced diversity of local soundscapes corresponded a decline in their relevance and in the listening skills of people, especially in the new generations, more and more surrounded by a hostile acoustic environment requiring defensive, rather than listening skills. This pervasive process of progressive de-territorialisation of the sonic dimension of places involved not only the ecology of soundscapes, but also the horizon of local musical practices and genres — the world’s diverse music-scape. The relevance of the natural sonic environment in musical experience is very evident in some cultural tradition, where local musical aesthetics and creative logics are inextricably linked to the ecology of natural sounds. But all musical traditions, as complex symbolic systems articulated in patterned social performances, connect musical experience and expression with the wider environmental and societal processes, to create a unique configuration, a music-scape representing an essential element of the identity of a specific place and of its inhabitants in a given time. Matters of sound: learning with music Sonic environments and experiences, both acoustic and musical, offer a fertile ground for the development of holistic and inclusive learning processes. 1 The term soundscape describes all the sound events of which a landscape, a place, a space is composed, corresponding to the entire acoustic environment of our daily life, wherever we may be. In this perspective, the concept of soundscape transcends the one of acoustic environment, since it embeds the all spectrum of the acoustic experiences of a place in its natural, anthropic, cultural and technological components, including music.

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previous page Tuk Band and Dancers, mahogany bas-relief By kind permission of the author Ashanti Trotman

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At the base of this vast pedagogic potential resides the extreme complexity of music in its multidimensional nature of bio-cultural resource, located at the crossroad of biologic and cultural determinations and mobilising multiple human senses, abilities and skills. Music — a unique type of sonic experience exceeding the biological function of listening — is rooted in the distinctive listening posture and in the innate musicality shared by all humans, abilities which come into being music through patterned socio-cultural behaviours locally defined and determined. In fact, despite the ontology of musical sounds rests on anthropologic universalia, their inflection into specific musical systems, behaviours and meanings varies from culture to culture, sometimes even radically. A bio-cultural approach to music and to music education discloses a wide range of pedagogical implications and opens up the conceptual and operational space to a variety of new subjects, disciplinary fields, goals, strategies, materials and activities. The practices of listening, producing and representing sounds, freed by the limiting rigid framework of Western musical tradition and education, unfold a variety of new possible educational experiences, which give large space to the creativity of the trainers and to the experimentations of the learners. The methods and tools of creative music pedagogies represent a flexible, multidisciplinary and adaptable framework: creative music pedagogies can be developed departing from very simple sonic materials, experiences and behaviours — such as listening — and, thus, do not necessarily require a professional musical expertise or training for their application. Centring the educational process on the lived experience of listening and on the active and intimate relationship that it establishes with the inner and outer world, they provide teachers with a vast apparatus of procedures that can be easily integrated in the framework of holistic, inclusive and participative learning processes. Soundscapes’ investigation and analysis are particularly suitable for the experimentation of sonic pedagogies that, drawing on the approaches and methodologies developed in the fields of acoustic ecology (Schafer, 1977; Wrightson, 1999) and of eco-musicology (Feld, 1994; Titon, 2009a, 2009b), aim at increasing knowledge and awareness about the relevance and uniqueness not only of sonic matters, but generally of local natural, cultural and social assets and resources. Within a pedagogy of sustainability, the perspectives and means offered by a creative music education enable to draw attention on and emphasise the sonic dimensions of locales — with all their richness in implications and their complex interrelations with the natural and cultural environments —, thus encouraging the active safeguarding and enhancement of the unique soundscape of each place. Close your eyes and listen. Experiencing creative sonic pedagogies The topics and activities proposed in the framework of the Caritalents training-of-trainers project in Bridgetown (Barbados) and Roseau (Dominica) aimed at presenting and experimenting some of the possible pedagogical advantages of an innovative approach to music education, and to sound phenomena generally, in the framework of holistic and inclusive educational processes aspiring at increasing

sound matters – matters of sound. sonic ecologies as pedagogic resources • claudia cancellotti

awareness in rapport of local territorial heritages’ sustainability, while contributing to rise the awareness of the participants about the relevance of the sonic dimensions of places. The conceptual and operational space of the learning experience was modelled and defined by the notion of soundscape, which served as a hinge-concept that, relating acoustic and musical phenomena, consented a preliminary collective rethinking and redefinition of the subject and procedures of music education, delineating some general strategies for its integration into broader educational project and experiences in support of youth. The experience of listening, practiced in different contexts and oriented to specific objectives, represented a pivotal element of the learning experience, serving as a fundamental pedagogical support for the introduction and discussion of the notion of soundscape and for the further development of its implications in educational contexts, which was conducted both through presentation and collective discussions, both through practical exercises of exploration, analysis and interpretation of sonic environments and phenomena. Listening in fact, in its immediacy and simplicity, embodies a powerful and vast field of experience and knowledge that consents to achieve both specific and general goals, and it represents in itself a sound interdisciplinary objective for educational projects aiming at improving the ability of active, reflective and analytical listening of youth, whose sonological perception is more and more jeopardized by media overexposure and by the pauperisation and degradation of local natural, urban and musical soudscapes. The listening experiences and exercises proposed, drawing on the approaches and methods developed within the field of acoustic and music ecologies, focused both on the phenomenology of sound (such as the distinction between sound, silence, noise) and on the investigation and analysis of different types of sonic environments (from the classroom, to the city park, to the town), both on issues related to the topic of musical diversity and of its sustainability generally, and particularly in the Caribbean context.

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Reconnaissance moments during Sound Matters — Matters of Sound, Bridgetown, Barbados

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The debriefing discussions that followed each listening exercise represented important moments of the training process, allowing the sharing of perceptions and knowledge, encouraging cooperative learning and revealing a great diversity in the reactions, ideas, and implications solicited in each participant by the simple experience of listening. All the participants agreed, though, about the surprising intensity of the cognitive and affective processes disclosed in them by the listening exercises experienced, despite their minimalism. Moreover, these sessions of collective analysis and evaluation lead to the emergence of ideas and propositions concerning their possible development and application in the framework of a pedagogy of sustainability. A final exercise of soundwalking constituted a fruitful occasion for recomposing the different concepts and exercises previously developed in one collective experience focusing on urban soundscape (Westerkamp, 1974, 2006). Moreover, it introduced the spatial dimension in the acoustic experience, stimulating interesting reflections about the processes of documentation and representations of soundscapes. This consented to link directly the soundwalk experience with the issue of territorial sustainability and heritage enhancement, which constitutes the red thread linking up the multidisciplinary educational foundation of Caritalents project. Approaching the natural and cultural environment from an acoustic and sonic perspective enabled the participant to improve their sonological competence and to become more aware about the quality of their soundscape, the changes it underwent, its traits of resilience and of weakness and, last but not least, its environmental, social and political implications. At the educational level, it provided them with new perspectives and innovative resources that, promoting the active safeguarding and enhancement of local diversities, can help in countering the increasing disorientation and eradication â&#x20AC;&#x201D; cultural but also spatial and ecological â&#x20AC;&#x201D; gripping local youth.

participatory planning as a strategy for youth engagement Elena Tarsi

It’s impossible to be creative without communicating, neither to communicate without being creative. (Danilo Dolci)

Danilo Dolci was a Sicilian poet, sociologist, activist and especially an educator. He had a central role in the non-violent fight against the Mafia and for better condition of Sicily during the post war period. He developed an educative method, inspired by the Socratic maieutica, that overcome the mainstream approach to education based on the notion of ‘transmission’, proposing to substitute it with ‘communication’. The verb ‘to communicate’ came from Latin communicare that means to share, to agree, so communication for Dolci is the basis for the teaching-learning binomial and the trainer need to communicate with and not transfer knowledge to the student (Dolci 2008). His idea is that trough communication individuals built together a shared vision of the reality. This approach is what characterises the Caritalents’ educational program, investing in the formation of trainers that are working with youths as teachers or as other kind of professionals. The main learning objective is to improve their knowledge and their skills about involving youth in educational processes based on the ‘territorial’ heritage. When we use the word ‘territorial’ instead of a simple cultural, we wants to link the two components of the heritage, the immaterial (cultural traditions, music, food, etc.) and the material (environmental systems, urban patterns, monuments, etc.) that characterise our concept of territorio. This heritage is the base to design sustainable development strategies and is also the very strong base of identity of local inhabitants (Magnaghi, 2005). For this reasons we believe in the importance of stimulating the capacity of inhabitants in recognise the territorial heritage in its different components. The specific and innovative approach of Caritalents is based on the use of different creative communicational methodologies to develop this capacity. One of these methodologies is involving youth in Participatory Planning Process (PPP): ‘Participatory’ because each individuals is protagonist of the process but at the same time is with all the others participants building community; ‘Planning’ because the principal aim of the process is to transform reality; finally ‘Process’ because there is an evolution from the very starting point to the end of the activity. In fact, PPP’s gains are not only projects or transformation, they contribute to the empowerment of common people and communities (Friedmann, 2004) and social inclusion of disadvantaged people (Tarsi, 2013). It means that implementing PPP is a way to contribute to the democratisation of the society (Forester, 1999).

teaching module representation & communication for community projects teacher elena tarsi barbados

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why?

when?

giving relevance to inhabitants’ knowledge

solving a conflict

RECORDINGS RADIO STILL PICTURES

better planning

community project

MOTION PICTURES

solving conflicts

educational process

democratisation

transformation

inclusion/empowerment

timetable (duration and end)

educational process

respect to daily life

who?

guaranteeing participation

local authorities

where?

educational institutionss

accessible place

VERBAL SYMBOLS VISUAL SYMBOLS

EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION STUDY TRIPS DEMONSTRATIONS DRAMATIZED EXPERIENCES CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES DIRECT PURPOSEFUL EXPERIENCES

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Cone of Experience, Edgar Dale, 1946

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Table 6 Discussed questions and answers

ngos

not politically or religiously oriented place how?

who is involved in pp?

defining timetable but living the process open

citizens as a whole?

trust in people capacity

guaranteeing minority

using tools depending on program before start

information

defining tools and program before start

We use such strategy to help participants to look at their own territories, trying understand their potentialities and defining desired transformations of their places of living (such as public spaces, gardens, services, etc.). Involving inhabitants or common people needs strategies and tools to let the participants ‘see’ the complexity of territory, make them able to communicate their knowledge about it and to design possible transformation. To find out inexpert knowledge it is necessary to explore communication manners that valorise the meeting of different subjects and different languages. There are many creative ways to do that: mapping, photography, model making (maquette), theatre, are just few of these. At the base we have the ‘active learning’ approach defended by the Edgar Dale’s “Cone of Experience” (Wagner, 1970). Dale was another important educator that gave a big contribution in the communicative learning development. Through his cone he underlines the importance to stimulate students trough active participation: at the base of the cone we find direct purposeful experiences, among which planning processes. Workshops structure and results The training course on participatory planning had a specific focus on communication strategies. It was titled “Territory, representation and communication: photography, maquette and other strategies” and was held in Dominica and Barbados in October 2015. This module aimed to give to the trainers some skills about how to involve youth in PPP stimulating territory representation and communication. The course has lasted three days in Dominica and three days in Barbados. It has been structured in frontal presentation, open discussions and Workshops.

participatory planning as a strategy for youth engagement • elena tarsi

information

tools

using images

walking routes

considering target groups

thematic mapping

using appropriate media

photography maquette

training

murals

allowing participants to participate

theatre

easy training

visits to relevant places

appropriate language

interviews

paying attention to minority

video comics

In each day, I presented three different participatory planning experiences that I had coordinated in my past researches in Brazil and Guatemala. Such experiences involved young people living in informal settlements of Salvador de Bahia (Tarsi, 2014, 2013) and Guatemala City (Tarsi, 2012) to better understand their living places and to plan desired transformations. Frontal presentation aims to give suggestions to the trainers of possible activities and as chance to reflect about the tools useful for participatory processes. During open discussions first of all we tried together to answer some questions related to participatory processes, such as: Why use a participatory process? Who uses PP? When? And Why? (Tab. 6). Then we have deepened how to design a participatory process, exploring the three principal parts of Information, Training and Activities and finally possible tools to actively involve young people in the process (Tab. 7). The last component of the course, the workshops, aimed 1) to make experiences of some tools such as mapping and 2) to let the trainers try to design a participatory process. The First Workshop wanted the trainers to draw a Personal Map of the Cultural Heritage of the island. The main objectives were two: 1) to reflect about what is possible to be considered Heritage, 2) to define how to communicate it properly by creating an effective map legend. The results of this workshop were really interesting in both contexts. In Dominica the most of the trainers identified as cultural heritage the different traditional dances (Bèlè, Quadrille, Lancers, Flirtation, etc.), the different spoken languages in the island (Creole, Kaljmago, Kokoi), but also the farming production and the hunting activities, the natural beauties (such as springs, etc.) and some historical point of interest such as the ancient market of Roseau. In Barbados many trainers started to point out cultural heritage from tourist attraction such as naturalistic places (beaches or parks), historical places and monuments (sugar museum and sugar factories).

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Table 7 Main parts of a Participatory Process

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Heritage maps of Dominica elaborated by Trainers during the course

One of them made a step forward identifying immaterial heritage such as popular oral traditions and linked to specific places, designing a Zombies map of Barbados. Working with youth or low-formations inhabitants, visual communication becomes much more important because “in daily life we are used to come across and elaborate non-verbal graphic informations in witch we totally trust: notices, symbols, instructions, icons, logos, diagrams, etc.” (Evamy, 2003). In terms of communication some of the trainers had quite difficulty in using images and symbols to draw the legend (they used words) but many of them elaborated really creative and complex symbols. The collective discussion about the results of the workshops helped the trainers on one hand to confront different perceptions of the Heritage and on the other to see different kind of representations and their effectiveness. This kind of activity was useful to start a discussion on what is considered heritage. This concept is not a fixed one but is changing depending on the historical period and on the perception and references of the subject or community that determine it. That’s why definition of heritage is a process and is a communicative one. The Second Workshop was proposed only in Barbados and has been another kind of exercise, again of

participatory planning as a strategy for youth engagement â&#x20AC;˘ elena tarsi

â&#x20AC;˘

The Zombies map of Barbados elaborated by Trainers during the course

mapping but in this case in group. The aim of the mapping activities was to identify Potentialities and Problems of the major urban area of the Island, Bridgetown. Working at different scales is certainly important when we want to identify Cultural Heritage due to its complexity and multiplicity. In this second stage both the analysis and the communication strategies were much better than in the first mapping exercise. The Third Workshop gave to the trainers (working in group) the opportunity to select a matter and to design a participatory process to face with it. They were free to define every kind of condition for the process, from the purpose to the target people (number of participant, age, belonging). They also needed to define the plan of the activities and the tools to be utilised. The outcomes of these workshops were many different ideas of processes to be started with young people or inhabitants especially about environment (such as requalification of gardens, urban gardens in schools to produce organic food, selected collection of waste and recycling) but also about popular traditions (dance, music festivals, festivities, pottery production, etc.). Some of the outcomes of this last workshop have been developed in the second part of the training activities that have involved youth.

Heritage maps of Barbados elaborated by Trainers during the course

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grassroots comics. developing a social communication tool Simone Spellucci

Why comics? Within Caritalents frame I proposed comics as a tool of description and self-expression. It seemed to

teaching module

me a good device to merge the training objectives of the program with the expressive potential of its

grassroots comics as tool for social communication

main participants: youngsters between the ages of 16 and 21.

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More specifically one of ‘social’ version of comics was implemented, called Grassroots Comics (from now on GC). GC1 is a social use methodology of comics, which means that it is projected to create realistic or autobiographical stories with social purposes. To deeply explain what GC methodology is, it should be necessary to analyse comic’s formal structure but here is enough to consider the medium as a suitable instrument for problem solving, self-expression, and awareness stimulation. Artistic ability and drawing skills are obviously not essential, since during the GC workshops participants are invited to ménage the medium in different ways: • as a writer (storyteller): the participant is invited to collect information, ask himself what he want to tell, how, think about a specific message and finally write a short story. • as a drawer (pictorial language): the participant is invited to sketch the story. This way is important because thanks to the use of pictorial language the author is forced to rebuild the configuration of the information, giving strength to the message and making it much more comprehensible and usable. None of these activities have the purpose to generating an aesthetic response in the viewer given that the main goal is to send a critical message (problematize) and create dialogue between participants. That is why special skills are not fundamentals. Thus the benefits of this process are different, first of all self-expression that means positive reflections on the growth of the individual, and then (depending on the aims of the workshop) the process can be used for management of community problem or social conflicts. The final objective is to stimulate a personal or collective reaction, which can match with the framework that is supposed to modify. A subtle connection between space and emotions “In order to get closer to a transversal and concrete knowledge, to reach the essence, and to get in touch with the realities that urban analysis cannot achieve, it will have to change the point of view. Not only 1 For information on Grassroot Comics as a campaigning tool and the workshops made so far, it is possible to visit the web page: <https://worldcomicsnetwork.wordpress.com/>.

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previous page Drawing exercise during Grassroots Comics session, Dominica

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consider structure, forms and dimensions of space, it will be necessary to know and touch the ‘whom’

Erika, visual manuscript by Natasha Victor François, Dominica

of the territory. Territory must be treated, seen and recognized as an individual”. (Decandia 2010). This

Carrington Clean City Campaign (CCCC), visual manuscript by Bob Ramdhanie, Barbados

resentation:

Drug Kills, visual manuscript by Vincia Languedoc, Dominica Water Shortage Debate, visual manuscript by Rosalind Conliffe, Barbados

interesting vision lead to two important observations in terms of defining new needs for territorial rep1. the need to consider inhabitants as the ‘whom’ of the territory, sentient forces with their way to use and perceive environment and territory. In doing so, it is necessary to improve a narrative and biographical approach that means to improve systems that can include emotional and experiential appearance of the individual. 2. the need to give a chance to new media and new perspectives, multiply views and promote circulation and exchanges. Trying to look for new forms of describing space beyond the physical and zenith point of view and include the ‘social dimension’. Physical space and social space are part of the same network that connects the individual to their environment (Attili 2007). We see the territory as we describe it, and the use of alternative media helps to multiply and enrich our vision. Using innovative systems enhances our site perception and makes us better managing it. It assumes a ‘consciousness of place’ aimed at safeguarding public assets, cultures, urban and rural landscapes, local productions, knowledge. (Magnaghi 2010). Thanks to these observations it is possible to introduce the selected tool not only as a simple entrainment for teenagers but as a serious and reliable tool of communication and description, with potential to define and codify the territory in more open forms. In fact, the mix between narration and image generate an easily transmissible of complex point of view, and awaken critical attitude that is the base of any experience which try to involve more individuals in a common action. Caribbean stories Caritalents trainers took part in a nine-hour workshop to acquire the technique and provide students the main tools to reflect on and develop autonomous research projects based on the potentialities of audio-visual languages during the second phase of the project. Starting conditions were challenging: to gather an experience on two different islands in the Englishspeaking Caribbean region, technically called windward islands, far away and secluded places even

grassroots comics. developing a social communication tool • simone spellucci

if fully incorporated in the Caribbean cultural melting pot. These are places where the smell of new lands is still strongly mixed with ancient African culture. In the meanwhile these are modern countries, where questions about the future resemble those of a hyper-connected world; fast communication mode, and ‘smartphone culture’ are already part of youth culture, without exemptions. These general remarks led to two types of preliminary questions: how to connect with local culture, and how to spread the principles related to urban planning? How to mediate between concepts such territory, sustainability, heritage and the interests of not professional people? The feat was resembled to a pure experience of disclosure, that required to take into account the cultural background of the interlocutor, his personal interests, his abilities in engaging youth and in raising awareness of students. Furthermore the experience needed something that would let participants glimpse the potential of Caritalents. The goal was to make the trainers curious, convince them to try something new. It was definitely an ambitious program in a dense time. A comics workshop was built at this purpose where the trainers themselves were the participants. They were invited to write their own story and sketch it, so they could directly learn the technique and possibly repeat it in the future with the students. Unfortunately, the duration of nine hours per island did not allow deepening the whole process but it was still enough to reach a good level of knowledge of the technique and motivate them to try it out. Every day the group was invited to develop a single aspect of the technique: • First Day: People of Dominica and Barbados groups were introduced in the GC concept. As usually happens, people have never thought of watching the medium in a different way, many of them have a vague idea of what comics really is. This is why it is so important to approach the subject slowly, introducing the concept of social communication and immediately after the concept of visual aid. It is also necessary that participants realize that massive forms of communication are all around us; pictorial communication is something that is already part of our day-by-day communication. GC methodology seemed interesting for most of the trainers on both islands. Some of them expressed doubts about the possibility of managing a workshop on their own, because of the belief that special skills in drawing are needed. Without these skills it would be impossible to stimulate the students to participate. Another doubt was whether teenagers, who are today completely absorbed by technology, would find interesting or not an analogical method like sketching. These observations are often denied during the workshop's practice, thanks to the surprising results obtained. Subsequently, trainers were asked to divide themselves into groups and to elaborate a problematic issue to be addressed. Choose what aspect to focus on and choose what to communicate (message). At the end of the first day participants already had a draft of the story they decided to tell. • Second day: Probably the most complicated day. It is not easy to start sketching for people who usually stopped doing it when they where teenagers; in most cases they think they just cannot, but it is actually just lack of exercise. Another obstacle for participants is represented by the difficulty to ac-

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Excerpt from the comics ‘Family’, Dominica

cept the aesthetic result of their draw, which often does not coincide with their expectations. It is crucial in this case to enlighten the fact that the skill in the drawing is a marginal matter compared to the whole methodology. For Barbados group the idea of sketching was welcomed with a bit of suspicion. Thus majority of participants have higher education and presented some problems to accept to get involved in something that they don’t feel prepared for. Dominican attitude was similar but more open to the idea of trying and being curious about the possible outcomes for the youngsters. In very truth Dominican group was largely composed of teachers, that is probably why they showed greater familiarity with expressive techniques and that's why many of them did not show much resistance to take advantage of the method. • Third day: The first part of the lesson was dedicated to the composition of the story that had already begun on the first day. At this time participants were encouraged to narrate better, defining the structure of the story and divide it into sequences to turn it into a comic. It is required to the participant to select, link and build a story that has an incipit and a conclusion. These steps are indeed the most complicated. People are not used to transform words into images, despite being compatibles worlds and images follow different composition rules. The comic is a strong mediator between these two and that is why it is not easy for the author to choose what must be entrusted to the drawing and what must be written in words. Despite these complications, the result was appreciable for both islands, even though the comic was not completely finished (both groups reached the point to define the visual manuscript, a sort of draft that precedes the definitive, clean and inked).

grassroots comics. developing a social communication tool • simone spellucci

Conclusions It is interesting to note that people gradually entered in the technique: they chose a theme, a message, then sketched it thinking all the time they were not being able. Out the many drawings produced during the workshop days (around 20), I selected four, two for each country. I chose the ones that seemed to me more representative of the entire experience. Not all of the works have followed the suggested narrative structure: focus, message, target. Some participants decided to proceed in a free manner, being sometimes more autobiographical. In all cases the four squares scheme (A4 format divided into four squared sections) has been respected. The first comics is called ‘Erika’, and refers to the night in August 2015, when Dominica was bitten by torrential rains generated by hurricane Erika, that caused the death of many people and huge damages. The author relates a small story made of several events linked to the night of the hurricane. The result is a collective story that reveals the image of a community still shocked by the event and that laboriously strives to return to normality. Used language is English and Creole. Second one is called ‘Carrington Clean City Campaign (CCCC)’. In Carrington, a village in Saint Michael Parish in Barbados, citizens have problems with garbage management; some areas in the neighbourhood are not even accessible. Through a self-organization of inhabitants and a synergy with local institutions, at the end the inhabitants solve the problem. The third is called ‘Drugs Kill’ and it's the story of a drug dealer on Dominica who appreciates the agility of life that his business procures him but ends up paying the consequences with his own death. In fact it is discovered by the police while trying to make business with Venezuelan traffickers; trying to escape he finds death on a rock. Used language is Spanish and English. The last one is called ‘Water Shortage Debate’ a small story over the almost chronic lack of water on the island of Barbados, local inhabitants trying to change their behaviour and communicating to each other not only succeed to reduce discomfort but they limit water consumption. It is clear from this small contribution that GC way of organizing information has a great potential in producing material that deserves to be analysed as valuable experiences. In fact, a large number of information lies under the purely narrative graphic aspect and it can be transmitted and made usable.

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heritage and vernacular. a caribbean-style approach Michele Morbidoni

The evolutionary concept of Heritage The idea of heritage that we commonly associate with territory refers to all physical characters of a

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place that constitute singularities of natural or anthropic origin. In both cases, the tendency is to rec-

vernacular city, public performances and identity

ognize the status of heritage in those environments, landscapes, monumental complexes and residen-

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tial settlements whose historical origins and permanence over the centuries have provided the site of recognizable identity. In this sense, it has taken much more to consider the characters of immutability of such elements than their transformations over time. However, it is clear that natural events and man’s actions continuously modify the territory and its components, including the ones that most contribute to define identity in a certain historical era. The natural and anthropic landscape of inhabited places is always the fruit of the dense network of interactions between the inhabitants and the physical environment. Natural cataclysms, war events, transformations made for residential, productive or commercial purposes can change any landscape in no time. The human action and natural phenomena can quickly transform what is well present and recognizable in the collective imagination into a memory or a historical document. In Barbados, with the decision to expand the Bridgetown harbour for emerging commercial needs, the little ‘Pelican Island’ — named after the totemic animal appearing on the national coat of arms — has disappeared, leaving its noble title to the artisan and tourism centre now placed on the shoreline in correspondence with the ancient sea bird shelter. In Dominica, in the short course of the Caritalents project, the devastating Erika hurricane radically altered the appearance of one of the island’s landmarks and landscape values, Trafalgar Falls, by suddenly making obsolete thousands of photographic and artistic representations intended to residents and tourists. The awareness of its temporal transformation makes the idea of territorial heritage an evolutionary concept, which is at the same time suffered and produced by inhabitants. Conservation and transmission over time of territorial heritage are therefore necessarily to be reckoned as dynamical and highly dependent on the role of inhabitants. The level of involvement of both expert and diffuse — plural — knowledge in the identification and management of territorial heritage defines how conservation and transmission of those assets can be considered more or less ‘active’ and ‘participated’. These dynamics are particularly evident in the built heritage of the main settlements: cities. Indeed, urban territorial heritage appears immediately as the sum of two components: the first tangible and visi-

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previous page A public space informally equipped by residents in Haynesville, St James, Barbados Colourful architectures in the harbour area, Bridgetown, Barbados

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ble, made of built elements, such as architectures, monuments, infrastructures, urban spaces; the second immaterial and intangible, that of traces and marquages, traditional and new uses of space, symbolic languages, transformation knowledge of the city, in short, made of the living presence of the inhabitants. Amos Rapoport (1988) devoted his researches to deeply understand the superposition of vernacular and informal processes in the habitat production, by showing how spontaneity does not necessarily correspond to the absence of urban order. There is, conversely, a complex order derived from the composition in time and space of a set of individual habits, each of which corresponds to well-defined habitat purposes. The inhabitants’ intentions are made up of micro-projects carried out on an individual, family, or group scale and, by intertwining with each other, produce a ‘cultural landscape’. But three factors prove to be basic: the multiplicity of actors; the adaptation to the geography; a time long enough to take effect (Morbidoni, 2014). These conditions favour the expression of active citizen participation and belong to those dynamical and often problematic contexts where the contamination between different cultures and human stories has been stronger: that is the certainly case of the Caribbean. Didactic tools for laboratories The teaching module “The Vernacular City: Rediscovering Urban Values through Public Performances” was scheduled in three parts. The first one framed contents and objectives of the lecture, by focusing on key-definitions: ‘vernacular heritage’ and ‘landscape’ in architecture and urbanism were presented as evolutionary concepts, with special attention to the relationship between tradition and informality. Different methods for rapid field survey (defined as “Urban Layout Analysis”, “Urban Landscape Drift”, “Perception Analysis through Vernacular Photography”) were introduced as tools for qualitative analysis and understanding of the vernacular heritage and landscape. The meeting served also to show and discuss some participatory approaches for the recovery and re-valorisation of urban spaces through art, game and sport performances, developed and implemented in previous didactic experiences, projects and workshops in different contexts (the titles of “Treasure Quest”, “Interaction with Residents”, “Urban Touch”, “Hypnerotomazurka” identified that variety of methods). Part II previewed a double exploration of the urban space. First virtually, through the aid of cartographies and web maps. This step aimed to select several target places on which the urban analysis would be focused. Then, the real exploration of the city by visiting the target places, aiming at surveying their physical layout, landscape and actual use of urban space. The original plan was including a workshop intended to ‘criticize the public space’, through the analysis of the surveyed urban spaces and the recognition of local values/disvalues. In there, proper public performances would be designed, the goal being to enhance the public space perception and potentiality. The conclusion should have been the implementation of a collective performance aimed at involving Students and inhabitants in artistic and ludic activities inside the target places. Because of my

heritage and vernacular. a caribbean-style approach • michele morbidoni

double role of ‘teacher’ and ‘coordinator of training activities’, I was obviously also expected to provide information about the course structure and guidance toward the next phase. Thus a third of the available time was — nevertheless profitably — used to clarify some obscure hinges in the structure of the ToT course and to simulate the subsequent Experimental Laboratories design phase; however this showed to be necessary and really useful to all of us. Drifting into the Caribbean Practical activities thus included the formation of groups of 5 Trainers each, according to their preferred topics and tools among those presented in this and previous modules, and/or personal training objectives. In that moment, they received the first impression about who would have been their colleagues and working ways from then on, through the long adventure of the laboratories. The design phase envisaged the targeting of an urban area. This task was simplified by seeking on the map for one common area for all Trainers. In Barbados it was possible to actually visit it, being the targeted Blackrock neighbourhood not too far from the Campus and meeting the requirements of peri-urban area with underused/unexpressed potentials; in Dominica, the organization activities for the upcoming Creole Festival in Roseau prevented to perform the exploration. Then participants were to define keywords basing on one main topic, the guiding question being “what we are looking for?” and first answers coming from the quick map reading (urban layout, values/disvalues, spatial features, connections) and the web search (pictures, etc.). When the specific research object was better identified, the Trainers proceeded to the survey tools: especially rapid field surveys and participatory performance, along with other tools examined in previous modules. Trainers were most impressed by the “Treasure Quest” method, where settlements are explored by following an anachronistic map, with the aim of leaving apart orienteering references and customary knowledge of the place to re-discover hidden paths, invisible historical structures, forgotten or misremembered territorial values; also they deemed funny and interesting the capacity of interpretative instant project advanced by the “Interaction with Residents” method, where people are opportunely interviewed and are to visualize directly on-site their visions about the place they live, by sketching on pictures or maps placed just in front of most recognizable landmarks. The short excursion, directed to all what is invisible from the map or the web, served to the Barbadian participants mainly to taste the excitement deriving from the interaction with residents. It was a pleasant promenade from a conserved original chattel house, to an alleged — but unlikely — archaeological discovery, to a street food shop, until to the ‘informal little museum’ of an old man who collects memories about the history of the neighbourhood. Interviews were held to come knowing that that streets were the site where a number of traditional singers and musicians have born. Finally, some beers and juices paid off the effort and allowed to better appreciate the local atmosphere. This sort of improvisation in surveying the territory, interspersed by elements of a Caribbean-style psychogeo-

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Colours in Bridgetown, Barbados

graphic dérive, has nourished the participants to the point that they collected materials enough to think about and do not proceed immediately to the subsequent scheduled ‘elaboration and representation’. Notwithstanding, the following exercise, performed also with Dominican Trainers although in a more theoretical way, has put the focus on a project perspective designed upon the performed territorial analysis and including the definition of: needs and related specific objectives; recipients and stakeholders; tools for ensuring gender equality, self-learning and participation; hypothesis of action design; dissemination of the results among the local community. Time after Time That way, the module achieved its main objective, by making aware the Trainers of the powerfulness of informality in the study and action on the vernacular city. Indeed, if informality has a relevant role in producing the urban landscape, we can imagine to use a ‘homeopathic’ approach by entrusting studies and actions on the vernacular to the spontaneity and, possibly, to the sincere attentive participation of local actors: trainees, students, residents, invited performers, citizens. The double spontaneous intervention of the inhabitants — first in creating their habitat, then in investigating it — allows expecting to some extent an automatism in the successful rediscovery of the local

heritage and vernacular. a caribbean-style approach • michele morbidoni

heritage. The multiplicity of actors in different times would prevent any tautological risk in the interpretation of the results. Again, in fact, the found heritage will be probably changing and different from how any external, exogenous although expert point of view could initially imagine. Once more thus the teaching experience in Caritalents proved to me the relevance of non-positive, non-deterministic approaches to urban issues. This represents an added value to all study — and subsequent planning — of the city involving the local citizens. Hence the most appropriate analysis and training tools should be primarily directed to this effect, by opening opportunities to discover what could be ‘unexpected’. In this sense, the teaching module represented a miniature model of Caritalents’ whole experience and spirit. Of the three above-mentioned factors necessary for informality to develop its full potential, variety of the actors and characterised place were available for this brief experience; what really was lacking was sufficient time. Nevertheless, the provided inputs blossomed in a later time. Many contents and ideas developed or even simply outlined during this and similar modules migrated into the Experimental Laboratories: the creative use of the map; the organization of dynamical activities not disregarding funny breaks; the interaction among participants and with residents; the adaptability of the rationale to actual conditions and external contributions. The Caribbean spontaneity showed to be naturally ready for that. My wish is the whole Caritalents adventure to take a similar and wider impact, starting from its original protagonists and, time after time, through an increasing participation of Caribbean citizens.

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environmental heritage and community good practices Rita Biconne

Among the Seven Wonders of Barbados two specimens of Adansonia digitata, the baobab of African

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origin, are listed. Legend has it that in 1738 a seed has been transported by the tide across the Atlantic

natural resources & environmental heritage

Ocean departing from the Guinea and floating thin to land on the coasts of Bridgetown.

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The presence of these two trees in Barbados in comparison to all of the Caribbean islands is a source of pride, as symbol at the same time of the African heritage and of a hard historical inheritance, going back to the island’s history as the first major British colony of sugar in the Caribbean completely dependent on African manpower. In the African tradition the baobab is also called the arbre à palabres that is ‘the tree of the words’. In the shade of its branches people speak about the issues and the problems of the community. It is the place where the youngest people come to listen to the narrations of the village wises, where knowledge on the values and richness of the territory is transmitted, where suggestions and education rules are imparted, and attitudes and ability are cultivated. The Caritalents project has represented somehow an innovative shape of the arbre à palabres. Where at first professionals and educators have met with professors — Caribbean and Italian — to improve their skills, to discuss and to reason new approaches and solutions to be able then to turn to the young people for accompanying them towards a greater awareness and knowledge of their territory, of its wealth and its resources. For stimulating them to practice their talents on the cultural and professional level. Within the training course, the module “Environmental Heritage and Community Good Practices” aimed to deepen the connections between the environmental component of the territory and the society that depends on it, showing the importance of collective engagement in preservation and enhancement of an increasingly delicate resource. In this broader framework the focus was about some key issues to orient the involvement of young people through three gradual levels: knowledge, empowerment, and commitment/action. Which perception and knowledge on the environmental heritage of their context, related risks and potentialities, young people have? How can we make them more aware of their role as citizens and make them feel more involved about what’s going on around them on this good in common? How to encourage their commitment in the care of this heritage as a source of collective well-being and, at the same time, as opportunities (also professional and economic ones) of enhancing the specificity and the distinctive elements of their territory?

rita biconne barbados

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previous page Indian River, Dominica

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The module invited the trainers taking confidence with some concepts and put them in connection with their everyday life through an interactive and participatory approach, geared to stimulate reflection and interaction with them and among them. The module intended to ensure that the participants would first call into question themselves compared to issues and proposed contents. For this, the first part of the activity has been dedicated to bringing out the different sensibilities of the participants on the concept of environmental heritage. At first they had to write a note which idea would associate to this concept. A short video was then screened. It was composed of a sequence of images linked to the topic even in a provocative way, after which the trainers had to re-write their idea of environmental heritage. Instinctively, in the first notes most of them linked it to natural and physical elements, citing specific resources of their own landscape (flying fish, the Scotland District, grapefruits, etc.), while someone has highlighted the interaction with man in particular in the production of culture. More complex components of reasoning emerge from the second round of notes, such as the influence on the lifestyle, the need for defence and protection, connection with the culture, the being part of the identity of a community, the benefits and services for human activities, also to highlight the importance of the fun or landscape aesthetic component. This brief experiment wanted to highlight how often we relate to this theme with a limited level of attention and awareness minor than is really necessary. This happens among adults, what result could give this activity with younger people? Introducing the concepts of natural capital, biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services, the core of the module has been launched. These ‘systems’ — strictly linked among them — offer some services that are needed for the society and through which humans can profit of some free benefits, from which a scale value that can be also economical is formed. To face this complex framework on the relationships among natural heritage and human activities, three main macro-keys of interpretation has been employed: Natural Heritage Core activities (Enhancement & Maintenance, Consultancy, Media Work, Education, Awareness Raising & Information, etc.), activities reliant on the Natural Heritage Quality (Tourism, Marketing, Recreation & Leisure, Outdoor Activities, Handcraft, etc.), Primary Production activities (Farming, Forestry, Fishing, Manufacturing, etc.). The use of these keys of interpretation wanted to increase the consideration of trainers on the activities primarily spread in their island and how people work in these fields compared to the local resources. Given the varied composition of trainers groups, especially in Barbados, the debate has been animated on some types of activity which more affect on the life of their communities, and which at the same time can provide opportunities for educational and professional growth of young people. An immediate example concerns tourism as an activity closely linked to the natural capital quality and that has a central role in both islands but in two very different ways. In this regard, the ecotourism approach was presented, defined as responsible travel that conserves the environment, sustains the

environmental heritage and community good practices â&#x20AC;˘ rita biconne

well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education, where education is meant to be inclusive of both staff and guests. In regard to the mentioned activities, other experiences for educational purposes, awareness raising and active involvement of young people were shown. For example, an initiative made in Hawaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;i aims to map current population of the Kamehameha, an endemic butterfly. This mapping is based on observations submitted by the inhabitants and combined with surveys of remote areas by scientists. Thanks to the use of their smartphones the citizens are involved in photographing the butterflies and some plant species associated with it and recording in an online database the place of sighting, the time of observation and any comments. So the data collected by citizens are used to map the current distribution of the Kamehameha butterfly, and help determine how and why it has declined. In this way, in addition to strengthen the monitoring system, the initiative offers an educational tool that involve the citizens as active protagonists and at the same time sensitize them on a distinctive element of the local heritage. Other experiences related to the formal education system propose the inclusion of school gardens, or-

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Market area, Roseau, Dominica

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Inner island landscape, Grand Bay, Dominica

chards, or, in a more complex case, a productive multi-purpose school grounds. The last mentioned experience proposes the planning of the outdoor spaces of the school in collaboration with students, teachers and parents in order to complement the various needs. The design is based on the creative use of resources in experimenting the agro-ecology principles. Talking about contemporary environmental issues, particular sensibility was needed to address the topic of climate change in a context where the rhetoric is reset by events. Among the activities carried out in Dominica, unfortunately hit by hurricane Erika few months before my experience, a part is set differently than the other group. In Bridgetown, the participants divided in groups have simulated the organization of an activity chosen among the “Natural Heritage Core activities” presented and discussed in plenary sessions. As starting point they had to explicit problems and potentials of the considered local resources. Some propositions have been:

environmental heritage and community good practices • rita biconne

• the organization of workshops and seminars to engage citizens in collective activities of maintenance and enhancement of the beaches against the Sargassum seaweed invasion; • periodic inspections and visits to the beaches, organized by the young people and intended to peers and adults to raise their level of awareness and information; • the implementation of awareness campaigns on the care and preservation of the natural capital aimed to ensure local audiences but also to visitors as well as to increase the impact and make the initiative more effective. The trainers of Dominica, divided into groups, have organized and carried out a field visit in a selected area among those they had highlighted as particularly interesting (for critic or potential features) by the environmental point of view. In this way they have experimented themselves a possible activity to involve young people through an exploration of space. Each group, independently, had to decide materials and tools for analysing the area (interviews, photographs, video, reports) and to prepare the necessary for the investigation. At the end, a representative from each group presented the materials, considerations and feelings gathered during the activity favouring the debate with other participants. Despite the different setting of some activities, certain common issues have been highlighted. The importance of deepening on environmental issues — particularly about the interrelationships among daily actions and related effects on the environment — with young people was shared. In this regard, however, the problem arises on the ability to capture and maintain the interest of young people considering their lacking attention on these issues, which are likely to be considered distant (not to say boring) by their interests and too tied to school subjects. Some ideas on the possible involvement of young people were shared among the trainers mostly trying to link these issues with the artistic and communication activities as highlighted in some examples shown or as happened in some experiences in the contexts of the islands. It was definitely recognized how useful the new tools are, such as the use of technological solutions (as in the example of biodiversity monitoring) to get young people to environmental issues. Furthermore, spatial approach and mapping have been highlighted as tools that trainers do not employ with familiarity. For this reason an unconventional method for space exploration has been deepen, known as ‘urban drift’, for facilitating a first approach with young people through a method less constrained by rules and by specific knowledge. The urban drift is a way of moving, adopting an indeterminate strategy of walking, leading people to move randomly within a territory, indulging the stresses of the ground. This behaviour allows capturing new feedbacks, which during a predetermined walking routine would not be perceived. The results should not be understood only in terms of a romantic loss in space, but it is primarily a process of gathering information and feelings that help us to understand the space in which we got ‘lost’ and to see it with different eyes.

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Thanks to these stimuli, the importance of connecting certain elements to their location has been highlighted in order to understand the characteristics linked to their position and wondering how much those specific characteristics depend from that. Thus it offers an approach that can stimulate the curiosity of young people to deepen the past, the present and imagine the future of those assets. Starting from their roots, most desirable and achievable solutions for their care and enhancement may be outlined. So back in the shade of those branches, young people can intervene in the debates and in decision-making related to their own territory; they can build on their own enrichment and contribute to improving and enhancing the environmental common good and heritage they now know.

caribbean sacred geographies and religious cultures Yanique Hume1

This module on the diverse spiritual landscape of the Caribbean was delivered by Dr Yanique Hume,

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PhD in interdisciplinary studies from Emory University and Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the

caribbean sacred geographies & religious cultures

University of the West Indies. Her research and teaching areas include Afro-Atlantic religious cultures,

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festive and sacred arts, cultural performance, diasporic tourism and popular culture. The module “Caribbean Sacred Geographies and Religious Cultures. A Heritage Perspective” was a multidisciplinary and multimedia exploration of the religious practices and sacred traditions found across the Caribbean. Of particular concern was mapping the contours of ritual adaptation, accommodation and change. Attention was paid to the specific patterns of innovation as sacred practices are transplanted from Africa and transformed in its Afro-Atlantic context. To this end, the aesthetic, material and performative dimensions of ritual practices were foregrounded as the Trainers examined how sacred traditions have helped shape the dynamic qualities of Caribbean cultures and social life. In addition to exploring the range of sacred form/spiritual expressions and ritual practices of the Caribbean, the module also situated the region’s religiosity as a form of intangible heritage. To this end, this three-day workshop asked participants to consider the means through which the intangibility of the sacred can be preserved. It further elaborated on the existence of a sacred geography or specific sites within the Caribbean that are imbued with the sacred. Thus, the landscape or natural environment was positioned as an equally important arena to explore the sacred inheritance of the region. To this end, the Trainers moved beyond the built sacred heritage of churches, mosques, and synagogues to the natural environment and the sacred sites of trees, rivers and mountains as part of the collective inheritance, and hence responsibility to maintain. Finally, the study turned to the sacred communities that gather for collective/communal rituals and analysed the embodied and aesthetic practices that give meaning to the sacred universe and social worlds of the region’s citizens. As emblematic icons of the region’s intangible heritage, the Trainers explored the indigenous knowledge, folk wisdoms and popular cultural forms that are kept alive. The module was organized in three parts. The first session introduced the Trainers to the Creole Religions of the Caribbean and the broader Black Atlantic. During the second session, African and Afro-Atlantic sacred traditions features were compared and further elaborated. The third session intro-

Edited from Yanique Hume’s syllabus.

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caribbean sacred geographies and religious cultures • yanique hume

session 1 creole religions of the caribbean and the broader black atlantic the concept of religious worlds or worldviews

process of syncreticism and the relationship between creolisation and syncretisation

session 2

session 3

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sacred geography and typology of overlapping features of african and afro-atlantic sacred traditions

aesthetics of serving introducing vodou and the divine and santería performing the sacred

previous page Mass in a local church, Goodwill, Dominica

cosmological orientation

altar making in the orisha tradition

incantation, libation, divination, offering, visitation, communion

aesthetic and performative dimensions within rites/ceremonies

sacred sounds in spiritual baptist

discussion of characteristic characteristic features of features and typology main orishas of heritage tourism

thanksgiving tables and services

features and typology of african and nexus of religion and african diasporic heritage religions

politics and sacred practice

spiritual labor and the importance of ‘work’ or ‘service’ in ritual activities

introducing rastafari

overview of sites of sacred significance in caribbean

duced other concepts related to divine and sacred related to politics and practices. More details on specific contents are listed in Tab. 8. Lecture and PowerPoint slides were the main instruments of course deliver: moreover, each session was supplemented with seminar discussions and provided with audio-visual support — as YouTube videos and other digital media. The Trainers were proposed to create a multimedia project on the nexus of sacred traditions and heritage tourism to be presented to a mock board of heritage directors or a participating audience. This project was done in groups of three. Other assignments asked the Trainers for to select any sacred site in the Caribbean and creating a heritage product around the locale and its socio-cultural history; alternatively, to create and present a performance or lecture demonstration utilising the dances, music and aesthetic features of any Caribbean sacred form; or, finally, to create a multifaceted heritage product reflecting in part on the region’s sacred traditions for educational purposes.

Table 8 Topics covered in the sessions

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heritage in context: reconnoitering the caribbean islands Laura Colini, Lorenzo Tripodi

The man walking behind me, as I walk my way to the street in town, I hear his footstep strolling along the tap tap tap […] so I pause to catch my breath… (City of Words. Roseau, December 2015 From the voice recording of Vincia’s urban reconnaissance exercise)

In December 2015, we received the invitation to join Caritalents, a teaching-programme with the scope of exchanging knowledge, tools and techniques about heritage in Dominica and Barbados. Sure we accept, but how to work on knowledge and heritage in a place you just saw on postcards? The programme is a ‘train the trainers’ format, where Trainers are professional educators, managers of cultural events and SMEs in cultural sector. We do not know them in advance but more important we come with a baggage of knowledge that may not be suitable. We work as urban researchers blending different disciplines as planners, artists, facilitators, and policy advisers in our own country Italy, whose boundaries blurred into Europe. Definitely we do not want to be European cognitive colonisers and we want to learn as much as teaching. Therefore, overwhelmed by the novelty of the place, and by its tumultuous colonial history, we thought that our teaching module would be dedicated to listening, exploring and sensing the history and daily life of the two mayor cities in the islands. We focused on teaching techniques that would capture their sensorial experience. In order to do that, we adopted Exercise in Urban Reconnnaissance (EX), a toolbox to examine and disentangle urban complexities developed by the oginoknauss collective. Our workshop is structured into two modules, held in parallel in Bridgetown, Barbados, and in Roseau, Dominica: two different islands and two very different cities. At first glance, Bridgetown is a thriving city, where wealthy catamarans are anchored at the town main harbour, filled with tourists flocking every day from all corners of the word. The city centre is a busy commercial area, with the near bus station, the main hub connecting the whole island. Ancient architectures built by generations of colonisers dot the urban fabric disclosing the controversial and loaded past of this island. Just outsides Bridgetown, a strange mix of extremely wealthy villas and symbiotic low-income housing are spread along the coasts. Shiny out of scale buildings for insurance companies, lawyer offices and large real estate firms reveal the Janus face of an economy based on local tourism and

teaching module territorial narratives and multimedia content organization teacher laura colini, lorenzo tripodi barbados dominica 11/26 11/27 11/28 11/26 11/27 11/28 12/3

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previous page Reconnaissance moments during Heritage in Context Roseau, Dominica Bridgetown, Barbados

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large global financial investment. Roseau is the capital of an island that counts a population of what in Europe would be ranked as mid-size city of circa 70.000 inhabitants. The capital lives during the day until 7 PM, having the high peaks of business within the cruise season. The architecture is colorful and everything but pretentious. The local soap factory, the local beer, and the promotion of the local food markets, tells the pride of an island which has been curbed but not defeated by the damage of a recent hurricane. The urbanity of Roseau is not sufficient for the neophyte eyes: the marvel is beyond bricks and mortar, because the real soul is in the luscious nature that turns this island into a paradise. The most rugged and less connected part of the territory has been assigned to the descendants of the indigenous population, the Caribs, now calling themselves Kalinago. A dispossessed population, ranking the poorest in the region, with several issues of land tenure and minority rights. What is then heritage here? Who codifies it, for whom and for which purpose? In the first part of the module we touch upon different concept of ‘heritage’ as in the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972; as ‘cultural heritage’ (ICOMOS, 2002); as ‘territorial heritage’ defined as outcome of the historic process of territorialisation, a long term “‘deposit’ whose identity and character emerge in the way environmental components […] are integrated with the built elements, with the anthropic components” (Magnaghi, 2005). In the extant literature and debates around the concept heritage, what interests us the most are the disruptions, the conflicts and issues behind the definition of urban heritage. We search for untold narratives of daily practices, of local struggles for disclosures, constituting ‘heritage’ as material and immaterial multifaceted, contest-related, and conflictive puzzle. Inspired by Situationist thinkers, the work with the students in this module is meant to defy, critically look and challenge codified and/or institutionalised definitions of heritage: “The research that we are thus led to undertake on the arrangement of the elements of the urban setting, in close relation with the sensations they provoke, entails bold hypotheses that must be constantly corrected in the light of experience, by critique and self-critique (Debord, 1955). The second part of the first module is therefore dedicated to implement a methodology for capturing heritage according to the above-described approach. Here we introduced the EX online device to the students. EX is a collection of sixty-four different definitions of the word ‘city’, each based on different concepts or disciplinary approach. True and complex in itself, every single definition of city is also simultaneously partial and unable to fully explain its object. The sixty-four definitions are linked each other in the text and in the website, allowing the reader/explorer to circumnavigate and intersect the multiplicity of connections between morphological, cultural, economical, political and psychological factors influencing, determining and defining urban life, form and discourse. Each definition is accompanied by a related exercise for a spatial/conceptual exploration that can be performed individually or in groups. We asked the participants to choose a key word among the 64 and therefore an exercise, based on their relation with the city, to what matters to them the most and/or their professional and

heritage in context: reconnoitering the caribbean islands â&#x20AC;˘ laura colini, lorenzo tripodi

cultural background. Furthermore, we asked to identify a place in town they felt better representing their understanding of such a perspective. We therefore designed a path of exploration reconnecting the main places proposed by the participants. The last session of the first module has been dedicated to walking the tour, encouraging the participants to concentrate on their specific keyword and related observation exercise. We have been crossing together the same places, but everybody has been looking for a different city, focusing on a different interpretation of the environment. On each selected spot, the participant who proposed it explained the reason of their choice and the specificity of that place. Video and photographic recordings have been taken of these moments. The following week the second module has been drawn on the results of the spatial exploration, while the two coordinators swapped. In that way the task to present the results of the exploratory phase was enriched by the necessity to transmit the main outcomes to a newcomer. Participants have been suggested to report their exploration and to elaborate a short reflection about the experience using any technique or language, from written report, to audio recording, digital storytelling, poetry, etc. The results of the exercise have been inspiring in term of raising consciousness about the complex dimensions of the territory, especially thanks to the debates and experiences of exploring the cities with different aims and eyes given by the EX exercise. The final restitution of the laboratorial activity has been partially accomplished during the two modules, given the quantity of information produced in the process and the limited time at our disposal. A series of posts have been created reporting the exploratory practice on the EX blog1. The aim of the workshop to stimulate the comprehension of such complex nature of territorial heritage in the participants has been fully achieved, and we are confident that these intense sessions have provided valuable materials and improved the cultural mapping capacity of the trainees.

<http://urban-reconnaissance.oginoknauss.org/>.

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PART III Experimental Laboratories

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experimental laboratories: overview

Experimental Laboratories favoured the meeting between the theoretical knowledge and enhancement techniques on territorial heritage, presented during the first part of the course, and the reality of the places and people involved in the project. The protagonists of this phase were the Trainers and the Students. The former have often played the role of true cultural mediators with regard to the latter, with the dual task of bringing young people closer to the concept of territorial heritage, by inviting them to give their own interpretation on it, and involving them in exploring ideas and unusual techniques, particularly those coming from the cultural context of Italian Teachers and Tutors. Then the young people have been the living engine of the Laboratories. They filled spaces and times with individual ideas and experiences, bringing to each laboratory their baggage of vital energy, their dreams and hopes, as well as their background of uncertainties and problems in dealing with and accepting the structure and features of the places they live in by their youth perspective. The interaction between Trainers and Students has been such as to shape each laboratory into a unique and original form around the main proposed theme, adapting it to the personalities, abilities, skills and limits of the participants. The eleven labs that were born from this interweaving of relationships and ideas are very different from each other, despite all respecting a common structure and initial setting. The following pages describe in detail each Laboratory. The themes discussed and the critical points of view proposed by Trainers on these topics are illustrated. Some maps show the different localities and territorial contexts involved in the lab activities. Each activity is then briefly described, the schedule of each laboratory showing the days they were held and the complete timeline development for each workgroup. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fragmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are examples of some of the most interesting materials and moments produced by the girls and boys during the Laboratories under the guidance of the Trainers and with the support of the Tutors, along with some testimonies of those participants who, after the end of the course, wanted to tell in first person their experience. Finally, a summary sheet lists the names of all the participants and references to the organizations and institutions that have collaborated in the realization of the laboratories.These materials account of and allow understanding the wide impact that the labs had on the territories and people, thanks to the varied range of analysed topics, to the multiplicity of activities proposed, to the vast number of participants, to the network of relationships established between people, organizations and local associations. However, perhaps the greatest contribution offered by the Laboratories to rediscovery and enhancement of local heritage has been the experience in itself and time dedicated by the participants to its re-

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alisation. Its main manifestation often has had the appearance of an artistic, dance, music, or video performance, or that of a public meeting open to the participation of the local community â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which may have resulted into appreciation or criticism, howsoever by producing a process of heritage recognition and self-awareness both to the protagonists of the course and to other citizens. For this reason, we can still feel that the energies activated by the project have been directed to constitute an effective and innovative representation of local territorial heritage, including both codified and recognized, and unexplored and hidden in the until then unexpressed capabilities of many involved young people. Their original vision and enthusiasm have been such as to draft the first contents and the methodology for elaborating a sort of original Caribbean Atlas of Heritage.

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map data: google, cnes/astrium, 2016

hbg. historic bridgetown and its garrison

Rationale There is a disconnect between the vision for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (HBG) as a beautifully maintained heritage site, and the reality of HBG — a crumbling neglected city filled with dilapidated burnt out buildings, litter filled streets and green spaces which hint at barely remembered better times. There is also a notable disconnect between the population’s knowledge of the granting of a World Heritage designation and what that means in the context of a nation and its individuals. The intent of the Lab was bridging this disconnect through the creation of a connection with the city and ultimately its history, by devising a sustainable program of public interaction through creative and modern interactive strategies, primarily targeting the youth but with the hope that it would spread to the wider

bridgetown

population. The chosen geographical location for the Lab was the World Heritage Property known as Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison. Although efforts would be concentrated within the property itself, key locations within the buffer zone were included which relate significantly to key sites within the Property. Main topics of the Lab were: • built Heritage and Urban Landscape, specifically architectural history and heritage, its physical expression, including monuments, within HBG and their conservation, preservation and restoration; • community, specifically the impact of all the varying aspects of traditional and emerging culture within the community which work together to establish its unique identity. The objectives were: fostering awareness, resource creation, sustainability, development of people, capacity building, long term heritage employment. Research methods Students were tasked with learning as much as possible about the history of the chosen segment and its inhabitants and community. This was accomplished by a specially designed workshop, with an emphasis on research geared toward historical storytelling and development of tours and interpretive text. The material presented was later converted to workbook content for the Students.

previous page Aerial view of Bridgetown area, Barbados

tutors michele morbidoni, lenora williams

shelley k. alleyne, jewel c.a. forde trainers kaye r.n. hall, chauntel a. thomas

1st contact april 2nd experience barbados museum & historical society, bridgetown march 31st to july 3rd uwi ebcci, bridgetown barbados museum & historical society sessions shilstone memorial library, bridgetown tom adams financial centre, bridgetown spirit bond, bridgetown garrison savannah racetrack, bridgetown june 16th, p. barbados museum & historical society presentation july 4th, uwi ebcci, bridgetown 21st november, barbados museum & historical society

cameron cobham alex davis elizabeth hinds students keshanna leacock philippa murray sekani oudkerk roshanna trim

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Tour guiding The following activities were performed: Walk of the Pilot Area; Overview of Tour Guide Program to

research methods

Students; Trainer Team Developing a Story for an Audience. As other similar activities, this was aimed

tour guiding

to mentor the youth as well as provide practical skills for the heritage labour market through special

performance art

workshops and heritage support activities/opportunities. The activity was connected to the possibility

multimedia production interactive mapping

to link the thematic nature of the development of the interactive heritage map of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison to the providing of a digital thematic tour for persons viewing the map and interacting with the space online through what is displayed on the map.

final presentation uwi presentation

Performance art Participation on a mural painting activity at the launch of the Bridgetown Urban Renaissance Project and the Artscape Mural Programme in Flower Alley in the City, thus making a personal contribution

next page Playbill of Final Presentation, HBG, Barbados

to the cultural reclamation of a city space and also participating in discussion afterward which rein-

Sessions moments Team HBG, Barbados

development of contents by drama, poetry, spoken words, etc. techniques.

forced the understanding of the Students of the need to safeguard the city and its spaces. Furthermore,

experimental laboratories

Multimedia production Photo journaling, video making and storytelling for the creation of multimedia features, highlighting areas of HBG in order to capture the interest and the imagination of youth and heighten awareness of the area as a national resource and foster connection and positive interaction with the Property. These features will be available as links on an interactive map for promoting interest and awareness for the HBG area. This activity was intended to encourage skills like planning, time management, collaboration and group work; to easily link to the other tools as supporting or collaborative skills; to create a product with an extended life beyond the project with opportunities for use in a wide range of contexts. Interactive mapping The Heritage Map was intended as an online resource space where persons, particularly young people, can create, edit and access attractive and appealing content pertinent to the site, thus forming an interactive information resource (map) for the Property. The capture of information, images and recorded material of spaces to be mapped was realized also through investigative walks across the selected Pilot Area. At the end of the Lab, the Students were able to coordinate and plan the map launch event featuring the information gathered on HBG via the map and using their performance and photographic skills.

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Closure presentation, The Barbados Museum & Historical Society, St Michael, Barbados Screenshots of the Heritage map drawn by Students

next page Spokenwords composed by Alex Davis during the Lab

experimental laboratories

Red Bricks Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tell the exquisite tale of red mystic bricks

Forced together in hopes to

That stand tall on the walls that have seen it all

Endure any weather that came its way

Can you remember?

Whether hurricane or just

When red bricks took trips, on ships

Shelter from rain

When their weight was enough to

Yesterday a prison

Endure the wait of sailing the Atlantic Ocean

A quarter

Oh, how white men have used red bricks

Today a residence

To prevent their ships from tipping over

A clock tower

When rough seas tried to impede their sails

And through the years

You see, red bricks were the foundation of their trade

They have remained here

And when anchors touched the bottom of the sea floor

But tell me

When red bricks were dragged ashore

Can you remember these stories?

No longer needed any more so

I doubt you can because

The white man tossed them aside to reside

This story was never told

In a new home

Never brought to light

We call it Barbados

Despite they alluring beauty and longevity

But those bricks

No one cared to look long enough

They call it the place

Stared hard enough to see

Where they made history

Or studied deep enough to pay attention

Can you remember?

So here`s a little reminder

When red bricks were picked up

Whenever you see our garrison in all its glory,

Stacked against each other

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not forget That these red bricks, they too have a story

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map data: google, cnes/astrium, 2016

agriculture. empowering the future

Rationale Since the Country is trying to implement a ‘green economy’ policy, the Lab aimed at reviving the youth about its historic background in agriculture as well at reducing the food import bill so as to guarantee food security. The history of the agriculture sector was examined and how the sector can move forward. The Lab was designed to provide participants with a greater awareness of the rewarding career opportunities that exists with a degree in agricultural and environmental field. The participants discovered what makes agriculture important to their future. Main topics of the Lab were: • environment and environmental health: agriculture practices and their relations to soil and water quality, biodiversity and food security; food safety and best practices which are part of the agriculture

the garrison

value chain; • public Speaking and entrepreneurship: ability to communicate and innovation to improve food security and standard of living by means of employment opportunities. The objectives were to re-energise youth in the agricultural industry, to develop the opportunity of business in agriculture, to foster sustainable agricultural methodologies not well known and widely practiced in Barbados. Backyard gardening The Graydon Sealy Secondary School which is located in Paddock Road, St Michael, is part of the Bridgetown Historical Heritage area. The back of the School offers an alternative entrance in close proximity to the Barbados Museum and Historical Society around the Garrison… In this selected space the Students had the opportunity to design and implement a project of backyard gardening and beautification. The participants were expected to learn and be skilled from the stage of transplanting a seedling to organic maintenance for a garden. Participants were introduced to the basics of preparing and maintaining a garden.

previous page Aerial view of Bridgetown area, Barbados

tutors michele morbidoni, lenora williams rosalind conliffe, rishi alleyne (withdrawn trainers from the lab), brenda paris (withdrawn from the lab) 1st contact experience

april 16th uwi cave hill tour, bridgetown

april 7th to june 10th uwi ebcci, bridgetown sessions golden grove plantation house, st philip graydon sealy secondary school, bridgetown june 17th, barbados museum & historical society june 30th, uwi graduate studies bd., bridgetown presentation 21st november, barbados museum & historical society shawn burke ryan felicien shakim holder students izion lorde jadon mccollin rachid parris

stanley grimes (national conservation other participants commission) orlando hurdle (graydon sealy secondary school)

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Grassroot comics

ice breaker

The design of the pilot area was supported by a study phase conducted by the tool of grassoroot comics

backyard gardening grassroot comics best practices

and other related narration techniques. This was intended also to help the young participants in raising their awareness about the Labâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s topics, in having a better understanding of their learning process and finally in developing their communication abilities. This was aimed at preparing and editing their reports on the proposed activities to be presented to a wider audience during the final ceremony.

final presentation uwi presentation

Best practices It was intended to have as many practical sessions as possible. Thus the Lab sources farmers and experts

next page Playbill of Team Agriculture Final Presentation, Barbados

to present on the history of agriculture as well as visit farms, have live demonstrations and get the partic-

Backyard gardening session moments, Team Agriculture, Barbados

Conservation Commission. Along with this, a set of theoretical presentations on Occupational Safety

Beautification of the school courtyard, Graydon Sealy Secondary School, St Michael, Barbados

ipants to practice these methods with the constant support of experts form the School and the national and Health were provided to the participants.

experimental laboratories

Fragments by Rosalind Conliffe Barbados has an extensive commitment to its culture and heritage whilst demonstrating the development of its present and future generation of youth. Cultural heritage and the social and economic development of Barbados are deeply rooted in activities, derived primarily from the agricultural sector. The project designed by Team Agriculture, which comprised Rishi Alleyne, Rosalind Conliffe and Brenda Paris, concentrated on that sector. Its implementation commenced with a meet and greet/orientation session for Students and parents. The title of the Experimental Laboratory was “Agriculture: Empowering a Brighter Future”, and its mission vowed ‘to enable the youth to develop a passion for agriculture and our cultural heritage’. Its purpose acted as an assessment tool for the Trainers to demonstrate the innovative methodologies that had been taught. Team Agriculture used Barbados Youth Action Programme (BYAP), an organisation which has a mission ‘to dissuade youth from engaging in behaviour that would place them at risk of incarceration and to rehabilitate the incarcerated. The Team attained four males who ranged from 14-16 years from the Graydon Sealy Secondary School and whom would have been categorised as delinquent young persons that displayed anti-social behaviours. The Graydon Sealy Secondary School, where the experimental laboratory was carried out, is located at Paddock Road, St Michael and is part of the UNESCO Bridgetown Historic heritage space. Sha-

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kim Holder, Izion Lorde and Jadon McCollin participated in the 12-week programme. The workshops were scheduled on Fridays from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. The presentations were carried out by the Trainer as well as an expert in the field of horticulture, Mr Stanley Grimes, Supervisor at the National Conservation Commission (NCC). Most sessions involved teamwork, however there were some individual training. The first encounter was public speaking. This practical session entailed two components — ‘How to Introduce a Speaker’ and ‘How to Prepare a Vote of Thanks’. The following week, an allday tour was organised by the History Department, Cave Hill Campus titled, “From Bussa to Independence, Bussa Rebellion Heritage Tour” with prominent history lecturers who gave guided tours and narrations at various plantations, linking agriculture to the labour rebellions owing to poor working conditions and low wages. One of the most well-received sessions was ‘Backyard Gardening’ in the bajan vernacular but contemporary jargon now refers to it as Amenity Horticulture. The expected outcome for the participant was to be skilled from the stage of transplanting a seedling to organic maintenance for a garden. Thus, they were introduced to the basics of preparing and maintaining a garden. Other objectives that were met during this experimental period were: • examine areas that can be used as a ‘green’ space; • create design for a ‘green’ space at the Graydon Sealy Secondary School; • plant seedlings in pots; • land preparation (weeding the area; making the beds; planting garden area; spreading organic manure; watering the plants after transplanting; planting grass). It was agreed that the first stage would be to beautify the School with potted plants and stage two would be to transform the ‘Breadfruit Lounge’. This subject content created much motivation amongst the ‘boys’. This was exampled when there was the delivery of the soil for land preparation late the Friday evening. That evening all hands were on deck but the dimming of the natural light terminated the transfer of the soil from the Courtyard to the area designated for ‘greening’. One of the boys, Shakim Holder volunteered to continue the task the following morning (a Saturday) and all agreed to this suggestion. To further cement his enthusiasm, he was accompanied by a friend from another School whom he had invited. So, on Saturday, April 2016 they worked tirelessly with soil, shovels and wheelbarrows. It must be noted that the keenness and passion was so robust that the writer and Izion Lorde who had registered for another agriculture course at another institution reported very late that afternoon. It was observed that any session that seemed to be ‘academic’ such as the introductory study of types of soils and agricultural health and occupational safety which involved handouts and written quizzes were deemed ‘boring’ by the Students. Perhaps, this can be validated with the question from some members of the teaching staff who queried “How did you get him to work? — He does not do anything in my class…” Thus, the reason for the excitement and keenness for the practical horticultural sessions. Summative assessment was discarded. Alternatively, engaged formative using interaction,

observation, questioning, discussion and kinaesthetic evaluations. The Students learnt names of plants and new skills in land preparation, plant care and maintenance and some painting procedures. The learning environment was very conducive for both the Trainer and the Student. Some of the innovative methodologies and techniques taught as a Trainer were utilised as outlined below: • Grassroot comic drawing. This saw curious facial expressions when the topic was first mentioned. However, after the writer’s demonstration, this sparked much interest especially for Jadon McCollin who seemed inattentive throughout the overall training. The participants were encouraged to visually story-tell any agricultural experience. • Basic drip irrigation. The Students were taught this methodology as part of plant care and maintenance. Drip irrigation as opposed to garden hoses with sprinklers and watering cans is a modern system that saves time as the pipe contains holes which allow for direct watering and no physical presence is required. The sprinkler misses some of the plant/vegetation or another extreme to entirely soak them. Hence the base of the plant where the roots are, receive adequate water, resulting in even application, fewer weeds, reduction of fungus, stronger plants, conservation of resources, low pressure demand and cost efficient. • Territory Heritage was encouraged by means of the Students carrying out photography and videography of each week/stage of activity. The participatory planning process was utilised with the Students to create the blueprint of the selected green space at the School. The creation consisted of three areas: • dedication to the 50th Anniversary of Independence with the national flower — the Pride of Barbados, Blue Plumage and Yellow Sage plants; • relaxation with a grass area and seating which was painted in the national colours (aquamarine blue and yellow); • general garden area with plants common to gardens and of low maintenance (such as crotons, sanseveria, purple and green xeranthemum, green schefflera, medium ixora and snow on the mountain). The concept of reflection within the Programme was ideal and this was in the mid-term and personal reports. This was mirrored with the Students as they had to produce their own narrative and feedback on the training for presentation at the Closing Ceremony.

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Backyard gardening session moments, Team Agriculture, Barbados

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Backyard gardening session moments, Team Agriculture, Barbados

This was held in the newly beautified area, now called the ‘Breadfruit Heritage Lounge’. Master Lorde showcased his oratorical skills learnt in the public speaking session. All Students received certificates of participation and other stakeholders were recognised for their contributions. In conclusion, the experience was another vehicle to concretise the cultural and heritage development within the Caribbean. It was impetus for both the Trainers and the young people to celebrate our colonial past in agriculture, as well as our present accomplishments in education and retooling in cultural heritage at the community and national levels. The project played a key role in preserving intangible and tangible heritage for potential economic activity. The use of innovative methodologies and techniques and the exposure to the theme of agriculture certainly connected various sustainable linkages such as history, tourism, agro-business, landscaping and entrepreneurship. Motivation and enthusiasm was realised thus resulting in successful training as opposed to the traditional method of academic delivery. There is rarely a flawless activity; and hence, the following recommendations: • the implementation of continual monitoring to ensure a continuum of talents and a continuity of heritage; • future ToT includes how to engage at-risk youth; • there is a need for a total buy-in from all stakeholders.

In essence, there was a linkage between the objectives of the training and the programme content for participants, which indicates effectiveness and efficiency. As a Trainer, my expectations matched the objectives. New personal skills were learnt and others enhanced as dealing with at-risk youth required different strategies to the regular child. A patient approach, reachable goals that they set, and soft language particularly with the youth that was always seemed angry. Expectations were also exceeded as registration for both Izion and I were completed in Crop Production, a three-month course.

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Screenshots of a Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interview realized by Michele Morbidoni

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the landship. rockin' de boat

Rationale The Landship is seen, and accepted, as an integral part of Barbados’ cultural heritage. In reality it is about belonging to a community and taking pride in the specific creolized music and movements (British military & African), hence its uniqueness to Barbados. Its core values are about community support and togetherness. The Lab was about exploring what The Landship means to young people in today’s society through group discussions, historic research, performance expression, community visits. The Landship in Barbados today is not attracting many young people into its membership and hence

holders hill

Trainers had decided that the Lab could be a vehicle to engage more young people into celebrating this particular aspect of their cultural heritage. Given the performance elements of The Landship, the training team wanted to focus on the Haynesville Youth Club that had an interest in movement and music. The project was located in Holders Hill, St James within the Haynesville community and most of the practical sessions took place at the Desmond Haynes Sports complex, situated there. A few sessions were undertaken at the EBCCI dance studios at UWI campus, the rationale being to offer the young people an alternative awareness of a totally dissimilar community environment. Main topics of the Lab were Culture, History and Tradition, Community and Music. Its main objectives were: • to improve understanding and awareness within the local community and the young participants, by exploring how they themselves could become catalysts in reviving this specific aspect of their cultural heritage and how they could develop a contemporary ‘dance’ model of The Landship that can be replicated with other youth communities; • to explore how the involved Youth Club, working alongside families and the local community, could rejuvenate and promote this particular aspect of Barbadian cultural heritage.

previous page Aerial view of Holders Hill area, Saint James, Barbados

tutors michele morbidoni, lenora williams trainers 1st contact experience sessions

presentation

heather brathwaite-jones, lisa cummins, janelle mitchell, bob ramdhanie, sandra ward april 30th holders hill, st james april 26th to june 10th uwi ebcci, bridgetown desmond haynes sports complex holders hill, st james june 12th, p. desmond haynes sports complex, holders hill, st james 21st november barbados museum & historical society

taija kevin benskin ajayri broomes tanarie o’donnell cadogan teixeira o’donnel cadogan tarishi-forde carew students achara devonish fredreann devonish kiara forde shakia grazette deonsa harewood kibibi lee diamond toppin sophia lee

jaliyia roach ché scantlebury sade sealy teisha weekes shania smith dawn-marie stevenson diamond toppin brittney trotman kyle trotman desean phillips raheen walrond tiara weir teisha weekes

other participants peter skeete (haynesville youth club)

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Dance and drama

ice breaker

Practical dance and drama sessions, accompanied by music and drum sessions, involved the young

dance and drama grassroot comics cultural sessions

participants in the expressive core of The Landship. Movement and choreography were related to the Landship’s interpretation given by the Students during the discussion sessions. Rehearsals were held at Haynesville Youth Club and at EBCCI Dance Studios, with a final public performance presented to the local community. The activity also included the preparation of appropriate costumes.

final presentation

Grassroot comics next page Playbill of Team The Landship Final Presentation, Barbados

On-going open discussions with the youth group about the context and development

First Contact Experience Community Walking Holders Hill, St James, Barbados

by grassroots comic strips and other related means like mapping, digital stories, photos and audio/visual

of The Landship led to share ideas about movement, music, history and community then represented recordings. A session was dedicated to digital editing of the produced visual documents.

experimental laboratories

Cultural sessions Historical elements and core essences of The Landship were introduced with the help of meetings with experts and linked to dance movements, costumes and cultural retentions. The living meaning and heritage of The Landship was explored via a community visit, inviting external speakers and other specialists as appropriate, collecting and collating information. Fragments by Bob Ramdhanie The Landship is an integral aspect of popular Barbadian culture. Today it is primarily associated with music, dance and Navy uniforms and hierarchy, hence the activities of the experiential labs were essentially dance, drama and music in a quest to explore alternative ways that young people may wish to express â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the essencesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of this specific celebration of cultural heritage. I was responsible for the overall planning of the programme with the team. Appreciating that three members of the team are in full-time employment and the other member is involved on various weekly training programmes, working as a team was challenging but very productive indeed. Besides the twice-weekly labs with the young people themselves, our team had regular weekly meetings to review and plan work and all the members of the team contributed regularly. In practical terms,

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Sessions moments, Team The Landship, Barbados

from the outset, team members were allocated the following roles and these were delivered successfully during the last six months of the programme. The young people involved were drawn from an area of Barbados that suffers with a range of social ills. For those who do not live in that neighbourhood, the locale is perceived as ‘problematical’ and yet the group did not display any deviant behaviour or created any social problems but on the contrary were keen to learn and get involved. Like most groups of young people, there was a small degree of ‘shyness’ and a general ‘laissez faire’ attitude when the Students first met the ‘external team’ from the university. But this quickly changed to positive interactions when sessions began, and they contributed willingly, shared regularly and appeared to enjoy all the sessions, even when it was not solely music and dance. They asked questions, suggested solutions to issues under discussion, accepted roles as the situation required and were keen to learn, especially in the dance sessions. Given the age ranges, the older participants found it easier to accept leadership roles and many of these were being nurtured to continue developing additional cultural knowledge and practical dance skills. Attendance was always a good indicator in judging interest and interactions within the group and this was very consistent and high throughout the programme. Thus there were noticeable achievements in three main areas: improvement in dance skills; creativity in terms of performance; accepting leadership roles and responsibilities. The success of the Lab could be accredited to the youths’ interest and love for music and dance and

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the Team’s eagerness to respect their abilities and to share their knowledge of dance, music and cultural histories of Barbados in a user-friendly interactive manner. In order to create a programme with Haynesville Youth Club, a multi-dimensional approach was necessary and this worked very well. The strengths were in the combination of the following elements: the active participation of the youth members; the full support of the Youth Club Leaders; the enthusiasm, commitment, organisational skills and knowledge of the Team members; the support from the community (parents and friends of the Youth Club members) during the programme and at the public final event to which over a hundred people attended. Given the limited time-scale, it would be fair to record that the expected outcome was as anticipated but not to its fullest potential. Our stated objectives were to investigate how, through using The Landship, young people could generate new and sustainable interest in this aspect of their cultural heritage: • mutual aid and ‘a sense of heightened community spirit’ within local communities; • uniforms and hierarchy as used in The Landship and its relevance or non-relevance to youths; • an alternative form of performance as a vehicle for stimulating interest amongst other youths. Of the three areas above, the youths gravitated to the last point, preferring the practical elements of the Lab to the more theoretical aspects of the programme. This too was expected but if the form is to be replicated as a sustainable cultural activity, there will need to be a greater understanding of the other areas to underpin any sustainability and to that end a more creative avenue will need to be explored. The idea is to continue the programme through assessing the current Landship activity and creating a contemporary version of The Landship, as a performance event, which they will then share amongst other Youth Clubs on the island, reinforcing the core essences of the original Landship — mutual aid and community caring and sharing.

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my barbados. the soul of barbados

Rationale The Lab examined the notions of race due to a prescribed set of Eurocentric constructs that seemed to magnetise the Country; thus eroding self and other ways of life. Research became a pinnacle role in the relocation of the self within the colonial mastering and further to find the African influences and notions of spirituality. Hidden passages and spaces of the territory became an everyday link to the participants’ personal ideals as Afro Caribbean peoples. Story telling became an output to the understanding of self, crafting a connection between trainee and Trainer. Agriculture and the landscape could not be removed from the story because in some cases it leads you

the pine

to that output, the ‘thing’ that manifests and becomes an object. Space — whether interior like the walls in the Sprit Bond, or the land while touring, or the inner spaces in our subconscious — reflected memories and overlapped modernity to tell stories. Therefore, it is fair to say that the Trainers were united in the need to unravel or detect the hidden spaces that were important sites and to map them via performance, storytelling, visual arts and photography/film. Exploration tours Guided visits to several religious sites or related to the history of slavery. The knowledge of the history and meaning of visited sites was enhanced thanks to the intervention of several experts. Exercises aimed at a better understanding of the proposed topics and local features. Group discussions to compare reaction and reflections of the participants were held during the exploration tours. Cultural expression Many different activities were aimed at acquiring or deepening and then express knowledge about spirituality and traditions. Lessons were provided on Spirituality, Festivals and Space and their linkages. Interviews to the elders were carried out by trainees on several traditional apsects. The findings were expressed through spontaneous poetry, spoken words, music, ceremonies.

previous page Aerial view of The Pine area, St Michael, Barbados

risée chaderton, sherani haynes, mariella jones anthony richards, gail pounder speede

march 12th byap, christ church

tutors michele morbidoni, lenora williams trainers 1st contact experience

april 30th to june 18th byap, christ church spirit bond, bridgetown queens park, bridgetown sessions several religious sites in bridgetown st michael and christ church barbados public library, bridgetown the pine, barbados community centre, st michael july 1st, parkinson resource centre,the pine, st michael presentation july 6th, uwi ebcci, bridgetown 21st november, barbados museum & historical society erica tremaine hull jevon jahmoon hurley students tiniko grandison carolanne king makonnen grant ramon power other lumumba batson (byap leader) participants renee thomas (byap leader)

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Photography Technical talks on photography with cell-phones were held in order to provide Students with an acces-

photography

sible but effective tool to document and represent sacred sites, herbs, trees and other relevant elements

comics

to be mapped or communicated by social media.

exploration tours cultural expression final presentation uwi presentation

Herbs’ knowledge recovery and exploitation Herbal plants discovery was performed during exploration tours and visits to the marketplaces and other sites. Researches on books and other digital sources were performed to deepen knowledge on specific related matters. Mapping spirituality The Lab gave an opportunity to the Students to rediscover and renovate marked and unmarked focal

next page Playbill of Team Soul of Barbados, Final Presentation,Barbados Details of conceptual map ‘Ealing Konnektion’ designed by the Students ‘Konnekting to Spirit’ map drawn by Students

spots related to the history of the ancestors. A copy of a digital map was discussed to elaborate a comparison on the spatial relationship among sacred grounds, historical sites, spirituality, festivals. Group members were invited to produce maps of their impressions of the bus tour and walking tours. The relevant places where herbal plants can be found or are commonly and widely used were also mapped. Finally, the Spirit of Bridgetown Map was produced by the trainees spontaneously, without further participation of Trainers.

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Sessions and presentations moments Team Soul of Barbados, Barbados

previous page Sessions and presentations moments Team Soul of Barbados, Barbados

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riddim wozo. performance culture in roseau

Dominica boasts a rich musical heritage as a result of the presence and influences of America, Europe, Africa and Asia in the Caribbean. The Creole Culture emerged out of the particular colonial experience and from plantation society which is the foundation of Kwéyol language, music and dances. In more recent times these elements of anglo-creole culture have made their way into the local contemporary popular culture. Caritalents Trainers explored with Students the complex world of musical heritage focusing on the preservation, dissemination and evolution in the Roseau Area. Rationale This project aims to assess the interest among 14-21 year olds in performance culture in Roseau, heighten that interest so that there is increased participation in traditional performances and expressions and finally to train a cadre of 25 youth in performing three traditional folk forms. Culture is a vital part of

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every citizen’s life. Participating in traditional performances such as folk singing, theatre, dance and music develops multiple ways of perceiving and interpreting a country’s history and tradition. Through participation in traditional activities and performances, youth had opportunities to think creatively while developing cultural and social identities in effort to preserve, promote and develop the country’s history and tradition. Therefore, this project has the potential to harness interest, responsibility and leadership to inspire the present generation of Dominica to appreciate and participate in traditional folk form performances. Jing ping band music The Lab focused on Instrumental Music, more specifically the Jing Ping Band. The Jing Ping band accompanies all of the European based dances including those of the Lancers. While experimentation may occur, the primary instruments used in the Jing Ping bands are the Accordion (melody and harmony), the Boom-boom (bass), the Gwaj or Siyak (percussive and treble) and the Tambal (rhythmic). Training activities were held at the Goodwill Secondary School. The school has established an arts program but is challenged by the non-existence of a Jing Ping band to accompany the Jing Ping dances. The school has a population of approximately 500 Students and has inadequate classrooms to accommodate its Students population. The school is a co-educational institution. The Students are less academically inclined, and this project served as an opportunity to build their self -esteem and to generate much needed funds for them.

previous page Aerial view of Roseau area, St George, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

lordina baron (withdrawn), jacinta david, leandra lander, earlson matthew

april 7th convent high school, roseau

trainers 1st contact experience

april 13th to june 9th goodwill secondary school, roseau sessions convent high school, roseau old mill cultural centre, canefield june 18th, old mill cultural centre, canefield presentation june 24th, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau gilot anderson jurrel carles daena dailey denzel dangleben debbie daway davon george gianni george jenaiya giraudel students marvin henderson kijande joseph kerselle laroque carla lawrence tafari maffie ashante matthew bethany vidal

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Folk singing The Lab focused on the art of folk singing. Folk singing generally refers to the art of executing songs

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where the content generally discusses the lifestyle or experiences of a group of people. The songs may

folk singing

be sung in native language or use the folk instruments of the community of people. According to Pearle

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Christian, choir director of the Sixth Form Sisserou Singers and former Cultural Officer states that folk

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songs may be simple, repetitive lines or well organized ballads. In many cases, folk songs are used as a

uwi presentation

medium of oral transmission and delivered by a group of singers or a soloist. Folk singing like the many other shared beliefs, commodities and behaviours of a group, form the basis for persons who count themselves to be a part of the culture. The Students participated in the creation of song composition and performance. The song was on a topic that the Students desired, they required the resource person; the active listening of recordings acted as stimuli for Students to understand melodies. Creative and guided brainstorming activities allowed Students to develop their own lyrics and melodies.

next page Playbill of Team Riddim Wรณzรณ Final Presentation, Dominica

Contemporary/traditional music

Contemporary/Traditional Music session, Old Mill Cultural Centre, Canefield, Dominica

tween traditional and contemporary music. As a professional Musician and Recording Engineer, Mr.

The Lab focused on Traditional Vs Contemporary Music in an attempt to strengthen linkages beMatthew, along with numerous industry professionals, have concluded that current contemporary pro-

experimental laboratories

Caritalents Team Riddim Wozo presents:

RIDDIM WOZO

PERFORMANCE CULTURE IN ROSEAU June 18th, 3pm The Old Mill Cultural Centre, Caneeld Dominica boasts a rich musical heritage as a result of the presence and inuences of America, Europe, Africa and Asia in the Caribbean. The Creole Culture emerged out of the parƟcular colonial experience and from plantaƟon society which is the foundaƟon of Kwéyol language, music and dances. In more recent Ɵmes these elements of anglo-creole culture have made their way into the local contemporary popular culture. Caritalents trainers explored with students the complex world of musical heritage focusing on the preservaƟon, disseminaƟon and evoluƟon in the Roseau Area.

JING PING BAND MUSIC FOLK SINGING TRADITIONAL vs CONTEMPORARY MUSIC TRAINERS Earlson MaƩhew Jacinta David Leandra Lander Lordina Baron

ROSEAU

DOMINICA CULTURAL DIVISION

ducers and programmers are not cognizant of the fact that contemporary music utilizes traditional rhythms and instrumentation. The general objective was to heighten interest of youth between the ages of 14 and 21 in cultural performances. Though the music presently being produced does feature traditional elements, participants had a better understanding of the origins of the rhythm and instrumentation that, in return, may alter their approach and broaden the scope of their creativity. In addition, displayed a greater appreciation for traditional music and pushed Students to be more inclined to participate in related activities. Fragments by Leandra Lander As a teacher, I’m often the recipient of training. However, Caritalents allowed me to be the Trainer of young people and give them the opportunity to be in control of their learning. I consider the experience to be a valuable and successful one. Riddim Wózó was geared at empowering and training young people in the area of performance culture where I had the responsibility of folk singing. The seven young ladies for the various weeks as guided by Pearle Christian, Marie Pascale Affana and myself, were guided and molded not only to create their own folk song but in creole too! The Convent High School (CHS) Students selected their topic, created a melody and through guided practice, pieced together a simple yet catchy Creole and English song, ‘Dana mwè ka hélé!’; ‘Dana, I’m shouting’. The song expressed their joys about Carnival.

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Folk singing session, Convent High School, Roseau, Dominica Students practicing with accordion during Jing Ping Band session, Goodwill Secondary School, Roseau, Dominica Jing Ping Band music session, Goodwill Secondary School, Roseau, Dominica next page Final presentation moments, Riddim Wózó Team, Old Mill, Canefield, Dominica

It was a joy to see seven young ladies who started off with very little experience or interest in folk culture in Dominica, work together to create what would be the foundation to what was the winning children group folk song for Independence 2016. The CHS Choir maintained the general melody of the song and the sentiments and created the winning song. I thank the University of Florence and the UWI for the priceless opportunity of working with the young ladies and giving them a taste of their culture. Importantly, the Students hopefully recognise their potential to contribute to Dominica’s culture. It’s important that they are encouraged early so they can find their place in the arts!

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bath estate. a journey in urban organic farming

Urban Farming is defined as the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around a village, town or city. Food security, nutrition and income generation are its key motivations. Urban Farming can become integrated into local town planning as a transition town movement for sustainable urban development. The efforts of Caritalents Trainers were addressed to Bath Estate, a peripheral district of Roseau, to research and improve this practice through an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;educationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perspective. Rationale Upper Bath Estate was constructed in the early 1980s after the destruction caused by the Hurricane David in 1979. It was a housing scheme, and the people who live there are working middle class people. The houses were erected in a uniform manner but have been personalized by the inhabitants since there was land remaining. The area was selected because there are many vacant spaces between

roseau

and behind the houses. Many of the houses have backyards, which could be utilized in planting vegetables, and some of the houses are located near the river. Furthermore many individuals in urban and suburban areas like Bath Estate often feel a disconnect between themselves and the land. The introduction of agriculture on a small scale to this area could therefore produce many advantages. It can introduce agriculture to a new group of stakeholders who will realize that agriculture doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require large amounts of land. In addition there is a need to protect the environment so the idea of recycle, reused and reduce must be encouraged and introduced to urban and suburban areas through agriculture and its environmental friendly practices if we are to secure Dominica as the Nature Isle of the Caribbean. Inevitably, income can be generated from vegetables produced which can improve the lives of individuals. Mapping for urban agriculture Participatory Mapping involves local people using the knowledge of their local area to suggest and implement solutions to community problems. Urban Organic farming is a form of agriculture which is sustainable and is less damaging to the environment. Students produced maps to identify areas in Bath Estate where organic farming can be practiced to generate income and employment for their families. Experimental Lab focused on Participatory Mapping and the environmental aspect of organic farming. Students were engaged in drawing sketch maps of the pilot area to present their findings and express their interest and involvement in the Lab.

previous page Aerial view of Bath Estate settlement, Roseau, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

sharon felix, june jno baptiste theona serrant-joseph

april 5th bath estate, roseau

trainers 1st contact experience

april 13rd to june 14th dominica grammar school, roseau uwi open campus, roseau teacher collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backyard, roseau june 16th, uwi open campus, roseau presentation june 24th, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau sessions

aaliyah alexander abigail bartley kevon boyd niquan carbon felix cenac sheree daniel jade elizee students cassie ann eusebe kernish jeaj jacques daina joseph gershon joseph harolda julien ariel rogers josh theophile micah timothy

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Organic farming and composting Participants set up a small vegetables plot in the community of Bath Estate near the old Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Col-

mapping

lege which now house the Community High School and the Petite Savanne Primary School. Experts

organic farming

were brought in to engage the participant in organic vegetable production. The participants were edu-

organic and health

cated on the economic and health benefits which derived from this type of production. Simultaneous-

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ly, they incorporated good farming techniques which encourage, for example, the reduction of biode-

uwi presentation

gradable matter from the kitchen from being thrown in the landfill. Thus, the activity selected introduced the participants to the benefits of organic farming. The approach tried to be a holistic one: participants not only were engaged in the planting of a small vegetable garden but also to use the tool digital story to illustrate the benefits of eating and growing organic vegetables. Health benefits of organic farming Organic farming promotes healthy living because it is a whole body exercise through the actual gardening which enhances physical and internal well-being. During the health sessions, Students used knowl-

next page Playbill of Team Bath Estate, Final Presentation, Dominica Organic Farming session UWI, Open Campus, Roseau, Dominica

edge to make fliers to promote consumption of organic foods; engage in preparing meals using organic ingredients; educating family members in the use of organic food; create a mini cookbook using recipes created from scratch during the experimental Lab. During the sessions, teachers instructed pupils on the benefits of organic consumption. They sought to inform on the nutritional value of most organ-

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Caritalents Team Bath Estate presents:

BATH ESTATE ROSEAU

A JOURNEY IN URBAN ORGANIC FARMING June 16th, 11am, University of West Indies, Open Campus, Auditorium, Roseau Urban Farming is dened as the prac�ce of cul�va�ng, processing and distribu�ng food in or around a village, town or city. Food security, nutri�on and income genera�on are its key mo�va�ons. Urban farming can become integrated into local town planning as a transi�on town movement for sustainable urban development. The eﬀorts of Caritalents trainers were addressed to Bath Estate, a peripheral district of Roseau, to research and improve this prac�ce through an “educa�onal” perspec�ve.

PARTICIPATORY MAPPING FARMING NUTRITION EDUCATION POETRY

TRAINERS June Jno Bap�ste Sharon Felix Theona SerrantJoseph

BATH ESTATE

ic foods. Tutors informed Students on the reasons why non organic foods should not be consumed. Facilitators aided Students in formulating new recipes and implementing use of the recipes cookbook. Fragments by June Jno Baptiste and Theona Serrant-Joseph It is believed that if Christopher Columbus were to revisit the Caribbean that Dominica would be one of the few islands that he would be able to indentify five hundred years after his initial visit. Dominica is situated between two French islands Guadeloupe and Martinique. The topography and annual rainfall of Dominica make the island suitable for agriculture. As a colony of Britain prior to emancipation, Dominica could not boast of the large sugar plantations like Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. Nonetheless plantations were established on the island. Thus agriculture became the main stay of the island. Post emancipation led to the rise of the peasantry, the newly freed slaves were able to provide the population with food that was necessary to survive in a newly emancipated colony. Crops like tanyas, yams dasheen, sweet potatoes, plantains, bananas, cacaos, arrowroot, roucou, citrus and coffee were cultivated. Dominica soon became the fruit basket of not only the Caribbean but also England. In the 1980’s bananas were shipped to England on a weekly business. Thus agriculture has always been important to the Dominican people. In recent years, agriculture has taken a down turn in the country. Natural diseases, loss of market and the rising cost of inputs have served as a deterrent to the youth to become involved in agriculture.

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Agriculture session, Team Bath Estate, Dominica Grammar School, Roseau, Dominica

The Bath Estate group believed that agriculture needed a boost, the youth needed to see the importance of agriculture as not only a means to an income but also as way of life. Agriculture has many benefits to the individual and the community as a whole. The introduction of organic urban farming opens up the youth to a sustainable future. Some of the benefit includes living longer since nothing artificial should be added to the soil while engaging in organic farming, preservation of the environment for future generation and earning an income. Moreover one of the group’s objectives was to illustrate to the participants that much initial capital was not required when starting off. For example, simple items such as empty bleach and soda bottles could be utilized as receptacles to grow plants which meant that the environment would be impacted in a positive way. One of the objectives of the Caritalents course was to engage youth who are at risk to become more involved in the communities by participating in various activities that would enable them to become mature, independent and respected individuals in society. Having achieved these goals, the youth would contribute to the development of their home, schools and country. The Bath Estate Team (June, Theona and Sharon) focused on Organic Farming in Bath Estate, an urban community in Roseau. The team recognized the importance of Agriculture to the Dominican economy and thus getting the young people involved would assist them in generating income to assist them in generating income to assist

previous page Stages of Composting Teacher, College’s Backyard, Roseau, Dominica Organic Farming session Teacher, College’s Backyard, Roseau, Dominica

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their families; as well as an opportunity to create employment for themselves. This venture would help

Maps drawn by Students during the FCE survey, Bath Estate, Dominica

in keeping the youth focused on their self-development by becoming more responsible and motivated

First Contact Experience Survey, Bath Estate, Dominica

During the implementation of the Experimental Lab, fifteen young people were exposed to several

to achieve success in whatever field or area of employment that interest them. agricultural practices, such as composting, transplanting and other basic but important farming practices. They also researched on the internet information on the advantages and disadvantages of organic farming and composing. An expert in the field of Agriculture, Mrs. Taletha Laudat, gave students a comprehensive overview of the importance of organic farming. She also did practical sessions with the young people on how to build a compost heap. During the ToT course we were exposed to several innovative tools such as participatory mapping, digital story telling and photography among others. These tools were used in conducting the Experimental Labs. Then we concentrated mainly on participatory mapping, photography drawing and digital story telling. Participatory Mapping is a map-making process that attempts to make visible the association between land and local communities by using the commonly understood and recognized language of cartography. Participatory Mapping is a powerful tool that allows communities to represent themselves spatially. The Students — some of whom are residents of Bath Estate — were able use their knowledge of the area to create the maps. They first drew basic maps on the ground (hands-on mapping) based on

next page Final Presentation moments, Team Bath Estate, UWI Open Campus, Roseau, Dominica

what they saw on them first walk (First Contact Experience) in the urban community of Bath Estate. They also drew sketch maps to identify areas in Bath Estate that would be suitable for organic farming in a residential area. The young Students showed a lot of enthusiasm in drawing the sketch maps.

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portsmouth. art and farming in purple turtle beach

Trainers and Students researched the connection between the uprising yachting industry in Porthsmouth, and local industries, more specifically: Performance and Agricultural Production. Both aspects were analysed as points of interest for the development of local tourism and possible deve-

portsmouth

lopment of income for local youth. Purple Turtle Beach in Portsmouth Bay, has been chosen as the key point of research activity (interview and data collection), at the same time the beach was used as place of development of this potential commercial activity. Rationale The project is based on the creation of employment for the youth in an existing yachting industry whilst at the very same time, fostering an appreciation for educational development and keeping the youth free from criminal activities. By finding the right way and possibly guided into the correct path, Students may be able to utilize resources of the area to expand the industry, making it a much more sustainable one. The yachting industry within the town of Portsmouth is vibrant, with massive potential for growth. Record levels of employment can be generated through Agriculture, performing arts and environmental enhancement. Performing arts for local economic growth Students had the opportunity to learn or expand their knowledge on creating entertainment through the activity of performing arts. This should enable them to be at a position where they can actually create employment benefit for themselves. Trainees collected factual data base, record and information on the various performing arts group on the North of Dominica, who are likely to perform in order to make preparations to create entertainment for yachters. Farming for local economic growth Trainees exposed to valuable information on agriculture and created a catalogue with various local produce that are usually purchased by the yachters as well as their suppliers. They acted as mediators between the suppliers and yachters. The trainees developed these catalogue which will be used not only on the local market but also on the international market. This will give the yachters a first hand view of what is produced and by whom.

previous page Aerial view of Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

natasha victor-françois iona, tiwisha vital trainers isba, nathaniel john 1st contact experience

march 26th purple turtle beach, portsmouth

april 7th to june 21st capuchin community sessions cottage community purple turtle beach, portsmouth presentation

july 1st, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau

dave carbon joel carbon andy daniel trevis didier bernard fan-fan tyson lamothe students neville romain garvin seaman matthew thomas paul junior vital

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Fragments by Tiwisha Vital Isba It has always been my desire to contribute to the development of my fellow youths and community members to enhance their progression for a better future; by assisting them in the creation of work pros-

farming

pects for themselves. The Caritalents project was one of the best ways in providing this opportunity.

uwi presentation

In the development and mid stages of the Caritalents project, a proposed project was developed, with the topic “Creation of employment in the yachting industry on the Purple Turtle Beach”. This study was targeted to the young high school participants of my community to give them a bright opportunity. The purpose of the study was to engage the trainees in activities to collect factual information/database on Patrons, tourists/yachters and various Cultural groups including the Capuchin Cultural group, Clifton Primary School Cultural Group, St John’s Primary Cultural group, and Paix-Bouche Cultural Group on the north of Dominica; who are likely to perform to yachters and improve the development of the Purple Turtle beach to create entertainment through performing arts as an employment source for themselves.

next page Playbill of Team Portsmouth Final Presentation, Dominica Student filming during Performing Arts session, Purple Turtle Beach, Portsmouth, Dominica

I choose to do this particular research because the yachting industry is silently booming and a lot of persons are not aware of it. In my opinion, it was the ideal opportunity for the young people in my community to create a livelihood for themselves, showcasing talent which is of a totally different culture from what yachters and other tourist are used to, giving them the exposure they need whilst generating revenue for themselves.

experimental laboratories

Caritalents Team Porthsmouth presents:

PORTHSMOUTH

ART AND FARMING IN PURPLE TURTLE BEACH June 2nd, 2pm Purple Turtle Beach, Portsmouth Trainers and Students researched the connecƟon between the uprising yachƟng industry in Porthsmouth, and local industries, more specically: Performance and Agricultural ProducƟon. Both aspects were analysed as points of interest for the development of local tourism and possible development of income for local youth. Purple Turtle Beach in Portsmouth Bay, has been chosen as the key point of research acƟvity (interview and data collecƟon), at the same Ɵme the beach was used as place of development of this potenƟal commercial acƟvity.

PORTSMOUTH

PARTICIPATORY MAPPING FARMING NUTRITION EDUCATION

TRAINERS June Jno BapƟste Sharon Felix Theona SerrantJoseph

It was a challenging couple of months. In the beginning it was a struggle getting the trainees to the designated pilot area which resulted in me having to change the meeting area without terminating my main objective and focus, “The Purple Turtle Beach”. In due time, the trainees exceeded my expectations. Their interest grew and they became more interactive in class sessions and would voice their opinions and ask questions in discussion. In gathering information for this project, they used their different skills such as filming, drawings and conducting interviews with different personnel who are connected to the pilot area directly and indirectly, which definitely contributed and formulated the project. The entire process posed many difficulties. The structure in which the project was expected to be done was not lucid and properly organized; therefore, I lacked some understanding in what was needed. Most times, I felt I was moving in circles and wasn’t getting to the main idea of the project and wasn’t accomplishing what was required of me. All in all, this training and project enabled me to grow which impacted my life significantly. It has increased my knowledge in the yachting industry, which highlighted attributes such as motivation and leadership styles. With all of the pros and cons this project showcased, I gladly appreciate the opportunity and would not trade any of my experiences; because that’s what made it so exciting.

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Fragments by Nathaniel John Caritalents served a great importance in the knowledge base and assisted Trainers such as myself with further skills, in utilizing varying tools to enlighten, encourage, and motivate the youth or trainees to participate in their holistic development and by extension, their communities. The course showcased our island, Dominica’s culture and heritage and illustrated how it could be used to empower the youth, especially those who are at risk in various areas in their respective communities. I am currently a resident at the town of Portsmouth where it has been quite evident that the youth suffers from attractiveness to criminal activities, largely due to lack of gainful employment. According to records at the Portsmouth Police Station, “high rates in criminal activities among youths in the Portsmouth area stem from, drug related activities, weapons possession, theft, assault and battery, murder among others, account for 47.3% of arrest of persons within the ages of 15 to 30 in the last five years” (January 2016). There have been high rates of high school dropout which seems to be increasing steadily. Data received from the Portsmouth Secondary School revealed, “over the past five years a total of 163 Students have been recorded to drop out of the Portsmouth Secondary School with an increase of 17% between the year 2014-2015; the highest number of the dropouts are Students between ages 15-18 at the fourth form level”(January 2016). From the information gathered, it was glaring that something must be done to address the issues affecting youth in the area. Many would be resources were explored so as to help the youth to help themselves and elevate some of

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Screenshots of video interviews shot by Students, Purple Turtle Beach, Portsmouth, Dominica

the strife they may be faced with. One such resource which seemed to eclipse the others and possessed tremendous benefit to the trainees, is a beach front which seats at the edge of the Cabrits National Park and widely known by the islanders as ‘Purple Turtle Beach’. This general area has had a rich historical pass which linked Europe to the island, first by the Spaniards who called the entire area ‘Cabritos’ then the French who called it Cabrits, eventually the English who later came retained the name. In recent times more sophisticated sail ships have ventured to the area sparking the birth of a new industry. These ships are called yachts and they have been coming in large numbers to the shores of ‘Purple Turtle Beach’. These visitors have been code named ‘Yachting tourist’ by the Parliamentary representative of the Portsmouth constituency, the Honorable Ian Douglas. This yachting industry in Portsmouth holds high prospects for the youth in areas of employment creation, Engagement in positive activities to keep youth from delinquency, and increase the awareness of the cultural art forms among youths. Trainees were to be trained to exploit the possibility of the industry. After much training during the Caritalent course, Trainers were to select the trainees on their team and train them to benefit from the experiment, utilizing varying tools to do so. Trainees were selected among the youth most at risk. This resulted in a group of boys between the ages of 16 to 25 who were currently unemployed and may have had running with the law. The selection process was done by interviewing young men around the town of Portsmouth, hoping to acquire the necessary information about them and hoping that they would wish to participate in an experimental laboratory from which

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Team Portsmouth during First Contact Experience at Purple Turtle Beach, Portsmouth, Dominica

they would learn to help and develop themselves. This venture was met with enthusiasm as many young men pledged their support and wished to be an active member. The prospective trainees were given a basic question to answer and their answer would propel them into the experiment since limited numbers of trainees were to be accepted for the experiment; the question was ‘what do you understand by yachting tourism and what can you do to bolster it? During the course, Trainers were told that a maximum number of five individuals were essential for each Trainer. The first time trainees had all been met at the Purple Turtle Beach, they were further explained to of what exactly they were participating in. Trainees were to then devise a plan as to how they can work as individuals to develop the area at Purple Turtle and in so doing, encourage more yacht visitors to the area. Though trainees were allowed to brain storm possible prospects for the area and perhaps create some form of employment, the Trainers were to prepare specific areas of development for trainees so as to keep the training structured and achievable. Since the yachting industry had already been an existing commodity, Trainers sought to train the trainees to improve on it, predominantly in areas of Agricultural production, performing arts and the environmental enhancement of the general surrounding and improving the yachting tourism product. These areas correlate within the industry as agriculture will provide localized food to yachters whilst performing arts and the environment enhancement serves as entertainment and natural beauty to keep yachters attracted to the area. Utilizing various tools and approaches such as public performances and storytelling, it will keep trainees engaged and better equipped in delivering their products in various forms. Participatory mapping would assist trainees in developing their structure for the area, as they become aware of the importance of surroundings within the yachting tourism product. When yachters arrive, providing them with aspect of our nation’s history through performing arts and our local cuisine, endorsing an increase in their spending. This will generate greater revenue for the industry thus providing much needed employment that the youth desires. By training the youth, the Trainers in the Portsmouth area give them a platform and encourage their voice that they may make a meaningful contribution to the community of Portsmouth. Ultimately, through the exercise, the youth becomes empowered and they may empower others. It is widely believed that the trainees’ participation in positive activities will produce great results especially in employment, thus steering them away from nefarious activities and bring about both personal and community development.

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dubique. a community in transition

Before Tropical Storm Erika, Dubique was considered one of the under privilege communities in Dominica. Post Erika however, made it mandatory the entire population be relocated in a new settlement in the larger community of Grand Bay. The programme actions addressed to the traumatic event through art and self-expression (dance, creative writing, comics) and through an increased awareness of the fragility of the territory. Rationale The characteristics of Dubique were well-fitting to the objectives of Caritalents for: • features of the area (environmental fragility, environmental crisis due to Storm Erika); • features of the community and Students (low-income, time of stress due to eviction from the town). That’s why the Team has attempted a holistic approach and intended to incorporate some sessions in basic reading and writing during the course of the laboratories. Indeed participants had the possibili-

dubique

ty to express themselves during interviews and communicate more effectively in and out of their community. Finally they were able to write their own stories and experiences. Furthermore participants had been engaged in: • learning a European traditional dance so that they can add to their repertoire of dances; • gain knowledge on construction of buildings so that they can select and build their own homes in the future as well as enable their families in future construction and development; • decide on the best soil type for building homes and public places. The team engaged participants in interviews, voice recording, videos and field trips to get them actively involved. Storytelling in dance This activity entails creative learning and communicating effectively in ways to entertain and share experiences. The participants had been encouraged to create on their own, mindful that they are expressing their feelings in exciting and interesting ways. The dance composition has been segmented into seven parts. Ordinary movements transformed to dance choreography. In the meantime the Trainer progressed at participants pace to explore as much as possible the full story. Working segment by segment, the performance and investigation reflected the success of the event.

previous page Aerial view of Dubique Area, St Patrick, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

cynda b. francis, adriana henderson, trainers carlton henry, prina jno baptiste, vincia languedoc 1st contact experience

april 3rd grand bay community center

april 4th to june 10th sessions p. charles secondary school, grand bay june 12th, p. charles secondary school, grand bay presentation june 24th, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau jaseon alexander machetta alexander shernaie alexander gesna anselmn kurtney anselmn adelia jno baptiste students alia jno baptiste kian jno baptiste delizia ettienne leanna jno baptiste jonathan john sarwan lockhart

nelson maxim tamika noel milden telemacque nephan telemacque bradely thomas hendrickson titre kevin toussaint

other merle john participants

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Creative writing Creative Writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, aca-

storytelling in dance

demic or technical forms of literature. It is typically identified by an emphasis of craft, character devel-

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opment and use of literary devices or various traditions of poetry.

territorial education

Participants had been engaged in various types of creative writing which include the following:

creative writing

Memoirs: historical account or biography written from personal knowledge.

final presentation uwi presentation

Poetry: in which the expression of feelings and ideas are given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. Songs: composition made up of lyrics and music, with the intent of the lyrics being sung, for the purpose of producing a proportionate feeling or emotion in relation to a particular matter. Personal Essays: includes the thoughts, feelings, or ideas of the writer on a particular subject or experience.

next page Playbill of Team Dubique, Final Presentation, Dominica

Performing art: individual people perform separately or together using their voices and or body move-

Screenshots of Poetry Performance video, Dubique, Dominica

Hopefully the Lab encouraged Students to develop an appreciation for their culture, one that is unique

ments to convey artistic expressions. to them.

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Caritalents Team Dubique presents:

DUBIQUE

A COMMUNITY IN TRANSITION June 12th, 4pm Pierre Charles Secondary School, Auditorium Grand Bay Before Tropical Storm Erika, Dubique was considered one of the under privilege communiƟes in Dominica. Post Erika however, made it mandatory the enƟre populaƟon be relocated in a new seƩlement in the larger community of Grand Bay. The programme acƟons addressed to the traumaƟc event through art and self-expression (dance, creaƟve wriƟng, comics) and through an increased awareness of the fragility of the territory. The results of 8 weeks work will be presented to the community in the form of performances and exhibiƟons.

POETRY HEEL & TOE TRADITIONAL DANCE GRASSROOT COMICS DESIGN STORY TELLING THROUGH DANCE

TRAINERS Adriana Henderson Chinda Bynoe Carlton Henry Prina Jno BapƟste Vincia Languedoc

DUBIQUE

Comics Many are of the view that the young persons of Dubique can’t express themselves well in writing thus verbal communication has been the basis upon which they share experiences, feelings, emotions and new insight. In light of this, team decided upon exploring the tool of grassroot comics with the youngsters under study. This not only allowed them to express their story of their community in simple writing but to use pictures/visual art to tell such stories. These stories are of great importance for the community and Dominica on a whole as it serves as documentation of village life for generations to come. Heel and toe, traditional dance It was decided to teach the participants from Dubique traditional dances for a few reasons: • they are for team building; • to build up their self confidence, way of overcoming the trauma they went through; • to teach the how to communicate non-verbally; • to perpetuate a tradition and most importantly to add to the repertoire of dances they already have. Heel and Toe is a couple dance. The signature movement for this dance extends the leg and places it down on the heel. The lively, consistent dance sequence in meter begins with three quick steps (left,

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Comics sketched by Students during Comics session, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

right, left). Then, extending the right leg to the side, place it down on the heel. Bend the knee and bring the foot on the ball behind the heel of the left foot. Starting on the right leg first, execute three more quick steps (right, left, right). Participants learned two new traditional dances to add to their repertoire of dances. They also worked better as a team and communicate more effectively verbally and non-verbally. Territorial education The community of Dubique though it was already noted as a poorly located was loved and accepted by it’s residents. After Tropical Storm Erika people were forced to move by the leaders of the country. Yet, many of the villagers yearn to return to their village. The leaders has temporarily placed them at the Grand Bay Youth Centre, but has allocated a site within the said community, which will be their new place of settlement. Concern is that the community will/can make the same errors that it made by building anywhere, using any materials and also losing their heritage and their urbanized area. It is hoped that the participants will be able to identify the proper material, plans to develop their urban arnext page Heel and Toe essay and Storytelling in Dance essay during Team Dubique, Final Presentation, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

ea and also to include some of their heritage lost that they missed so dearly. Comics: Many are of the view that the young persons of Dubique can’t express themselves well in writing thus verbal communication has been the basis upon which they share experiences, feelings, emotions and new insight. In light of this, Team decided upon exploring the tool of Grassroot Comics with

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Students performing choreography during Dance session, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

the youngsters under study. This not only allowed them to express their story of their community in simple writing but to use pictures/visual art to tell such stories. These stories are of great importance for the community and Dominica as a whole as it serves as documentation of village life for generations to come. Fragments by Adriana Handerson I am a Performing Arts Teacher at the Pierre Charles Secondary School, and resident of Grand Bay, a very vibrant community especially as it relates to culture and politics. As leader of a very popular and outstanding cultural group ‘Tradibelle’ I work in the community in an effort to preserve and entertain at the same time educate people in various methods applicable to different situations. Therefore helping young people progress is one of my ultimate goals and these factors have motivated me in the work I was about to undertake. Working with the young people from the Dubic area, was indeed an honour as I felt like a contributor to the plight of the residents who had so recently experienced the wrath of Tropical Storm Erika. As my heart warmed to their unfortunate circumstance, it also warmed to the zealousness they exhibited in their eagerness to participate in the Programme. These young people aged 1425 who are looking for answers to their many problems and so lost about their future, shared their tears, their smiles and their stories. In some instances experiences they had never dared to share previously came out in the open through the use of ‘Popular Theatre’ techniques and other enjoyable activities. There were stories to write, games to play, movement to compose, questions to answer and puzzles to complete.

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There were fun, exercise sessions, discussions and much movement as they danced to different genres of music from the African drums to soul and sentimental. The young men though they were pretty much occupied as they were helping to build their new settlement made great effort towards attending the lab sessions even when they would say “Miss I just came, but I am too tired to dance tonight”. Eight weeks of dance sessions seemed unending. Sometimes three times a week, one to two hours long. The young people worked tirelessly to meet the goal set. Never having done “creative/dramatised or modern dance, the challenge was real. The number of participants dropped from fifteen to eight. But… I did understand”. The time came for the final presentation and it was a pleasurable experience working with them. They really motivated me with their eagerness to perform before the residents of their community. There were many who were very timid, nervous and shy at first but to the end they were prepared to reveal themselves to their parents and family. Costumes enhanced the presentation and the entire community was amazed at their achievements in eight weeks of what I consider ‘borrowed time’. I refer to the time as ‘borrowed’ due to the fact that we had to get into the night time to accommodate the majority of the young people. We also had to switch days to ensure that the number of sessions was met. These are young people who go to school or work, have afternoon classes and ‘didn’t have time’. On days when there were village activities we encountered problems, as these young people love to ‘fete’. The experience of being a Student once again was indeed refreshing and I enjoyed most of the classes even when I felt overwhelmed due to the time factor. Caritalents gave me the insight into new learning about our heritage. We now understood that heritage not only concerned “cultural items, artefacts and what we know now as ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’ cultural heritage”. We were also made to understand that our territorial heritage comprising our resources, our environment our buildings and landscapes was all to be protected and used to sustain life and bring economic fulfilment our people. Using our resources wisely and creatively were ideas that will remain with me through time. Now being conscious of how we humans impact our resources is like new discoveries. Another area of interest is the need to document our knowledge and information. Collecting reliable data is important but ensuring that it is correctly stored for further usage is strongly recommended. The utilization of modern technology to help in data recording and compilation was brought to the fore. The need for reporters and historians do exist in my territory and the thought of documenting Dominica’s history, events, people has become more significant. Having special skills and talent is wonderful, however I have learnt through the process that asking for assistance in certain field enables one to achieve greater success. The utilization of the ‘experts’ — as we were allowed to have — made my task simpler. There are times even you, as a Trainer, does

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Dubique new settlement model designed and realized by Students

not have all the necessary skills and ideas. I therefore worked with four experts, who not only helped make my work easier but they brought much excitement to the young people and with their help the classes were indeed enjoyable and fruitful. Due to the fact I was doing story telling through dance I acquired the skills and talent of four experts in the fields of drumming, popular theatre, dance composition and choreography. The participants were happily engaged at all sessions. Finally they were able to produce a dance choreography which brought tears to the eyes of all those who experienced their ordeal through movement in Dance. They shared their personal and family traumas during and after the storm, they relived their horrible journey from their village Dubic to the village of Grand Bay where they found rescue. They enacted their lives in the shelters and then happiness and hope as the storm was over and they looked forward to a new beginning. My Students did not disappoint me at the presentation but they did shock their parents and the entire community. It was indeed smart and motivating when the experts were compensated for their help, and snacks were provided for the participants. At the end of the entire course I feel the need for continuation of the work started. The labs were important, the young people have started a process that they enjoyed, they are still young and some unemployed, they are now in their new settlement where there is need for village life to continue in a positive direction. These people need to be furnished with sufficient skills and attitudes which will surely help in the further development of the new Dubic settlement. I thank Caritalents for awakening in me the desire to do some more research and documentation which will benefit my country, and for the work encouraging the young to develop themselves.

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Maps of Dubique old settlement drawn by Students, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

Fragments by Chinda Bynoe-Francis The introduction to the course of Caritalents had a very broad scope and this posed a challenge as to how we were going to be assessed at the end of this study. Many tutors came on board and educated us on various aspects of culture and heritage. Though we were kind of confused about the structure of the course, each presenter was able to share some interesting facts and experiences in light of the course. The initial stages of the field study where we now had to train others seemed almost impossible. At first the trainees were difficult to discover, but with much assistance from our tutor Dr. Simone Spellucci we all pulled through successfully. The journey was indeed a tough one. Me and my team were determined to work together to reach out more specifically to a group of young people we considered at risk from the community of Dubique. A small hamlet in the south of the island of Dominica. Post Tropical Storm Erika, Dubique has been considered the less fortunate area in Dominica and on August 27th 2015 Tropical Storm Erika had devastated the physical landscape of the area, thus causing tremendous loss of homes, plant and animal life. We thought that the young people of this community were at risk given the situation they were posed with by nature. We believed that if these young people are able to carry with them some meaningful skills, they will be able to bounce back to their feet and take hold of opportunities that would be available to them.

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Final Presentation moments, Team Dubique, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

Caritalents came at a critical time, enabling us (the Trainers) to get in contact with young people at risk to engage them in meaningful activities with the resources readily available in their environment. This training has particularly helped our young people to build self-confidence and to revitalize their traditions and culture in a more creative and unique way. In my group I focused on Creative Writing since I believe writing is one of the ways in which someone can express just how they feel. Creative Writing not only helps individuals explore words and grammar, but, Creative Writing helps individuals learn about themselves, as well as to see that they have the ability to create something unique and praise worthy. In addition, Creative Writing provides an emotional outlet where they can express certain thoughts and ideas in a safe manner. More so, Creative Writing is a therapy to the mind where one can vent. These young people struggled with writing the English language. Since English is not their first language. They are more eloquent in their mother language which is the English creole (patois) that was learnt from their parents and grandparents mainly through informal learning. During the lab, the trainees were engaged in active writing, singing, and listening to other people’s written pieces for expression, rhythm and tone. Nevertheless, they were willing to seek assistance from myself and their other trainees. First they discussed at length what they wanted to write about. Some wrote about the most memorable times in their village (Dubique) some of which were sad memories and others happy memories. Then with the help of each other they were able to pen their words. We did exhaust the number of hours we had and I was really amazed to hear how quickly these young people were able

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to memorize and even act out their pieces. They looked forward to the camera being centered around them as they rehearsed their parts. Thanks to the technical expertise of Ras Mo from the Division of Culture in Dominica in the area of drumming. This has helped to add rhythm to the voices of the trainees as they vocalized their memoirs, poems, stories and dance making the project a better one. The children themselves were very thrilled to see how much potential that they have within themselves, and looked forward to seeing themselves on a screen one day. The financial contributions made available through Caritalents has helped alleviate the financial burden that we had in providing a snack, or a costume or even transportation and other needed materials for the trainees. I would like to thank Dr. Simone Spellucci for providing clarity, guidance and support throughout the course. It is because of this initiative through Caritalents our Students are able to better express themselves through creative means of dance, arts, comics and penning personal experiences. Many trainees have testified to continue writing as they have poems that they would like to write and eventually publish. Caritalents has definitely allowed us to move away from our comfort zone causing us to reach out to young people in our country who can help make some meaningful contribution to the community with the resources available in their environment.

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Final Presentation moments, Team Dubique, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

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religious district. bethesda methodist church in roseau

Rationale Trainers and Students have explored the relationship between the Methodist Church and the city of Roseau. They underwent an intensive study of the historical, agricultural and musical development surrounding the Methodist religion. They drew attention to their cultural development on the island and demonstrated how their hymns influenced the musical genres as well the agriculture within the church. The musical development has also been researched and a musical composition was created based on this informations. Furthermore, the Trainers engaged with the Students in a documentary to highlight this remarkable event in the community of Dominica. They focused on the church’s historical development as well as its influence on Dominica’s culture, more specifically, that of music and agriculture. roseau

Built heritage and storytelling The aim of this study is highlight the Religious, historical and Architectural condition of a sacred area in Roseau. As a result of the Methodist Church’s close proximity to the area, the study intends to draw attention to Methodist historical development on the island and the architectural uses and importance. The information was produced into a documentary to focus on its historical development. Equally important is its influence on Dominica’s culture, more specifically, the church’s impact on social life, education and historical preservation through architecture. Agricultural beautification The activity was geared at getting Students to develop and create innovative agricultural practices that can easily be used by persons with limited land space within the city. Students first cleared the plot for planting and additionally designed their own instrument(s) of data collection (questionnaires, interviews) to determine the importance of agriculture to the church and congregation. An expert was brought in to educate them on the importance of kitchen gardens and agriculture in an urban space.

previous page Aerial view of downtown, Roseau, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

hihson bougouneau, shirley charles, meritta hyacinth

april 12th wesley high school, roseau

trainers 1st contact experience

april 12th to june 20th wesley high school, roseau sessions orion academy, roseau bethesda methodist church hall, roseau backyard in king george v st, roseau june 21st, baptist methodist church hall, roseau presentation july 1st, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau nusaybah abdullah lauryn charles safiyah george sarona jno baptiste shereena henry shayla johnson cassie amelia jolly students jamie joseph rashad st hilaire louis riviere shernelli shillingford mighan smith chazielia timothy

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heritage and storytelling performance and song composition farming in urban setting final presentation uwi presentation

Performance and song composition The Lab focused on the musical development surrounding the Methodist Religion. Attention was placed on the hymns which have influenced music in Dominica. Participants used the skills acquired in Digital Story Telling to first conduct interviews with members of the congregation of the Methodist Church as well as other experts. Trainer then brought in musical experts acquainted with the traditional music of the church to show the participants the techniques involved in song composition. With their assistance and that of the Trainer, the participants composed their own composition for the Public Performance segment of the project. Fragments by Meritta Hyacinth The study chosen under the Caritalents project focused on the Religious, historical and Architectural conditions of a sacred area in Roseau. Based on the area chosen, the Methodist Church’s close proximity to the area, it became the focal point of the project. This area was chosen for its richness in sacred architecture. Furthermore, in a square of so many other churches, the Methodist Church seems to be

next page Playbill of Team Religious District, Final Presentation, Dominica Organic Farming lesson, Wesley High School, Roseau, Dominica

given less historical attention in comparison to the grandeur of the Cathedral which shares the same lot. The study intended to draw attention to Methodist historical development on the island and its Architectural use and importance. Additionally, to focus on its historical development and the Church’s importance and influence on Dominica’s culture, more specifically, the church’s impact on social life,

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Caritalents Team Religious District Roseau presents:

RELIGIOUS DISTRICT BETHESDA METHODIST CHURCH IN ROSEAU June 21st, Methodist Church Hall, 1pm, Roseau Trainers and students have explored the relaƟonship between the Methodist Church and the city of Roseau. They underwent an intensive study of the historical, agricultural and musical development surrounding the Methodist religion. They drew aƩenƟon to their cultural development on the island and demonstrated how their hymns inuenced the musical genres as well the agriculture within the church. Therefore, the trainers engaged with the students in a documentary to highlight this remarkable event in the community of Dominica. The musical development has also been researched and a musical composiƟon was created based on this informaƟons.

VIDEOGRAPHY FARMING RELIGIOUS MUSIC URBAN INFORMATION

TRAINERS Shirley Charles Hihson Bougouneau MeriƩa Hyacinth

ROSEAU

education and historical Preservation through Architecture. The area selected had a rich historical history. For the research purpose we begin from the 1700 and focused on how the Catholic and the Methodist church coexisted over the years. It was identified that Frère William Martel was the first parish priest of Roseau and the first church (catholic) was built in 1732. During this period of religious growth in Dominica, the country changed hands numerous of times between the French and English. Such changing of hands between metropolitan nations impacted the church. Part of the research the following additional information was gathered and presented. 1. There was a plot of land within the area where a garden was set up as an outcome of the project. 2. The church hymns were influenced by local culture and influenced the local culture. 3. Agriculture remains an important aspect in the church, as it celebrates harvest as a church festival. Also the dominance of agricultural artwork inside the church. The Students were given introductory courses in editing software programs. They were also introduced to digital storytelling, screenplay writing and characterization. The students were given a tutorial as to the most effective method of using the camera, making documentaries and short video presentations. They were taught various interview methods and conducted them in order to receive information for the documentary. The Students were shown various musical styles and were allowed to explore them within the context of the church. They were able to successfully present their work at the final presentation on June 21st 2016.

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The area in which I contributed mainly were towards to give the introductory courses in editing software programs such as Adobe Premiere, Audition, Photoshop. I also did the session on digital storytelling, screenplay writing, characterization and effective methods of using the camera, making documentaries and short video presentations. Fragments by Shirley Charles After receiving a correspondence through my principal from the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus, I was first intrigued by the words ‘cultural heritage’ in the invitation to participate in this course. As a participant in my country’s culture as a singer of its multiple musical genres, I saw this course as a perfect opportunity to become trained and certified in activities that I do as a hobby. The idea was presented in an attractive manner to me on top of all of this; the duration was said to be only six months and I would also have been given time off to leave work early to attend classes. I was already convinced from the thought of receiving a certificate in “Heritage for cultural and human resource training and development” at the University of Florence. Classes began in June 2015 and although that month marked the end of the school year, it was a great sacrifice for me to attend classes. I personally thought that they were too tiring. Most were too theoretical and little practical was done. The time period taken daily to teach me the various tools could have been done in a more innovative way hence occupying less time by default. Admittedly, some of the classes were so interesting that I made a special effort to learn some of the tools to apply it to my classes at school. The first six months had ended and we were beginning the laboratory stage. It is at that stage, the main coordinator from the program in Italy, visited the remaining participants who stayed on after Tropical Storm Erika, and gave us a clear idea as in the way forward for the second stage. The greatest challenge was assigning us to groups to complete one project. Every group member had to find a way to merge individual ideas into one project. I was in a group with Meritta Hyacinth and Hihson Bougouneau. We were known as Religious Roseau because we were concentrating our project on the Bethesda Methodist Church in Roseau. We each looked at three different aspects according to our personal interests.

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Agricultural beautification of a backyard, Roseau, Dominica

The trainees’ participation in this project helped them to develop new ideas and target areas of interest. This helped increase Students’ knowledge and their appreciation for the sacred architecture they encountered. They became greater exposed to traditions, values and grassroot cultures. Trainees also became familiar with specific materials, like camera use, recording equipment and various software programmes. Trainees were intrigued by the areas of research but were less so in the musical aspect I presented. Those who were musicians and or had an interest in music took assertive measures in completing all tasks under my direction. The practical activities maintained Students’ interest and attention more. In my case, the song writing and singing and playing of the song were most interesting. Most of the Students kept a steady attendance record. Trainees gained a greater appreciation for the history and

previous page Screenshots of ‘The Methodist Church in Dominica’ video realized by Students

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Students and Trainers during Performance and Song Composition sessions Bethesda Methodist Church Hall, Roseau, Dominica Lyrics of the song composed by the students during the Lab

existence of the Methodist Church music. Some have improved academically based on reports from their teachers and some built confidence to volunteer for leadership positions within the school. This is considered a significant achievement since it has never been done before. I have to admit that the work of the trainees exceeded my expectations as one of their Trainers. At the public presentation, I presented with the help of two Students the song composition made during the laboratory; I began the song to symbolize the traditional era and the song continued under the leadership of Lauryn Charles who represented the incorporation of Caribbean music. At that point the drums and guitar are introduced to accompany the organ. This is symbolic because today these instruments accompany the organ at the Methodist Church during their celebrations. This song was composed musically by Ms. Cassie Amelia Jolly. It was written by Rashad St Hilaire, Cassie Amelia Jolly, Shernelli Shillingford and Nusaybah Abdullah under my guidance. From Cassie’s composition the beat was made by a producer. The lyrics focuses on the information attained during our investigations. As suggested by one of my group members, Meritta Hyacinth, the song holds the title “Carry Our Talents”. I feel quite satisfied and privileged having participated in this program. Carry Our Talents Oh the founding fathers came On ships from far far away Started their history in Dominica Working in agriculture Many people converted Danced to the British Musical Beats Which originally came from the streets. Refrain: The history of our forefathers Working in agriculture They encouraged each other They used music of their culture Since then many things have changed next page Final Presentation moments, Team Religious District, Bethesda Methodist Church Hall, Roseau, Dominica

Our culture is not the same The music is upbeat With a Caribbean feel

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map data: google, cnes/astrium, 2016

geneva estate. through cultural heritage

Geneva Estate is an area renowned for its cultural importance to the entire Dominican consciousness. Students are aware of the fact that the area and lands surrounding the Pierre Charles Secondary School was once an Estate, but they are unaware of the varied interesting and intellectually stimulating facets of this place. The programme actions pushed the youth with different tools (comics, performance) to become more aware of their heritage and more inclined to use the wide array of resources there on the Geneva Estate to advance themselves. Rationale Geneva Estate, Grand Bay was selected because the Trainers work as teachers in the Pierre Charles Secondary School and noticed that the areas surrounding the school is rich with culture but not much has been done to develop this area. The selected area allows for easy data collection and access since the School is locate in the Geneva Estate boundaries. The team members are naĂŻve about the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Geneva

berekua

Uprisingâ&#x20AC;? and have found that pursuing this topic will help themselves and the community to develop their cognitive skills that will further develop the selected area. Students and community people who live in this area have limited knowledge about the Geneva Estate History from 1948 to 1974. When conducting a preliminary study about the history of the selected area, the Trainers found out that most individuals were only familiar with parts about the Geneva Estate thus they are not knowledgeable about the uprising of the Geneva Estate. The Lab was organized in a multidisciplinary way; each Trainer focused on one tool but other tools, topics and methods may be linked with the main tool used by each Trainer. Along with the main tools selected team used questionnaires to gather information before and upon completion of the Lab. Surveys and other data collection tools were used to try to formulate an atlas of the selected area.

previous page Aerial view of Geneva Estate area St Patrick, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

trainers 1st contact experience sessions

imanuelle andrew, tamara cuffy d.c. (withdrawn) stephanie darroux-baron, jemimah hill-esprit

april 5th grand bay community centre

april 5th to june 11th p. charles secondary school, grand bay

june 12th, p. charles secondary school, grand bay presentation june 24th, uwi open campus, roseau november 24th, uwi open campus, roseau eslyn angol elyon anselm gwan anselm akayah athanaze darril bellot jaykwan bellot ranel bellot donny defoe quan denis students keymisha george erickson germaine bernard henry blondelle henry carlon joseph selina leatham taquana mark nelson maxime

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Building structures in Geneva Estate Building structure in the Geneva Estate area has changed over the years from old estate houses, shacks,

local fauna

stone houses, wooden structures modern concrete homes and more.

local flora

The activity focused on the changes in building structures in the Geneva Estate Area between 1894

local structures

and 2016. Students conducted research using interviews with older builders, books, etc. to assess and

final presentation

analyze these structures. Students used public performance to display what they had learn throughout

uwi presentation

the process and help to share the history and culture of the Geneva estate with the community. Discovering local fauna with comics The Lab focused on the fauna aspect of the stated topic. The fauna of the area over the years would have changed because of the development of this area and climate change. Documenting of data on the topic will pose a challenge since both the Trainer and trainees are not aware of the uprising of the

next page Playbill of Team Geneva Estate Final Presentation, Dominica Sessions moments, Team Geneva Estate, Dominica

Geneva Estate thus preliminary research must be conducted to gather a bank of knowledge. Trainees collected information through field trips, interviews and material/research. The Trainer trained Students to use grass-root comics along with other experts where community members will be given the opportunity to assist in their drawing compilation

experimental laboratories

Caritalents Team Geneva Estate presents:

GENEVA ESTATE

THROUGH CULTURAL HERITAGE June 12th, 2pm Pierre Charles Secondary School, Auditorium Grand Bay Geneva Estate is an area renowned for its cultural importance to the en�re Dominican consciousness. Students are aware of the fact that the area and lands surrounding the Pierre Charles Secondary School was once an estate, but they are unaware of the varied interes�ng and intellectually s�mula�ng facets of this place. The programme ac�ons pushed the youth with diﬀerent tools (comics, performance) to become more aware of their heritage and more inclined to use the wide array of resources there on the Geneva Estate to advance themselves.

DRAMA VISUAL EXHIBITIONS VIDEOGRAPHY

TRAINERS Imanuelle Andrew Jemimah Hill-Esprit Stephanie DarrouxBaron Yawana

GENEVA ESTATE

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Sessions moments, Team Geneva Estate, Dominica Detail of comics ’How Agouti Lost His Tail’ drawn by Students during Comics session

Flora in the Geneva Estate The flora of the area would have changed over time due to the development and climate change. The use that the flora is now being put to would also have changed as the denizens changed their lifestyles. This makes the flora worthy of study and data of the area were collected, before the development of and also of the current era of Geneva Estate. Documenting of data on the topic will constitute a challenge as both Trainer and trainees are not fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the uprising of the Geneva Estate. next page Final Presentation moments, Team Geneva Estate, Pierre Charles Secondary School, Grand Bay, Dominica

The Lab was organized in a multidisciplinary way, Trainers selected ‘Digital Storytelling’ as the main tool. This will allowed the youth to interpret their environment (Geneva Estate), in a manner which is both personal and significant.

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map data: google, cnes/astrium, 2016

bawi by the bay. history, culture and tradition

The original Carib name for Salisbury was Barroui (Bawi in the Creole language). Bawi by the Bay is a small piece of coastal area where is concentrated the history of Dominica: site of a Kalinago settlement, seat of a colonial Estate, commercial point during the booming banana industry in the 1950s. Today Bawi is an industrious community with farming, fishing and construction as main sources of income. Caritalents Trainers focused on the historical heritage, mapping and traditional fishing. They stimulated the Students to recognize the unique potential of the place in its tangible and intangible forms. Rationale

salisbury

Bawi by the bay is a small portion of the Salisbury estate owned by the Roman Catholic Church since the early 1930s. It is part of the 156 acres of land that the church once owned. This area was a commercial center for the community of Salisbury and its environs such as Coulibistrie, Mero, St Joseph and Layou. It also tells the story of the booming banana industry during the 1950s and the great impact it had on the community as it relates to economic, community, and personal development. The area is also a potential site for tourism and local events. The activities were aimed at: • visit and interview local stalwarts who have made contributions to the community; • use innovative ideas from the Students to create a plan for the Salisbury bay area which could be developed as a tourist site; • create a plan for landscaping to improve the appearance of the Salisbury bay area; • raise Student’s awareness and appreciation for the value of community and history; • use modern technology to document workshops (fish pot making, landscape planning and life guard training).

previous page Aerial view of Salisbury area, St Joseph, Dominica

tutors simone spellucci, daryl phillip

trainers danika hurtault, jeanelle laurent, revilia vidal 1st contact experience

april 7th bawi by the bay, salisbury

april 12th to june 21st isaiah t. secondary school, saint joseph bawi by the bay, salisbury june 12th, p. charles secondary school, grand bay presentation june 24th, uwi open campus, roseau november 25th, convent high school, roseau sessions

alyssa charles kayshawnel cuffy kereem dalrymple dwane defoe dylan eliazord jamal lawrence rebekah othon anna robinson students anne robinson brent st louis camron st louis joshua vidal kiethan vidal noah vidal telemacque vidal

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Raise awareness of historical Salisbury

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Students will meet at the Salisbury bay at the times set for activity. They seated in a semi-circle facing

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the facilitator and listened, collected information, asked questions and participated in ways as direct-

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ed by the facilitator. They also did face to face interviews with other resource people and used modern

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technology to make recordings of these activities.

uwi presentation

Participatory mapping The Trainer facilitated workshops with Students on the topic ‘Participatory mapping’, holding discussions and showing practical examples (video presentations) of how participatory mapping can be done. They make a practice map of their school compound to get the general idea of how participatory mapping can be done. Students had the opportunity to visit the site and hold discussions on their vision of what it can become. They make an outline map of the area (quick sketch).

next page Playbill of Team Bawi by the Bay, Final Presentation, Dominica Bawi area beautification model designed and realized by Students

Historic and modern fishing techniques Students were engaged in workshops to learn about the theory of fish pot building. With guidance from experienced fisher folks built their own fish pots. Students observed and recorded the fisherman’s story and sessions of the different workshops (visual and audio recording, photography).

experimental laboratories

Caritalents Team Bawi by the Bay presents:

BAWI BY THE BAY

HISTORY, CULTURE AND TRADITION June 23rd, 2pm Isaiah Thomas Secondary School, Saint Joseph The original Carib name for Salisbury was Barroui (Bawi in the Creole language). Bawi by the Bay is a small piece of coastal area where is concentrated the history of Dominica: site of a Kalinago seƩlement, seat of a colonial Estate, commercial point during the booming banana industry in the 1950s. Today Bawi is an industrious community with farming, shing and construcƟon as main sources of income. Caritalents trainers focused on the historical heritage, mapping and tradiƟonal shing. They sƟmulated the students to recognize the unique potenƟal of the place in its tangible and intangible forms.

PARTICIPATORY MAPPING VIDEOGRAPHY HISTORY TRAINERS Danika Hurtault Flora Jeanelle Laurent Nuala Revillia Vidal

SALISBURY

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â&#x20AC;˘ Final Presentation moments, Team Bawi by the Bay, Isaiah Thomas Secondary School, St. Joseph, Dominica

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PART IV External Evaluation

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a stone in the pound? perspectives on the experience Giovanni Allegretti

External Evaluator University of Coimbra, Portugal

Premise The concept of extractivism was totally new for me, but now it accompany me… I learnt that we need to educate people to reproduction, not to mere consumption […] We heard defending radical graffiti and slums in a different way. We saw for the first time the ‘solution’ side, which is embedded in shantytowns… New directions of looking at things were important. It was a fight against lobotomisation! (Statement of a Trainer of the ToT course)

When trying to evaluate an experience such as the pilot of Caritalents (at the same time simple and complex for the different layers of goals it had and the secondary effects which it produced), there is always the risk to forget that its nature is that of an Inter-University Cooperation Program whose main objective consisted in the development of skills, innovative tools and training pathways. So, it consisted first of all in a project which aimed at working on social and relational capital through trying to redefine the approaches to the concept of territorial and cultural heritage in a specific context: that of the Caribbean Region. In fact, the transcontinental scale of the project aimed at contributing to offer new opportunities of development and employment of young citizens through spreading awareness, among the involved participants in Barbados and Dominica islands, on the multiple and different social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions and implications of territorial heritage, as well as about their multiple potentials. Due to the size of the maximum budget provided by the main donor (the General direction for Cooperation of the Italian Ministry of foreign Affairs), its implementation consisted mainly in the conception and implementation of an articulated Training Course for trainers and educators of young citizens ‘at risk of exclusion’ (called ‘ToT’). The course was organized in partnership by the DIDA/UNIFI and the EBCCI/UWI and included different actions aimed at enhancing the awareness of involved actors about the possibility of historic/cultural heritage to provide new sources of income for young Caribbeans, based on knowledge. Under this perspective, the independent external evaluation did not have other options but choosing a participatory approach, which tried to track back convergences and divergences of involved participants in conceiving the format of the project, its ambitions, implementation and capacity of adaptation to the changes induced by external circumstances. The evaluation mission (March 2017) took advantage from the opportunity of an ‘overall evaluation’ of the project which proved rich and enthusiastic for the consequences and impacts that started to show several months after the completion of the last project activities. According to the results and surprises underlined by such work of evaluation, the present essay tries to

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summarize a series of ‘lessons learnt and recommendations’ proposed by several involved actors for supporting a possible future representation of the project to be implemented in the same or in different contexts of the Caribbean area. And it chose to open its paragraphs giving direct voice to the perceptions of some of the involved actors trough quoting some of their sentences whose dense language can be viewed as a pivotal witness of the proactive and passionate working environment that the Caritalents project was able to promote. An overall vision of the project’s philosophy and methodology It was incredible to see how, in few modules of lecturing, participants were growing in terms of interest for the topics and capacity of discovering and understanding new dimensions of the problems. I could do the example of agriculture. As I arrived, the majority of trainers seem convinced that agriculture is not more than a sector of production… After three lectures, they were able to discuss the links with cosmogonies and spiritual dimensions, the aesthetical and functional damages of monocultures. And the idea that valuing different landscape (as done in Santa Lucia or in Azores’ islands) could complete modify the structure of tourism, and the relation between locals and foreigners… (Statement of a Student of the Experimental Laboratories)

A wide series of actors involved in the project (included the most critical ones) seems to recognize Caritalents as a highly innovative pilot experiment, which introduced new multidisciplinary approach to the concept of heritage, seen in its material as well as immaterial dimensions. Such a capacity of renewing the vision on a neglected topic (and on disciplines as the history, rarely felt as important, especially by new generations) represents an added value for the socio-economic, the environmental, the cultural and institutional context The original targets are considered appropriate for the central tool of a ‘Training of Trainers’ which consolidated the partnership among Universities (the main framework of the funding scheme). Results and the first perceived mid-term impacts seems to confirm the high degree of satisfaction of all the involved actors. Under this perspective, the (few) critics presented to the project’s general concept regard mainly two issues. The first one is the definition of the ultimate ‘target group’, i.e. ‘young citizens at risk’. In fact, such a definition can change a lot from context to context and in relation to different actors involved in working with marginalized groups and communities. Such a definition did not appear to have been discussed enough with the Caribbean counterparts, so giving to some actors the impression of a sort of ‘colonialist approach’, which import concepts without declining them sufficiently into the local reality. The second issue refers to the organization of the partnership, which is requested to provide a more careful symmetry between actors and countries involved, making Dominica Open Campus more autonomous from the central seat of UWI in the organization of its activities. Under this perspective, it seems widely felt that a rearrangement of the partnership structure and responsibilities could contribute to soften some unjustified accusations of ‘colonialist approach’, a constant risk in all cooperation projects. Anyway, it is worth to underline that Caritalents (in the opinion of the overall range of its stakeholders) did not show structural deficits in terms of conception and philosophical approach, and it was capable to face and solve almost all the problems emerged

a stone in the pound? perspectives on the experience • giovanni allegretti

during the 2 years of activity. Namely, the project survived well to the two major conjunctural obstacles appeared during its implementation; (1) the damages of the Hurricane Erika in August 2015 (which delayed some of the training activities), and (2) the long delays in transferring the due resources to the project’s partners during the restructuring phase of the Italian Cooperation organization. The flexibility adopted by the project, thanks also to the recognized qualities of its main human resources that coordinated the training and logistic has guaranteed a high level of resilience and the adequate degree of adaptability Recognizing the first project’s impacts The course allowed a critical reflection to the young participants, to look in a different way to their communities, doing a balance between positive aspects like solidarity and negative aspects coming from social control. And they could insert this reflection in the traditional dancing, contributing to renew Landship tradition… (Trainer statement)

Caritalents seems to have deeply affected all its participants: not only Trainers and young participants of the Laboratories, but also the Teachers and part of the audience that took part in the final events of the course. In fact, it brought to light new dimensions of heritage, especially insisting on the importance of immaterial heritage. Under this perspective, it is recognized has having broken several epistemological routines and contributed to renew professional practices. Moreover, Caritalents played as a recognized and appreciated space for networking and mutual learning for the different actors taking part in its activities, and is viewed by many of them as an important challenge to contribute to enlarge the discussion on regional identity of Caribbean area, and an important factor for spreading new visions about the potential of its different territories beyond tourism and the present monocultures of agricultural production. Quoting an interviewed stakeholder, it is also acknowledged as a ‘catalyzer’ which wants to “provoke a new cultural debate on when the history of Caribbean islands started, stretching the present narrow-minded vision well beyond the limit of slavery period, and rescuing the importance of first native settlements and cultures”. According to the above-mentioned vision, Caritalents played mainly as a space for learning by doing, self-reflection and self-evaluation, whose participants had a lot of suggestions to present for strengthening future replicas and follow-ups. Some recommendations for restructuring In the Final Evaluation Report on Caritalents, five main families of suggestions have been listed, which emerged from a convergence in a large range of different stakeholders. “Social inclusion is not defined as redistribution + recognition? If we cannot have money to support them, we owe them at least the recognition for the support they gave us! These synergies must be recorded. A diploma or a credit in the final book could maybe be enough” (Trainer statement)

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The first family of recommendations refers to the partnership. In fact, it is largely agreed that a well-balanced ‘trilateral’ partnership between the donor country and the recipient countries must leave autonomy to each member of the partnership incorporating specificities of local contexts. Possibly, the accountability procedures would have to have from the start clear guidelines, especially when the donor’s procedures are very different from recipient countries’ routines. Provided that the mechanism of mixing teachers from different disciplinary background and national origin was considered very effective for enriching the training spaces and creating a ‘mirroring’ mechanism between different cultures and approaches related to ‘heritage’, several actors believe that a careful balance of the number of teacher from each of the different partners (and of their gender belonging and language skills) could be complemented with some presences from other Caribbean countries. It is important that any replication of Caritalents could imagine every typology of actor involved as a beneficiary, including the members of the Scientific Committee and the Teachers who (in the first edition) revealed to have learnt a lot from the teaching spaces with the trainers. Here in Barbados exclusion is different from other context. We are almost a socialist country, with no street-children, a good health service, public housing and a good mobility network with public buses… Exclusion for youngsters is a concept we must had discussed to have more clear what type of participants for the Laboratories we needed to search for. (Statement of one of the trainers involved in the ToT course)

A second family of recommendations refers to the selection of participants involved in the different phases of the course. The creation of a larger partnership with civil society organizations or administrative local and national institutions from the beginning of the process could be an antidote to the ‘centralization’ of selection responsibilities in only one entity or actor. It could also help to diversify the audiences reached by the project and made them more similar to the originally imagined target. By the way, is commonly recognized that the selection of the young students for the last phases of the course must be done at the mid of the second semester (imagining from that period the future structures and topics of the Experimental Laboratories) in order to better involve them in the entire course, and possibly in some activities of the foreign teachers. For this to happen, it would be important that — at the beginning of the course — the trainers could be involved in a discussion on the concepts of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘risk’ according to which the young citizens are selected for the Laboratories. The use of technologies and some cross-cutting common moment of gathering among the students of the different Laboratories could improve the networking capacity of the project, and reinforce the recognized usefulness of its ‘cultural mirroring’ mechanisms. [The course] was able to make things new and fascinating without being exotic. Bringing statistics and comparative studies during lectures helped to reach this goal […] We share in the region a process of formation of identity, and Caritalents is giving a huge contribution to it. (Teacher statement)

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next page Waterfront in Barbados

A third family of recommendations refers to the articulation of contents and the diffusion of results. Despite the Training course created by Caritalents was judged very effective and well-conceived by almost the overall range of involved actors, some stakeholders seem to consider that is still possible an optimization of the teaching calendar in order to ‘cluster’ some similar areas of lectures, and creating ‘joint assignments’ for the trainers. Namely, is suggested that some assignments (as those coming from cultural mapping activities) could explicitly be aimed to produce innovative researches on neglected aspects of the local heritage in the Caribbean Island, thus producing documentation that can be shared online and deposited in pre-agreed spaces in the involved countries (archives, libraries and so on). Several actors report that the description of the Training course generated expectations related to the learning of multimedia techniques, but in the first editions there were not enough hours to do practical exercises and training, so that many skills in this domain were difficult to acquire. In future edition, maybe some practical exercise classes could be imagined, and a larger attention to the timely delivery of technical instruments could be guaranteed in the management. Offering subsidized bus fares to trainers and students of laboratory could be a way to avoid elite-captures on the course. Otherwise, finally, only those who can afford a private travelling exit strategy can come to the activities of the project. (Teacher statement)

A fourth family of recommendations refers to some management issues to be further improved. They are mainly related with the need of making procedures for purchasing goods and services and getting reimbursement more clear, but also to increase the budget for the field-visits and the Laboratories since the beginning. In fact, such experiences revealed to be more material-consuming than imagined, and the field visits proved to be very important spaces of learning for students in the different phases of the process. A larger use of technology is suggested to solve unexpected (but not necessarily unexpectable) obstacles: the case of the Erika Hurricane in 2015 constitutes an example and a warning of a situation in which the use of distance-learning techniques could be profitably incorporated in the project. Solutions had been satisfactorily tested already in some cases with single professors who could not travel from an island to the other. I would like to see our final works, but I do not know where to find them. My frustration is that I did more than one year of work and I cannot show it around. (Trainer statement)

Finally, a fifth family of shared recommendations refers to the dissemination of the project and it results. To increase the visibility of past results, as well as the creation of a solid memory of them beyond the borders of local territories, the website of the first edition of the Caritalents could profitably serve to support a larger on-line activity for the next editions, since the phases of selection of actors. Therefore, it could become a detailed repository of all the products created in the lectures and in the laboratories of the first edition. In fact, a diffused critic to the first Caritalents experience was that many of the final products are still ‘dispersed’. Some critics of involved actors also referred that final events of the first edition

a stone in the pound? perspectives on the experience • giovanni allegretti

were in a too much ‘understatement mode’ and it would be important to preview in the budget a larger slice of resources explicitly devoted to make these events a ‘national pride’ and a media happening, in order to correctly reflect the importance of the project contribution to local cultural environment. Some open concluding remarks The course was also a useful tool for self-critical approaches. I later discovered that in the beginning I had a paternalistic approach to it: I wanted everything done and clear. Everything written on paper. But during its implementation I started being more exigent with it. I wanted to participate to decision, to change thing. I needed a more flexible tool, open to bottom-up changes. So in the end my evaluation is positive about its incremental definition. (Trainer statement)

A synthetic assessment of Caritalents, which takes into account the perceptions of its different actors, clearly indicates that the project left a highly positive set of memories in all the involved persons and institutions, including in the ones which proved more critical in relation to issues related to the construction and management of the partnership, as well as to the distribution of resources between the different countries involved. Such an overall positive spirit towards the project is undoubtedly related to the appropriateness and meaningfulness of its general concept, the quality of human resources which it was able to activate (included much energy devoted by actors and organizations that offered a voluntary, and often unexpected, collaboration to the project implementation) and, last but not least, to capacities of resilience and adaptability to the obstacles encountered during the implementation. Under this point of view, the important convergences of different actors exist in the positive evaluation of Caritalents as for its relevance, effectiveness, impact and sustainability while more distinctions were made in relation to its efficiency and some features of its appropriateness. It is worth to underline that the critics pointed out by different actors were always very constructive and aimed at providing suggestion for a more ‘fluid’ future replication of the project, thus revealing that the results aiming at the creation and strengthening of collaboration partnerships and networking were solidly implemented. Given the above mentioned perspective, the first experience of Caritalents is not viewed by many actors as ‘a project’ which ended in 2017, but as the start-up of a long and repeated process of cultural awakening and stimulation, which naturally opened expectations for new training cycles and deeper follows-up.

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PART V Results and Perspectives

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conclusive remarks

Charting the point Through the Experimental Laboratories, Caritalents developed its action on the two islands by involving more than 150 youths and several local institutions and organizations in the rediscovering of the territory trough a set of analyses and the productions of maps, performances, medias, and other outputs. Due to its complex and nevertheless open structure, Caritalents demonstrated a great ability in developing interactions. Various categories of people and bodies were put in contact: teachers from different universities; adults with youngsters; males with females; academic experts with illiterate wise men; universities and schools; schools, associations and other institutions with markets and traders; farmers with craftsmen, and so on. Conceived to have a positive impact namely on the young local population, Caritalents has revealed to propose a valuable training experience for all its participants in any role, from Teachers to Trainers, to Students and other involved persons, where anyone learned some lesson. Those interactions, aimed at developing personal skills and building structural capacities, often happened within unpredicted sharing spaces, by criticising the existing cultural barriers. In this sense, the action of its Experimental Laboratories represents the crucial contribution, where the project’s performance can be evaluated according to the achieved results on redefining — collectively — the existing categories of the material and immaterial heritage and favouring the human development of the persons engaged in the project. Barbados’ Experimental Laboratories The four Labs of Barbados struggled against the rigid social economic structure of the island, which provides most of the inhabitants with viable enough life solutions, however not by reaching all of them and, apparently, not by guaranteeing it for a long lasting period. Team HBG focused on what is officially recognised as the most precious treasure of Barbados’ heritage: the Bridgetown’s UNESCO property. Reasons for the nomination of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison among the UN protected sites are related not only to its urban and architectural values but also and mainly to its symbolic function respect to the history of slavery: those buildings, churches, houses, barracks, and streets, today converted in museum facilities or filled with contemporary functions, account of the — maybe perpetual — solving process of the problematic relationship between the past of dominated colony and the present of free society which appropriated so many facets of the former

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dominators. Entrust young people with the task of enlightening those conflictual places meant open the field to unexpected interpretations and solutions by relying on the more pristine sight available on FLORENCE MEETING Università degli Studi di Firenze Santa Verdiana, Piazza Ghiberti, 27, Aula 1 Thursday, 11th February

Young people have a central role in the process of making the most of natural and socio-cultural heritage. Youth marginalization and unemployment can raise social tensions and highlight deficiencies in national socio-economic and educational policies. As a primary cultural and educational agency, the University can strongly contribute to draw young people in from the margins of society and provide them with vision and knowledge, by directing the attention of policy-makers, educators and young persons towards new opportunities for identifying and extracting territorial local values. Moving from its consolidated tradition in training and cooperation aiming to local self-sustainable development, University of Florence/DIDA/LabPSM has designed and coordinated the Italian-Caribbean CARITALENTS project, co-funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). The intention is to develop innovative educational methodologies to support young people - especially disadvantaged and at risk - in the Caribbean Region. The project vision is to growth the human capital through new tools for the recognition and enhancement of the Territorial Heritage as the main resource for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of life. The project’s partners are: • The University of Florence, Department of Architecture, Italy (UNIFI/DIDA) • The University of the West Indies, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Barbados (UWI/EBCCI) Implemented since June 2015, the “Training of Trainers course” (ToT) is the main activity of the project, aiming at developing skills of educators in the field of understanding, representing and making the most of the local resources in two different Caribbean Countries, Barbados and Dominica. After the first 12 months of project activities, the Florence Mid Term Meeting is a relevant milestone before the launch of the next phase: the Experimental Laboratories. The Meeting foresees the presentation of the results achieved so far, confrontation with other positive practices in the Caribbean Region and inter-disciplinary discussions with the involvement of Italian and Caribbean experts. The Meeting will be attended by Caribbean and Italian academics, MAECI senior officials, national and local institution representatives, members of the CARITALENTS Steering Committee and Trainers, under and post graduate students.

PROGRAM 9.00 WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS Luigi Dei UNIFI, Rector Stefano Pisotti MAECI, Directorate General for Development Cooperation Patrick I. Gomes African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Secretary-General Nicoletta Mantovani City of Florence, Deputy Major for Cooperation and International Relations Saverio Mecca UNIFI, DIDA, Dean

9.45 THE CARITALENTS PROJECT Introduction Raffaele Paloscia UNIFI/LabPSM, CARITALENTS General Coordinator The Caribbean Perspective Gladstone Yearwood UWI/EBCCI, CARITALENTS Caribbean Coordinator Italian Cooperation in the Caribbean Emanuela Benini MAECI, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation The Open Campus Network Francis Severin UWI/ Open Campus Country Sites, Director

11.15 COFFEE BREAK 11.30 TERRITORIAL HERITAGE IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION Heritage Conservation and International Cooperation Sheron Johnson Ministry of Community Development and Culture, Barbados The Agri-Food Chains: the Coffee in the Caribbean Massimo Battaglia MAECI, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Community Knowledge and Water Issues in Mexico City Benedetta Caprotti UNIFI/UdR ProjECTS Discover the Heritage, Tools for Young Participation Mario Zuppiroli Movimento Africa 70, Vice- President CARITALENTS Mid Term Evaluation Report Michele Morbidoni UNIFI/LabPSM CARITALENTS Training Activities Coordinator

14.30 TOT COURSE 1# MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES Action-Research Video-making in Diverse Communities Giovanni Attili UNIROMA La Sapienza/DICEA Mapping as a Tool of Participation Iacopo Zetti UNIFI/DIDA Agriculture and Food Ginevra V. Lombardi UNIFI/DEART Craft Design, Local Knowledge and Materials Giuseppe Lotti - Stefano Visconti UNIFI/DIDA

15.45 TOT COURSE 2# NEW LANGUAGES Territory Representation and Communication Elena Tarsi Universidade de Coimbra/CES Grassroot Comics, Self Expession for Territory Discover Simone Spellucci UNIFI/LabPsm Sound and Music as a Multifaceted Pedagogic Resource Claudia Cancellotti UNIFI/UdR ProjECTS Urban Reconnaissance Laura Colini Leibniz Institute/IRS, Berlin Lorenzo Tripodi TESSERAE Urban Social Research, Berlin

16.45 COFFEE BREAK 17.00 THE EXPERIENCE OF CARIBBEAN TRAINERS

Annette Jones CARITALENTS Trainer Barbados Carlton Henry CARITALENTS Trainer Dominica

17.30 Presentation of the CARITALENTS Website 17.

45 Videos - Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination

18.00 OPEN COMMENTS 18.30 CLOSURE REMARKS

Giorgia Giovannetti UNIFI, Deputy Rector for International Relations Raffaele Paloscia CARITALENTS General Coordinator

The Students who attended the Lab were young people who missed previous opportunities in the field of valorisation of cultural heritage despite their average high education, as they were not eligible for previous selections. They responded with sincere passion towards the life of their ancestors, and with equal enthusiasm for the living present of the city, bringing on a map so many information about what is actually happening daily within the property boundaries more than what could be learned from books and touristic guides.

12.45 OPEN COMMENTS 13.00 LUNCH ORGANIZATION: Raffaele Paloscia Michele Morbidoni Simone Spellucci

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the island.

Mid-term Meeting in Florence, February 2016, flyer

The interactive map represented a first step towards the definition of new tools for the participatory and aware management of the monumental urban context, where residents are considered as doers of the physical environment, enhancing their responsive land use in a model that is potentially expandable to the whole island. Making the historical built heritage accessible to the widest public and definable under new paradigms reflects in keeping it in the living cultural heritage by promoting people-centred approaches to conservation. During the Experimental Laboratory the HBG Students started their qualification as future operators of that professional field. Team Agriculture accepted an equivalent challenge by facing the need to redefine the very concept of ‘agriculture’ and overcoming the consequent difficulties in managing different perspectives inside the trainers’ group. This effort led to hit the target of involving students at risk of school drop-out and consequent social exclusion, by providing them with a concrete opportunity to be reinserted in school programs and to recover a recognised role among their peers. The personal engagement put in place by the Trainers has opened up a breach into the often too rigid educational rules inspired by a military method. The main output of the Laboratory activities is the little restored and equipped garden within the schoolyard, the ‘Breadfruit Lounge’, useful to the recreation of all the other students. It represents the tangible sign of the readmission of the young participants within the school, and of their newly developed capacity in helping the community in a personalised way respect to their inclinations and abilities. The same attention to environment as a common asset, although at a higher level, has been put in workshop activities aimed at developing interest in permaculture in youth, as an innovative approach to sustainability of agricultural production and water resources management. The Lab’s proposal repositioned agriculture at the core of economic and social interests of the island, and enhanced the youths’ national pride by using and highlighting Barbadian symbols in the composition used in the project of the schoolyard elements. In this perspective, agriculture could represent in Barbados a recovered opportunity for new generations, in particular in terms of employment. The Lab provided students with skills in cultivation, gardening, safety and health at work; supported ability in presentations for young people normally very shy and not customary to public speaking; indicated to young people other training courses on agricultural topics by providing follow-up opportunities to the Laboratory.

conclusive remarks

A similar focus on self-entrepreneurship cannot be found in the work of Team The Landship, which proposed instead a very original Lab design. In fact, apart from some basic teaching on graphic and digital techniques, the skills trained in the workshops were substantially linked to dance and musical expression. Thus they were related to a still narrow occupational sector, although it shows great potentialities, and most of the involved young people normally would see their passion for coreutics becoming little more than a hobby in the years. However, the group of Students received from Caritalents a different chance, being prompted to reflect on the concepts of mutual aid and community self-organization proper of the original Landship. These values are on the basis of the community building, thus impacting on social, economic, and environmental aspects: just think about the sadly not infrequent case of the role of community self-help in emergency management for natural disasters. The sense of community, the main topic of the discussion sessions, was projected on the territory during the First Contact Experience, conceived as a group exploration of the neighbourhood and its salient spaces and functions shared by residents. Movement and rhythm — two typical expression ingredients of The Landship — were the access doors to the interest of young people in order to carefully lead them to the re-discovering and reinterpretation of the deep meanings of Cultural Heritage by one of its most appealing — and threatened — traditions. The several dance rehearsal, executed at the Youth Club and sometimes at the more iconic EBCCI dance studios, helped the youths to understand those community values and to glimpse it in the coordinated movements of their equating black dance suits, perhaps more than the final presentation to the local community, performed by the Students in the traditional navy’s costumes requested by the governmental cultural officers. Thus the Lab’s original approach aimed at subtracting valuable elements of the Cultural Heritage to the risk of stereotyping, by returning it with actualized meanings to new generations and avoiding their certain disappearing. Team Soul of Barbados guided the Students, sometimes uncertainly, through a similar minefield, reaching the somehow unclaimed goal of addressing and criticising the relationship currently established between Afro-Caribbean legacies, history of slavery and contemporaneity. Talking with youths about sacred trees, tribal rituals, minority religious cults, wicked grounds, lost slave cemeteries, colonisers and forgotten rebels, could result uncomfortable in a country still in seek of a balanced identity between grievous memories and the propensity towards a ‘westerly’ normalised future. The collaboration with Barbados Youth Action Programme, an association inspired by Rastafarian principles, maybe contributed to exasperate some conflictual aspects, especially about matters related to gender equality, but revealed itself extremely precious in reaching young people really at risk of micro-criminality and social exclusion on the island; meanwhile, the support received by the National Cultural Foundation provided the Lab activities with an institutional frame. The final balance should be considered very positive for the young participants as a structured emancipation path, which took the formal appearance of studying ancient traditions, learning the symbolic and practical use of neglected herbals, imagining themselves as professionals self-employed in the production and commerce of goods derived

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from that huge mystic legacy, and maybe in its touristic exploitation. Those contents, when systematised and represented by mapping techniques, constitute a contribution to the knowledge, valorisation and protection of the traditional urban and rural landscape. At the end of the Lab, the Students produced on their own spontaneous initiative some information materials about the covered topics, thus demonstrating the level of involvement and awareness reached thanks to the training. Dominica’s Experimental Laboratories In Dominica, the eleven Experimental Laboratories faced the great challenge of finding new ways to unearth the enormous and still hidden human treasure of the island, further to the natural one. Culture was the starting point for most of them. Dance, music, and singing, for example, are aspects of a wide and rich performance tradition of Dominica, endowed with a really deep connection with local culture and often difficult to separate. The decision to focus the Riddim Wózó Lab on music and dance had three important meanings: to preserve tradition and identity; as a form of self-expression that is useful for youth; and, the most important thing, as an effective form of communication. Music and dance act at different levels and communicate across all social sectors. For this reason music and dance can be helpful in storytelling as in all other activities that help to reconstruct the past and to build an idea of the future. They embody and disseminate local knowledge. Cultural operators and experts of such field formed the group of trainers and decided to work on family issues without relying on a school. This has made the recruitment process more complicated but, at

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Advertising flyers for Experimental Labs, Barbados

the same time, it allowed finding profiles corresponding to the sought ones (youths menaced of school drop-out) as well as some degree of autonomy. The Trainers have started from the principle that new generations are not interested in traditional cultural aspects, considering them overcome and of no current interest. According to their choices, the Students were guided to different disciplines. By trying the language of music and that of a specific musical instrument, they improved their performances on stage and the interaction among them; they gained insight into the music composition and the basics of choreography. This has created openness to the complexity of the musical cultural heritage and has incentivised to change the point of view on the concept of tradition. Once put into the centre of the process of renewal, the youths have started to consider tradition as something alive and manipulable, in close relation with contemporary, not just something that can provide income but also full of creative opportunities. This position is in line with the efforts undertaken over the last few years to increase traditional forms (as local festivals and cultural competitions), given that these cultural aspects are considered fundamental as they still contribute to the definition of the island’s collective identity. Differently from the previous, Dubique Lab was partially relying on the local school. Nevertheless, it still cannot be regarded as a school Lab; indeed, it has been able to maintain an alternation between theoretical lessons and practical activities. Its actuality is relevant, as the relationship with the local

conclusive remarks

community was sought and maintained not in a random way, but in such a unique place and at a specific time in his story, that is, a transition moment. The right impulse came thanks to the work of the Trainers who, during the course of the Lab, were able to stay conscious of how tricky and complicated the situation was. For this reason, the Dubique Lab is one of the most complete, representing at the same time the potentialities and adaptability of the project. What keeps the memory and allows accessing it is the settlement of Dubique abandoned after the Hurricane Erika; but the territory is also the people, the community who moved from there, and the feelings: first of all, the affectivity toward the place. Several of the proposed activities have allowed exerting this affectivity and overcoming the trauma through the exercise of the memory. Art worked as a cure during the creative writing of poems first composed and then recited on the banks of the river; or during the comics exercises, when the traumatic force of the hurricane event was fixed on paper and read in public; finally, with dance, when bodies were required to revive those dramatic moments. The innovative aspect of the Lab is recognisable by the systematic investment on the Students, considered not only as ‘at-risk’ young people but also as individuals on whom to rely on restarting the community they represent. The freedom granted to youths and their creative contribution are demonstrated by the use they have made of these tools and of course in the desire to bring into play painful and traumatic events such as the hurricane. The distinctive feature of Dubique’s Laboratory is to have described with great clarity a collective story rather than a geography: the passage of Erika in the people’s minds as a history of difficulty that can be overcome with time. Thus the project worked as an solidarity program, not in material terms but in an emotional way. In that complex situation, Trainers tried to mobilize the possibility to recover from a trauma through the implementation of different artistic expressions: poetry, dance, comics and design where, in most of cases, Hurricane Erika is a recurring theme. Technically, what they tried to do was to implement the ‘resilience’ of the community, as the capacity to face the change without obliterating the past, but reinventing it for a better future. In this sense, Dubique wouldn’t be a lost land anymore, but a model for the future, a place that represents the identity of the community and a reason to start again. The focus on features of the place was instead the distinctive mark of Geneva Estate Lab. Trainers have tried an approach as exhaustive as possible, decomposing the territory into different parts and recompiling it into a more complete and richer image. To this end, during the information-gathering phase, categories have been identified as key themes of the various following activities: flora, fauna, morphology, architecture, etc. Unfortunately, not all of the initiatives have been successful and the resulting image is fragmentary, but this did not affect the goodness of the approach. The circulating information was acquired according to the usual classroom teaching method, but there was a general increase in skills.

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Advertising flyers for Experimental Labs, Barbados

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Students have improved their technological and learning knowledge and also expressive abilities. In fact, the Laboratory has demonstrated the possibility and importance of alternative forms of represenDOMINICA CLOSURE MEETING

UWI Open Campus/Convent High School, Roseau, Dominica

24th/25th November

Young people have a central role in the process of making the most of natural and socio-cultural heritage. Youth marginalization and unemployment can raise social tensions socio-economic and educational policies. As a primary cultural and educational agency, the University can strongly contribute to draw young people in from the margins of society and provide them with vision and knowledge, by directing the attention of policy-makers, educators and young persons towards new opportunities for identifying and extracting territorial local values. Moving from its consolidated tradition in training and cooperation aiming to local self-sustainable development, University of Florence/DIDA/LabPSM has designed and coordinated the Italian-Caribbean CARITALENTS project, co-funded by Ministry Cooperation (MAECI). The intention is to develop innovative educational methodologies to support young people especially disadvantaged and at risk - in the Caribbean Region. The project vision is to growth the human capital through new tools for the recognition and enhancement of the Territorial Heritage as the main resource for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of life. The project’s partners are: • The University of Florence, Department of Architecture, Italy (UNIFI/DIDA) • The University of the West Indies, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Barbados (UWI/EBCCI) Implemented since June 2015, the “Training of Trainers course” (ToT) is the main activity of the project, aiming at developing skills of representing and making the most of the Countries, Barbados and Dominica. The Meeting foresees the presentation of the results achieved so far, confrontation with other positive practices in the Caribbean Region and inter-disciplinary discussions with the involvement of Italian and Caribbean experts. The Meeting will be attended by Caribbean national and local institution representatives, members of the CARITALENTS Steering Committee and Trainers.

FIRST DAY PROGRAM

UWI Open Campus, Auditorium

SECOND DAY PROGRAM

9.30/11.00 PERFORMANCES

Francis Severin UWI/ Open Campus Country Sites, Director Gladstone Yearwood UWI/EBCCI, CARITALENTS Caribbean Coordinator

Daryl Phillip CARITALENTS Tutor of Training Activities

Emanuela Benini MAECI, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Kimone Joseph Michele Morbidoni CARITALENTS Coordinator of Training Activities Simone Spellucci CARITALENTS Tutor of Training Activities

11.00/11.30 COFFEE BREAK 11.30 /13.00 TEAMS PRESENTATIONS Religious District Team Bethesda Methodist Church in Roseau Portsmouth Team Art and Farming in Purple Turtle Beach Bath Estate Team A Journey in Urban Organic Farming Riddim Wozo Team Performance Culture in Roseau Dubique Team Dubique a Community in Transition

mals, or staging a drama, in order to explain the different building materials and their resistance to rain

Convent High School/UWI Open Campus

9.30 /11.00 OPENING REMARKS

UNIFI/LabPSM, CARITALENTS General Coordinator

tation: for example, the reflection made through comics on popular beliefs about hunting certain ani-

Geneva Estate Team Dramatization: The structure in Geneva Estate Dubique Team Storytelling in dance in Dubique Dubique Team Heel and Toe dance with Dubique Community Riddim Wozo Team Experimental/Traditional Music Riddim Wozo Team Jing Ping Band in Roseau Religious District Team Religious Music Example

11.00/11.30 COFFEE BREAK 11.30/13.00 FINAL CEREMONY Gladstone Yearwood UWI/EBCCI, CARITALENTS Caribbean Coordinator Francis Severin UWI/ Open Campus Country Sites, Director UNIFI/LabPSM, CARITALENTS General Coordinator

Geneva Estate Team Through Cultural Heritage in Geneva Estate Bawi by the Bay Team History, Culture and Tradition in Salisbury

13.00 LUNCH 14.30/17.30 VISIT

and heat. Thus the Lab implemented art and entertainment techniques by reusing it in a didactic key. Indeed the most interesting aspect of the Lab was to focus heavily on the tools, through the clear choice of targeting communication. Considering this, the most important outcome of this Lab was the ability to disseminate results by using collective means of communication, i.e. by organizing information so that it could be transmitted to a wider public than the audience within the school, the whole community of inhabitants in the targeted area. In this sense, what was achieved was nothing but a prototype

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA

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Closure Meeting in Dominica November 2016, flyer

promoted by the youths and run by Trainers for an information campaign for a more sustainable use of the territory. The ruins of Geneva Estate, the possibility of touching, smelling the tree leaves, tasting the incredible quantity of fruits that are out of the local school, especially mangoes that hung mature everywhere at the Lab’s closure, all are part of the tangible cultural heritage. Then there is the intangible part that is what all these things represent for the Trainers, for the Students, and, more in general, for the construction of the identity of Dominica. This second part is reachable through a very difficult path and it couldn’t be resumed in an eight-weeks program. The things that have always been there and often are taken for granted, represent the deepest meanings of that landscape. The similar challenge of mixing tangible (as agriculture or architecture) and intangible heritage (as music or history) was approached by Religious District Lab, with a program of great potential that could be replicated in many places in the town of Roseau. This Lab was the only one to have explored the dense and urbanised territory of the downtown. The Trainers’ effort focused mainly on highlighting the historical responsibility of the Methodist Church on the development of the city and in general on Dominica’s social formation. It was then to look at historical ties through the analysis of interwoven music, architecture and agriculture topics. Students gained new skills in video production and editing, in manual and technical drawing and, to a lesser extent, in urban agriculture by deepening the somewhat arbitrary ‘beautification’ concept. The various streams of information were intersected, stimulating the youths to a critical process. This was also favoured by the heterogeneity of the group, formed from components that did not know each other because they came from different schools. The strength of the Lab was to try to recognise a historical and symbolic value to urban spaces, to the Methodist religious building of Bethesda as well as to the ancient houses and courtyards of the built fabric around. This approach can represent a way out the progressive dismantling of the historical heritage in Roseau, where some buildings of cultural and architectural value are in a state of neglect. The pressure of modernity, represented by real estate speculation, is eroding the possibility to preserve the beautiful traditional wooden architecture as a resource for new generations. Inviting the young people to enlighten

conclusive remarks

the history linked to traditional architecture and raise awareness on it is fundamental to the identity of Dominica and can be a good way to preserve its historical heritage. The Bawi Lab focused on the area below Salisbury, on the Caribbean coast, which also had a great historical importance and is now almost abandoned, mainly following the crisis of the banana market. In the intentions of the Trainers, young people would be involved in activities that could, on the one hand, revitalise the area, on the other, catalyse the economy, by joining together the still active fishing with the vocation of the area as historic site that could be experienced by the inhabitants with greater awareness. The Students were chosen by the local school and most of them were resident in Salisbury, so they knew the place well, with the consequence that each of them already had a personal relationship and had to make the effort to look at it from a new perspective. This was possible by using Bawi itself as a classroom and implementing most of both theoretical and practical activities on the site. Thus the Lab used school-type training modalities, however the received information could be directly verified, as happened for example during the training sessions on the Kalinago settlement behind the beach. The Lab devoted particular attention to creating job opportunities by recovering fishing activity: in fact, in addition to acquiring skills in drawing and mapping, young people have received technical training from various experts, including the making of a fishing net for lobsters, being this activity also carried out in situ. That way the territory of Bawi has become a book to be read and interpreted, every page telling a different piece of the island, from the Caribs’ time to the colonial era, till the nowadays’ commercial development. The territory has been seen as a source of both historical and identitarian information, somehow as a link between past and future. Combining the two moments was the Trainers’ concern and opened up a thinking exercise useful for the students to decode and give proper value to the plenty of historic island sites. In this sense, Bath Estate perhaps was the Dominica’s Laboratory that most went near expectations. This is because both the proposed activities and the way they were developed have drafted a precise relationship with the chosen area. The Students have explored it on the field through interviews, maps, and by searching and identifying specific features related to themes such as sustainability and urban agriculture. Sited in a fringe of Roseau, the Bath Estate neighborhood has hybrid characters, especially in the alternation between built spaces and vacant fields, ending for a wider reasoning on the relationship between human settlement and territory on which the future of the island is played in terms of environmental sustainability. From the point of view of skills, the Students learned various theoretical knowledge about recycling, composting and agriculture, a kind of information they are custom to receive on the practical and family more than by the school, where agriculture is generally presented as nothing important with respect to a dignified career and a medium to high level education. This is because the impression is that farmer’s business is free of theoretical knowledge and study.

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Dominica’s reality, however, shows that employment in agriculture is still a viable opportunity for access to decent income, and that discussion of agricultural practices (such as composting) or sustainable life practices (such as local food supply) can improve its competitiveness. Urban agriculture is easily implementable in Dominica not because the little size of the island or of its capital Roseau. Cultivating urban land can be easy because many people are able to do it. The agriculture know-how is deep-rooted as a great value of Dominica’s Heritage that should be protected and handed down. People shouldn’t lose the connection between any little piece of land and its deep meaning. Youths, in particular, through their work in the Lab have had the possibility to see, touch and eat what they did grow and to understand directly his value. Thus the Students have learned to reduce the barrier between school as a place of theoretical education and the outside world. To alternate theoretical and practical knowledge, the Lab contributed to exert an active balance between these two seemingly separate spheres. Confirmation of this trend occurred during the final presentation when the students of a lower class were invited to attend to learn what the young students of the Lab had learned. This downgrading of the teacher/student relationship and the need to bring out the results are symptoms of a positive circulation of the accumulated information. The relationship with Bath Estate’s innovative practices goes hand in hand with the abolition of school barriers and a touch of reality: all activities were geared to these goals. Finally, the Portsmouth Lab proposed to young participants an autonomous, site-specific, training path. The Portsmouth’s bay is famous as Columbus’s mooring point on the island, and is preferred among tourists by the category of yachters. Aware of being close to a large and constantly expanding economic flow, the Trainers have tried to bring the reflection and activity of the Students into the ways of intercepting it. To do so, they chose other economic sectors already active on the island that could be connected to that particular tourist sector. The experimentation field of research was Purple Turtle Beach, yachts’ landing point and at the same time a site famous for its landscape beauty where the locals themselves are in the habit of going. There, both locals and tourists were interviewed in an effort to build a general framework and to agree on the needs of each and every one. For example, tourists have often complained the unavailability of fresh fruits and vegetables out of Portsmouth, revealing their disposition to buy it in a local market, while local producers are always looking for new sale opportunities. Young people were engaged in observing and developing potential connections between market demands and what the island is already able to offer, learning to link their expertise and that of others in order to build new employment opportunities. Similar arguments have been discussed regarding the possibility of offering tour guide services or cultural operators, i.e. professionals engaged in tourism management and coordination of the many folk groups present in this part of the island. It is no coincidence that the Portsmouth Laboratory, as it was conceived, came right from the northern commercial capital of the country. Here the part of the project that dealt more specifically with the future

conclusive remarks

of youths and their job placement has found fertile ground. The discussion on professionalization remains critic. The condition of young people in Dominica and the choices they will make in the coming years, going away or staying on the island, are largely affected by the possibility of economic autonomy. Unveiling the Caribbean heritage Caritalents intended to redesign the resources of the Caribbean local heritage to the advantage of the youths — especially the disadvantaged ones — by using of experimental participatory training methods and innovative tools for the knowledge and enhancement of the territory. Looking at the designing of the eleven Labs, the Trainers choose to address heritage elements belonging to both the immaterial and the material sphere, being the latter alternatively localized or diffused on the islands. It is significant to note that, however, in most of cases, that elements could be anyhow classified as neglected or threatened. This demonstrates how the Heritage was perceived as a ‘wasted resource’ especially when disregarded. Obviously, the spatial mapping tools intervened more frequently on material localized heritage elements (as for HBG Lab in Barbados or Bath Estate Lab in Dominica), while immateriality and spatial diffusion of other elements constituted the starting points towards their recognition, analysis, and re-linkage to the physical territory, sometimes through the first step of cognitive maps (as for Soul of Barbados Lab or Portsmouth Lab). It can be remarked how young people resulted more involved when they could rely on a certain personal disposition towards the addressed topics helping them to enter into contact with the proposed experience. This is the case of for the dancers and musicians who attended The Landship Lab or the music’s apprentices from Riddim Wózó Lab. Moreover, beyond any standard classification, their eventual status of ‘disadvantaged’ youths — being that an adjective hiding individual sensibilities, dispositions and cultural endowments — should be defined only with respect to environmental conditions, previous individual experiences, and personal goals. Many Labs correctly interpreted such objective, by providing the Students with valuable new opportunities in their preferred activity field. As an example, this is true for the college students involved in HBG Lab and for the aspiring tourist guides of Portsmouth Lab and fishermen of Bawi Lab: the hope is of supporting them in avoiding an unsuccessful life according to their own perspective more than to objective statistics on the employment rates. In this regards, the chosen innovative tools appeared to be effectively accessible when they were specifically designed and calibrated on the starting skills and interest of the young people. The progressive ‘downshifting’ of the planned tools occurred during the development of Agriculture Lab in Barbados, or the Trainers’ concern to provide Students with an initial basic course on the techniques that would then be used in the Religious District and Dubique Labs are proves of that trend. The effectiveness of tools and methodologies was enhanced when the interaction inside the youth groups and with the external environment and social context was enabled: in fact, in cases as Geneva Estate Lab, Students

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had the opportunity to assess directly within their community the validity of their actions. The integration of the different activities and tools in existing school and institutional programs, yet by keeping a BARBADOS CLOSURE MEETING

UWI EBCCI, Walcott Warner Theatre Cave Hill Campus, St. Michael, Barbados

21st/22nd November

FIRST DAY PROGRAM

Barbados Museum and Historic Society Young people have a central role in the process of making the most of natural and socio-cultural heritage. Youth marginalization and unemployment can raise social tensions and highlight deficiencies in national socio-economic and educational policies. As a primary cultural and educational agency, the University can strongly contribute to draw young people in from the margins of society and provide them with vision and knowledge, by directing the attention of policy-makers, educators and young persons towards new opportunities for identifying and extracting territorial local values. Moving from its consolidated tradition in training and cooperation aiming to local self-sustainable development, the University of Florence/DIDA/LabPSM has designed and coordinated the Italian-Caribbean CARITALENTS project, co-funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). The intention is to develop innovative educational methodologies to support young people - especially disadvantaged and at risk - in the Caribbean Region. The project vision is to growth the human capital through new tools for the recognition and enhancement of the Territorial Heritage as the main resource for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of life. The project’s partners are: • The University of Florence, Department of Architecture Italy (UNIFI/DIDA) • The University of the West Indies, Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Barbados (UWI/EBCCI) Implemented since June 2015, the “Training of Trainers course” (ToT) is the main activity of the project, aiming at developing skills of educators in the field of understanding, representing and making the most of the local resources in two different Caribbean Countries, Barbados and Dominica. The Meeting foresees the presentation of the results achieved, confrontation with other positive practices in the Caribbean Region and inter-disciplinary discussions with the involvement of Italian and Caribbean experts. The Meeting will be attended by Caribbean and Italian academics, national and local institution representatives, MAECI senior officials, members of the CARITALENTS Steering Committee and Trainers.

9.30 /11.00 OPENING REMARKS Gladstone Yearwood UWI/EBCCI, CARITALENTS Caribbean Coordinator Raffaele Paloscia UNIFI/LabPSM, CARITALENTS General Coordinator Emanuela Benini MAECI, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Paola Baldi Italian Honorary Consul in Barbados Sheron Johnson Ministry of Community Development and Culture, BBD

11.00 / 11.30 COFFEE BREAK 11.30 /13.00 EXP LABS PRESENTATIONS Michele Morbidoni CARITALENTS Coordinator of Training Activities Simone Spellucci CARITALENTS Tutor of Training Activities Team HBG Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison Team Agriculture Agriculture. Empowering the Future Team Soul of Barbados My Barbados. The Soul of Barbados Team The Landship The Landship, Rockin’ de Boat

SECOND DAY PROGRAM

UWI EBCCI, Walcott Warner Theatre

9.30/11.00 PERFORMANCE PRESENTATIONS Lenora Williams CARITALENTS Tutor of Training Activities Introduction to Performance Activities in Caritalents Team Soul of Barbados Spirit of Barbados Performance Team The Landship The Landship Performance

11.00/11.30 COFFEE BREAK 11.30/13.00 FINAL CEREMONY Graduation Ceremony

Bawi and HBG Labs. Thanks to this innovative and experimental approach, the Caritalents project has shown great flexibility in terms of local operating conditions and excellent adaptation capability to unforeseeable adverse events such as those occurred, whether of environmental or financial nature.

Closure Remarks Gladstone Yearwood UWI/EBCCI, CARITALENTS Caribbean Coordinator Raffaele Paloscia UNIFI/LabPSM, CARITALENTS General Coordinator

Its structure is based on a lasting partnership, in continuity with previous cooperation experiences between Italy and the Caribbean, and on academic organizations that could effectively replicate the proj-

13.00 LUNCH 14.30/17.30 VISITS Team HBG Visit to the Garrison Team Agriculture Visit to Graydon Sealy Sec. Sch.

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA

•

methodological autonomy, allowed strengthening these achievements, as in Geneva Estate, Dubique,

Closure Meeting in Barbados November 2016, flyer

ect by extending its reach in the targeted geographic area. This can be considered as a satisfactory result compared to expectations of the International Cooperation investment. However, the dissemination of the project results and impacts, started at the end of 2016 with the two international meetings held in Bridgetown, Barbados, and Roseau, Dominica, will continue at the expert and grass-root level. The distribution of this book in Italy and in the Caribbean through the network of partners will seek at further raising awareness in citizens about the issue of territorial heritage and sensitize them for the prosecution and autonomous spreading of the undertaken initiatives. A possible new edition of the project, indeed, would therefore be well structured: the network of relationships and figures involved in the project, specially including some of the already trained participants, represent an important asset to imagine an even more decisive impact of the project on the social and territorial environment. In particular, some corrections and additions to the organization of the project could allow for a set of professional workshops to be included among the envisaged actions, using the already experimented tools and the built network to create targeted employment opportunities for young people and new sources of income, up to the creation of start-ups. Indeed, it is important to respond to the demand for training that comes from the population, and to integrate it with concrete opportunities for development and entrepreneurship. To this end, proportioning and compensating the different workloads on its various human resource components could increase the effectiveness of the project. In this sense, the most relevant needs appear to be: • to better balance donor funding and the in-kind contribution from partner universities to the latter, in order to improve the efficiency of administrative and management functions; • prioritize partnerships with super-local university institutions, in order to strengthen the network of relations between the islands and overcome the difficulties encountered in administrative and financial management; • possibly, targeting the territories of islands located at a distance less than that of the first edition, in order to optimize the costs for internal transfers and to better integrate the actions in the different contexts;

conclusive remarks

â&#x20AC;˘ increasing the overall value of the project by reserving a dedicated budget for the Laboratory activities, in order to retain training capacities for Trainers in the first phase, and at the same time to show greater attractiveness in involving young people and to have a more significant impact during and after the operational phase. These eventual improvements would aim to reinforce the network building at the local level, which showed a great relevance in Dominica in overtaking territorial fragmentation, in Barbados in connecting different sectors of the society through unusual cross-section channels. And, most important, they would allow enhancing, even more, the role of the very protagonists of the project: the Trainers and the Students. The investment in those people was the main intangible output of the project. The firsts, by immersing themselves completely in the formative experience, were able to act as real cultural mediators. Trainers concretised and filled with meaning and expertise the structure of the cascading learning process; they invented original communication flows to spread and multiply among young people the knowledge received from the experts, by obtaining from the latter creative feedbacks that likely should be more effectively brought back to the highest teaching level in the project, in order to guarantee the circularity and progress of knowledge. That unusual and articulated training path provided them with a unique expertise to be fruitfully exploited in their future careers. Students, for their part, provided the enthusiasm and the fresh energy needed to perform the patient and passionate efforts of re-discovering and sincerely sharing the local territorial values. They have dealt with individual parts of the local heritage, but by acquiring a method they can replicate in future in other areas. It is only from this new acquired motivation towards the places and what they express that competences/knowledge can arise, offering therefore new possibilities to access the local labour market that is transforming and expressing a new type of demand. In this sense, their first contribution is the renewed representation of their country they produced by arts, technical means, and performances, that in the whole constitute a starting point for a sort of original Atlas of the West Indies Heritage, finally unveiled by the perspective of the young citizens and returned to the local and global awareness. The ultimate acknowledgment for the achievements of Caritalents goes to the spontaneous commitment of these new generations, they actual Heritage resources for the future.

263

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Finito di stampare per conto di didapress Dipartimento di Architettura UniversitĂ degli Studi di Firenze Giugno 2017

The clear, steady, peaceful water of the Caribbean sea, customary depicted in old postcards or in touristic advertises, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t account properly of the turbid tides and waves which are shaking the human and physical landscape of the Lesser Antilles. Unavoidable social, economic, cultural and natural appear as local echoes of the major impulses of climate change and markets globalisation. In different ways, the islands of Barbados and Dominica share the common duty of keeping the course on that stormy sea made up of threats and opportunities; this by caring of not losing inadvertently the huge treasures hidden by the centuries of a tough history to be safely kept in their territories, nowadays progressively disregarded to forgotten. Deprived of the references provided by the local heritage, the uneasy enhancement of the composite identity of the islands is at risk. Their fault can lead to territorial fragility, cultural impoverishment, economic vulnerability and social disintegration. The breakdown of the legacy affects mainly the younger generations, forced to seek shelter elsewhere or to suffer from disadvantaged living conditions. By co-founding the Caritalents project, the MAECI/Italian Agency for Development Cooperation relied on the interaction between the consolidated tradition in territorial studies of the University of Florence/DIDA/LabPSM and the deep knowledge of the local context and the experience in innovative research of The University of the West Indies/EBCCI experts. The encounter between different cultures was entrusted with the task of engaging the youths of Barbados and Dominica in exploring with a fresh sight the Territorial Heritage of their islands. Through laboratory activities spread across the islands, young people were able to unveil the main resources for innovative ventures directed to the improvement of the quality of life. This book tells about a riveting journey, describes ideas, participants and initiatives of that cooperation project, which involved three Countries in the on-going effort to produce small solutions for the future of these precious Caribbean islands.

Raffaele Paloscia, Professor at University of Florence/DIDA, Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (2003-09), Director of LabPSM, he co-ordinated several international researches and cooperation projects in the Global South. He is author of various publications on territorial heritage and participatory planning in the southern countries. Michele Morbidoni, Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florence, Contract Professor at the University of Camerino. As independent researcher,Â he focuses its interests on the sustainability of settlements, planning, and urban practices, which often he investigates with a propensity for aesthetic matters. Simone Spellucci, Architect, Ph.D and Postdoc in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florence. As independent researcher he deals with innovative communication tools and territorial systems, focusing on graphic design, comic and illustration.

ISBN 978-88-9608-094-8

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