Chief Sec applauds young people at Tobago Heritage Festival opening

THA CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine has commended the growing involvement of young people within Tobago’s performing arts fraternity.

He was addressing the official opening of the 38th edition of the Tobago Heritage Festival at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex on July 10. The theme of this year’s event is Time Longer Than Twine.

Augustine applauded the return of several communities to this year’s event, including Bethel, which had not participated for about eight years.

“I congratulate the festivals commission and all of the communities, especially those communities who have re-entered the festival for the first time in a very long time. I am happy to see communities like Bethel represented this year,” he said.

“I also wish to congratulate our young people because the drivers behind this festival is really and truly a bunch of creative young people who are ensuring that our culture lives on.”

Augustine said cultural luminaries like Itsy Bitsy Folk Theatre founder and former independent senator Annette Nicholson-Alfred should feel proud that the foundation they laid many years ago had “germinated into the kinds of trees that we have today.”

He told the audience, which included delegates from Ghana, India, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, United Kingdom and the Inter-American Development Bank, that the festival came about as a result of the pioneering efforts of two distinguished Tobagonians – late anthropologist Jacob Delworth Elder and former tourism secretary George Stanley Baird.

He believes Baird may not have received enough credit for his contribution to the conceptualisation and development of the festival.

Augustine also gave the visiting delegates a synopsis of the festival.

“This heritage festival, for our visitors who are among us this evening, is meant to showcase Tobago’s rich cultural legacy. It is meant to teach us all of how we lived in the past. It's meant to remind us that without regard for how modern we get, how advanced technology gets, that there was a time that this is how we lived, and that those times are actually the bedrock, the foundation of the successful society that we have today.”

Augustine urged patrons to reflect on how far Tobago had come as an island.

“Sometimes, it is important to look over our shoulders just to have an appreciation for how far we have come. Perhaps that’s the philosophical underpinning of the Ghanaian term Sankofa (learn from the past to move forward).”

Augustine added, “This festival, as we have it every single year, provides opportunities for us to keep looking over our shoulder, having an appreciation for what we have achieved over the years and more than that, celebrating the legacies of those past, while building on those legacies, standing on the shoulders of our ancestors and ensuring that we build a successful society that will ultimately become the greatest little island on the planet.”

Tobago Festivals Commission Ltd CEO Kern Cowan said this year’s festival theme, Time Longer Than Twine, is more than just a proverb.

“It’s a testament of our resilience, our history and the spirit that continues to define us,” he said.

“As Tobagonians, we have always found ways to rise, anchored by tradition, inspired by legacy and driven by hope.”

Cowan said the commission’s focus was simple and unwavering.

“It is to place Tobago’s people, stories and culture at the heart of all we do. Every decision, every celebration, every step forward is grounded in that commitment.”

He continued, “Throughout this month, across every village and stage, you will find events that do more than entertain. They connect. From the rhythm of our ancestors to the creativity of a new generation, this festival is a celebration of who we are.

“Our young people are not just the future, they are the living flame of our culture, carrying forward the songs, the stories and the spirit of Tobago.”

During the show, prominent Les Coteaux resident Elsa Donaldson was presented with a token of appreciation for her contribution to the cultural development of her community over the years.

The seven young women participating in the Miss Tobago Heritage Personality competition on July 25 at the Shaw Park Complex, also put in an appearance at the event.

Among those attending the gala opening were Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin; the ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Narindra Roopnarine; Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris; the division’s assistant secretary Niall George; THA Presiding Officer Abby Taylor; and Minority councillor Petal Daniel-Benoit.