Conserving an unknown heritage: how do you bridge the gap between the past and its people?

Abstract

Barbados is a small Caribbean island comprising of 266 square miles, located to the most easterly portion of the Caribbean Island chain. It is an independent, developing island, which has been recently inscribed as a World Heritage Property (WHP) in 2011.

Conserving an Unknown Heritage: How do you Bridge the Gap between the past and its people? The aim of this paper is ultimately to utilise the inscription of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as my basis for investigation. In order to determine, if there is an appreciation/understanding of the significance of World Heritage designation by locals. Strategically, allowing this to lead to the overarching purpose of my research which is to identify what is known about Heritage, who knows about it, if there is a lack of interest, and if there is a dissociation between Heritage professional and the average Barbadian.

In my first chapter I will seek to examine the reasons for inscription, and the various planned public relation campaigns, associated with the designation. Chapter Two will endeavour to understand the various specific audiences related to the importance of the growth of Heritage, scrutinising their feelings of Place and Pride in tandem with the expertise of Heritage professionals. This will lead to Chapter Three, which highlights the various existing mediums of disseminating public related information and their effectiveness. At this stage Chapters 1-3 will serve as a comparative analysis basis to inform my recommendations for Chapter 4, before my conclusion.