Expanding the Socio-Economic Potential of Heritage in the Caribbean

To contribute to expanding the socio-economic benefits of regional Cultural Heritage as valuable, non-renewable public resources through a new paradigm of public engagement.

Client:

Organization of American States, Culture and Tourism Section, Executive Secretariat for Integral Development

The Organization of American States (OAS) is an intergovernmental organization for the Western Hemisphere. The mission of the Culture and Tourism Section of the OAS is to support the development of tangible and intangible cultural and tourism assets and cement new and established links between the tourism and culture sectors to enhance the contribution of both sectors to economic and social development in OAS member states.

The project involves 14 participating member states: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti acting as an observer.

The project is generously funded by the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS.

OAS logo
Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Belize Dominica Grenada Guyana Jamaica St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Suriname Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Haiti
US Mission to the OAS logo

The Challenges

Our Work

Recognizing that the region has an enormous wealth of human and heritage resources, we adopted a strategy of capacity sharing and networking among regional heritage institutions to build synergy.

  • statistics

    2012 - 2013

    Needs Assessment

    We completed a 14-nation needs assessment of 437 people working in heritage and tourism-related fields across the public, private, and NGO sectors, to inform an intersectoral strategy for promoting the protection and development of regional Cultural Heritage resources by governmental institutions, the private sector, and Civil Society.

  • card sorting

    May 2013

    Regional Experts Meeting in Barbados

    We gathered 30 experts from the public, private, academic, and NGO sector in the region to test the main conclusions of the Needs Assessment and verify the priority themes to be implemented with pilot projects. The five priority areas were:

    • Professional networking
    • Protective legislation and fiscal incentives
    • Inventories and monitoring
    • Sustainable heritage tourism
    • Professional development and education

  • planning

    2013 - 2014

    Formulation of Model Project Plans

    We formulated workplans for five pilot projects:

    • The Establishment of a Caribbean Heritage Network
    • A Regional Standard for Protective Heritage Legislation and Financial Incentives
    • A Regional Model for National Registers of Heritage Places
    • A Sustainable Heritage Endorsement Program
    • A Regional Directory and Curricular Enhancement of Heritage Education

  • working together

    April 2015

    Implementation of Pilot Projects Begins

  • Bahamas Community Meeting

    January 2016

    Workshop for the Community Involvement in The Bahamas National Register for Heritage Resources

    We coordinated a hands-on, three-day workshop in Harbour Island to engage local community members in the process of identifying locally significant places for inclusion in the Bahamas National Register.

  • CHN logo

    October 2016

    Inauguration of the Caribbean Heritage Network

    We designed and launched a multi-purpose online platform hosted at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus with teaching resources and other features for capacity-sharing among heritage professionals throughout the region.

  • GNT logo

    December 2016

    Grenada National Trust Endorsements awarded

    We designed a framework for identifying and marketing heritage-related products and services that are consistent with local values, sustainability principles, and basic business skills. The GNT awarded its endorsement to craft practitioners and private firms that met or exceeded these basic criteria.

  • SCNT logo

    January 2017

    Launch of St. Christopher National Trust Register of Heritage Places

    We trained SCNT staff in best practices for maintaining a heritage register and incorporated the categories, criteria, and site information into a customized web-based inventory system, utilizing Arches™ open-source software.

  • UWI OC logo

    January - May 2017

    Delivery of Online Heritage Training Courses

    After identifying curricular gaps in heritage education in the region, we worked with the University of West Indies Open Campus to develop and offer distance learning courses in Values-based Site Management and Museum Collections Conservation.

  • Barbados showcase

    May 2017

    Showcase of Project Components, Bridgetown, Barbados

    We presented the main results of the pilot projects to representatives of all participating OAS member states, with the local coordinators of the pilot projects describing their experiences to build political support to implement the pilot projects throughout the region.

  • Phase iii Jamaica

    June 2018

    Start of Phase III Implementation of Pilot Projects

    Coherit began a new phase of training and pilot project implementation in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia. This phase will continue until 2020.

  • Phase iii Jamaica

    September 2018 – March 2019

    Formulation of National Register Eligibility and Criteria for Jamaica and Barbados

    Coherit worked with the two national teams to create specifications for country-wide inventories that facilitated effective monitoring and public outreach.

  • Phase iii Jamaica

    April 2019

    Barbados Arches™ platform customized and installed

    Coherit designed and coordinated the implementation of the Barbados National Register of Historic Places and trained the staff of the Ministry of Creative Economy, Culture, and Sports in its use.

  • CHN Logo

    May 2019

    Craft Networking Workshop

    Coherit organized a workshop for traditional practitioners and officials of creative economy agencies to assist in the development of the regional artisan directory within the Caribbean Heritage Network.

  • Legislation Workshop

    August 2019

    Regional Workshop on Heritage Protection Legislation

    Coherit assisted in the organization and follow-up of a meeting of government legal representatives from the participating member states held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

  • UWI OC Logo

    August – December 2019

    Second Round of Online Heritage Training Courses

    Coherit again worked with the University of West Indies Open Campus to offer distance learning courses in Values-based Site Management and Museum Collections Conservation to students throughout the region.

  • Phase iii Jamaica

    March 2020

    Launch of Jamaica Arches™ Inventory

    Coherit designed and coordinated the implementation of the Jamaica National Inventory of Historic Places and trained the Jamaica National Heritage Trust staff in its use.

  • Phase iii Jamaica

    June 2020

    Sustainable Heritage Tourism Standards established

    The teams from Guyana, Jamaica and St. Lucia completed community elicitations and identified criteria for maintaining local cultural values in the development of heritage-related products and services.

Selected Project Outcomes

Caribbean Heritage Network logo
Caribbean Heritage Network Web Portal
Visit Site
Legislation Implementation Guide Cover
A Regional Standard for Protective Heritage Legislation
Download
PDF logo
Analysis of Hertitage Legislation in 13 Member States
Download
Registers Implementation Guide Cover
A Model for Inventories and National Registers of Heritage Places
Download
Sustainable Heritage Tourism Endorsement Programme Implementation Guide Cover
Sustainable Heritage Tourism Endorsement Programme
Download
Education Implementation Guide Cover
Curricular Enhancement of Professional Heritage Education
Download

Press Coverage

Schedule your free strategy session

For a free 30-minute strategy session on how to take advantage of new methods for tackling pressing heritage challenges, please complete the form below and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your complimentary problem-solving session.