The General Assembly passed a resolution on December 18, 2009 to dedicate 2011 to the strengthening of national actions and regional and international cooperation for the benefit of people of African descent.
Persad-Bissessar said in support of the UN initiative the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will develop a series of activities "befitting the importance of the proclaimed year and in keeping with the General Assembly Resolution."
She said all stakeholders would be involved in developing a program of activities involving several government ministries and agencies, the University of the West Indies, the Tobago House of Assembly, the National Joint Action Committee, the Emancipation Support Committee, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Information Centre and the National Commission for UNESCO.
She said these activities would include:
- An Art Competition open to the national community to reflect the history of the African presence
- A documentation of African oral traditions, such as folk tales
- An exhibition to highlight historical sites and artifacts
- A mural to be done by young artists from Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda, in collaboration with our diplomatic missions
- Public lectures by leading researchers and civil right leaders on topics appropriate to this occasion
- A possible “Journey to Roots” from Trinidad and Tobago to participate in major festivals in Ghana during the last week of July 2011
Persad-Bissessar also announced that the state-owned CNMG Group will engage in discussions to provide time on 91.1FM Talk City for relevant radio programs. In addition, she said the television arm of CNMG "will be mandated" to produce programs relevant to the 2011 celebration.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our view that Trinidad and Tobago is a multicultural society with diverse traditions, beliefs and history. We must celebrate all of our peoples," the Prime Minister declared.
She said this is why she created the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism. "If we celebrate and respect each other for who we are, and where we came from, there will be no boundaries for our achievements in the future," she said.
"Through our initiatives and our efforts to recognise and celebrate the achievements and contributions of People of African descent, we can strive for a better more respectful, more humane society...
"We also hope that these initiatives will serve to project to the international community, the efforts which would be undertaken by Trinidad and Tobago to appropriately commemorate this International Year for People of African Descent," she said.
"We also hope that these initiatives will serve to project to the international community, the efforts which would be undertaken by Trinidad and Tobago to appropriately commemorate this International Year for People of African Descent," she said.
"This is a year in which we have an opportunity to express gratitude but also to discover our African past."
Persad-Bissessar recalled that the UNC government of which she was a part took a decision in 1996 to declare March 30 a public holiday in honour of the Shouter Baptists, the only country in the world to have such a holiday.
Persad-Bissessar recalled that the UNC government of which she was a part took a decision in 1996 to declare March 30 a public holiday in honour of the Shouter Baptists, the only country in the world to have such a holiday.
"This holiday, Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day, is in memory of the struggle and in recognition of the repeal of the prohibition laws. The activities of the Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad and Tobago were prohibited in 1917 by the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance, which was eventually repealed in 1951," she said.
"Today the Shouters can practice their religion freely and openly, and have national recognition for their struggles during the colonial era and subsequently."
Persad-Bissessar stated that people of African descent are among those most affected by racism and as a result face denial of basic rights such as access to quality health services and education. Such fundamental wrongs have a long and terrible history, she added.
She said the 2011 year-long celebration offers the world an opportunity to remember "the courage and determination of the late Martin Luther King, of Nelson Mandela, whose struggles against racial discrimination and prejudice stands as colossal examples of the struggle against man’s inhumanity to man."
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