Georgetown: Retired Major General Joseph Singh is calling for innovative measures such as an interactive websites and reviewing conservation benchmarks on National Heritage.
The National Trust of Guyana is the premier institution responsible for preserving Guyana’s heritage, particularly its monuments and national treasures. It also stores and preserves documents and artifacts for future generations.
“National heritage should be a balm or a stimulant to the human mind… inanimate objects of historical and cultural significance can shed light on the way ahead as we journey to find that elusive golden fleece of national unity and the realisation of our motto: ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’.” – Joe Singh
Singh, who was a former board member of the National Trust of Guyana, outlined in his lecture the challenges of preserving Guyanese heritage and presented a slideshow on some of Guyana’s most extraordinary landscapes, biodiversity, architecture and monuments.
And he underscored his interest in heritage preservation and conservation, “seeing heritage as vital to knowing about the richness of our past and the way to gain a better future.” He said also that, “I have met and interacted with many people from all walks of life and would like to share that knowledge.”
Singh began his lecture with a slideshow highlighting some of Guyana’s most extraordinary landscapes and he outlined its nine gazetted National Monuments and other heritage buildings that can be preserved through ‘adaptive reuse’.
He later presented pictures of landmarks around Guyana, inclusive of aerial shots, while noting architectural structures that are in need of restoration such as St. George’s Cathedral and the City Hall.
The retired major general closed his lecture by identifying ways that Guyanese, whether in Guyana or the diaspora, can assist in preserving and conserving their heritage and also listed some of the issues that must be addressed to begin this process.
He declared that, “National heritage should be a balm or a stimulant to the human mind… inanimate objects of historical and cultural significance can shed light on the way ahead as we journey to find that elusive golden fleece of national unity and the realisation of our motto: ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’.”
Singh identified the next steps towards preserving Guyanese heritage as: inventorising what needs to be preserved and conserved, lobbying decision-makers to initiate public awareness programmes, building alliances with local and foreign partners, developing and maintaining interactive websites, expanding the pool of experts and volunteers, sponsorship and fundraising and finally phasing decentralisation and devolution of authority through heritage and conservation clubs.
Moreover, he suggested actions that can assist in the conservation and preservation process, including measures such as adaptive reuse, putting up signage, retelling stories, collective ownership, and reviewing conservation benchmarks.
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