Ernest Hilaire invites proposals for Creole Heritage Month activities

Castries, Saint Lucia: Ernest Hilaire- Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia shared guidelines for the Jounen Kweyol 2024 (Creole Heritage Month) and invited the citizens to send their community’s name along with a proposal.

The deadline for the submission of the proposal will be Friday, June 7, 2024, and Creole Heritage Month will be celebrated in Saint Lucia on Sunday. It is known as the climax of a month-long celebration of varied aspects of Kweyol culture, which includes Kweyol language, traditional practices, food and drink, dress, and technology among other areas.

The first celebration of Kweyol took place in 1983 through radio programming and the first community-based celebration of Jounen Kweyol occurred in Mon Repos, Micoud in 1984. It aimed at making Saint Lucian Society aware of the strength and value of the Kweyol language and to assist in the understanding and development of its rich cultural resources.

The Kweyol also helped communities discover collectively and share in their rich cultural heritage, bringing communities together irrespective of colour, creed, class, or partisan affiliation to address issues of culture and community development.

The Kweyol utilized both the traditional wisdom of communities and the learning from formal institutions to stimulate a positive and wholesome educational experience. It also helped in developing the confidence of the vast number of Saint Lucian persons, whose principal means of communication and expression is in the use of the Kweyol language.

The people will have to host at least one community-specific activity per week during Creole Heritage Month. They will also have to raise funds to supplement the subvention provided by the government to fund all planned activities.

People are also invited to have a detailed programme for Jounen Kweyol which will include a headline event and focus on traditional music, or modern interpretations of traditional music and traditional practices.

The specialized programme and section for children as part of Jounen Kweyol activities and then they have to field a contestant in the National La Wenn Kweyol Pageant.