St Christopher National Trust, stakeholders signifies developing Charles Fort

The St. Christopher National Trust, sponsorship from the St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla National Bank, hosted a consultation on the development of Charles Fort which is one of the historical sites that have been included in the National Trust.

The said consultation took place on February 28 at J's Place in Sandy Point. It brought together stakeholders, partners, community groups and experts to yield their ideas and suggestions regarding how the Trust can develop the National Fortin order to enhance the surrounding communities as well as the whole nation.

Vice President of the St. Christopher National Trust, Alfonso O'Garro, while speaking at the opening event stated that it was necessary to gather insights from the participants.

He said that the nation's historical sites, cultural traditions and heritage belong to the community. Further, he said that they belong to the people.

He said that a lot of knowledge bearers across communities have information, ideas, and expectations regarding how they would like to see particular objects restored.

According to him, Charles Fort is under the scrutiny at this event, and the Trust feels that we do not have an exclusive right on the ideas and if the objects and the historical sites really belong to the community and the community should always be consulted at the time when input is needed in terms of charting a way forward.

Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Danielle Taylor-Williams, stated that the Ministry of Tourism recognizes the importance of a site like Charles Fort and what an integral part it would play in the tourism product development.

She said that unlike many of the neighbours of the nation, we can boast more historical value per square mile. She further added that there was a study some time ago, which revealed that on St. Kitts alone, there are over 200 historical sites on the land. At the same time, another research suggests that there is an equal number of culturally significant sites in the waters around us. Very noteworthy is the fact that of the 200 terrestrial sites, 30 are of hemispheric importance, and Charles Fort is among this elite group.

Director of the Department of Culture, Troy Mills, noted that Charles Fort is historically significant.

"Reading about it, this really has some power behind it, some significant power. [It is] one of the top coastal forts in St. Kitts and in the region I'm understanding. That's something I find with us Kittitians and Nevisians we don't necessarily give ourselves a tap on the back for what we have here, what we have achieved and what we have accomplished," he said.

"We basically take it in a laissez-faire attitude as though it's just another day, but from a cultural point of view especially, we at the Department of Culture are actually trying to change that, but obviously we cannot do that on our own. We have to do it in partnership with you the members of the community, the general public and of course NGOs like the National Trust. For them to be having this, I consider it extremely timely."