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Contact:
Claudia Monlouis
Wednesday, August 04, 2004 – The village of Laborie has received
recognition for being one of the strong cultural footholds on the island. The
Praise was bestowed on the village by Minister for Social Transformation,
Honourable Menissa Rambally. She was at the time addressing the community and
visitors at Emancipation Day activities at the Laborie Square.
The cultural event, which was organised by Labowi Promotions with support from
the Cultural Development Foundation and the Alliance Française was described the
Minister as proof that St. Lucian heritage was being preserved and developed in
the Laborie community.
Calling on community members to applaud themselves for the outstanding work,
which they were doing in terms of cultural development, Minister Rambally
acknowledge the people of Laborie for ensuring that aspects of the island’s
cultural life were given special significance. She said that Laborie had become
well known for ensuring true meaningful celebrations and observances.
The Minister spoke to Laborie’s participation in other national events, such as
St. Lucia Jazz and Jounen Kweyol, noting that the community had created a
cultural niche market: “You are fast becoming home to those special niche
activities. My guess is that the people of Laborie stand to benefit
significantly from these types of activities. Though you may think that your
initiatives are small, I am sure that in the long run they will tremendously
benefit your community”.
Emancipation Day activities in Laborie featured Bou Mohammed Ndiaye, a
traditional drummer from Senegal, West Africa, who has played with many top
international artists, including Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones. There
were also top cultural artistes from the South of the island.
The theme of this year’s Emancipation Day in Laborie was “Celebrating All
Freedoms”. It was chosen to commemorate the abolition of slavery, but also to
relate this commemoration to the liberation of all citizens and to the need to
preserve freedom in all aspects of modern life.
Labowi Promotions has been commemorating Emancipation Day for the past three
years. Last year, the group hosted performances of the popular musical Sarafina.
In 2002, it organised a panel discussion on the theme “1834-2002: Rights and
Freedom. What have we gained? What do we still need to gain?”
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