Thank you Team Originsss for the opportunity to bring our Ancestors’ story to the wider Caribbean community in such an amazing magazine. 🙏🏽❤️

In the coming period, the Alliance will further discuss with the community of St. Eustatius the relevance of the UNESCO label in relation to the endangered Afrikan heritage on the island.

Credits for creating the laid wreaths go to Ms Glenda Courtar.

The application for the 'Routes of Enslaved Peoples' label has been submitted by us to UNESCO. During the ceremonial announcement in October 2024 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, we were praised for having taken the initiative for the application as a grassroots organization.

The Heritage Inspector of St. Eustatius, Raimie Richardson, provided historical background of the sites. The delegation laid flowers in honor of the Ancestors and held a 'libation' as a spiritual tribute to them.

The delegation consisted of Kathleen Ferrier and Marielies Schelhaas from the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO and Saskia van Oostveen and Frank Hemeltjen from the Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands (KIEN).

The ‘Routes of Enslaved Peoples' program brings together locations worldwide that were of great historical significance during the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery.

Representatives of the Dutch Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage, KIEN) were present at well.

The Commission handed the Alliance the UNESCO plaques to underline the fact that the Afrikan burial grounds of Golden Rock and Godet were added to the 'Routes of Enslaved Peoples' on 9 October 2024.