NRC and CDF to observe International Day for People of African Descent

As Emancipation Month 2022 continues, the Saint Lucia National Reparations Committee (NRC) and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) will on Wednesday (August 31) host a second special international hybrid broadcast from Castries, this time in observance of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent (IDPAD).

The broadcast, on the National Television Network (NTN), will feature a main presentation by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Representative on the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent Hon. Ambassador Dr June Soomer.

It will also feature a guest presentation by the President of the African Diaspora Development Initiative (ADDI) Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao, who is also a former Permanent Representative of the African Union (AU) to the United States.

The United Nations designated 2015 to 2024 as International Decade for People of African Descent and in 2020 designated that August 31st be observed annually by member-states as the International Day for People of African Descent, as of 2021.

For this the second year, the NRC and the CDF will collaborate with the Government of Saint Lucia, related UN Agencies and the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) to ensure the 90-minute broadcast reflects international and regional dimensions for all Caribbean citizens.

Ambassador Soomer’s topic will be: Beyond the Decade – Why the Permanent Forum is Important for the Caribbean and Ambassador Chihombori-Quao will enlighten on ADDI’s plans for Caribbean representation.

Messages are expected from the Government of Saint Lucia, UN Agencies and the CRC.

The broadcast will start at 11am and end at 12:30pm.

Wednesday’s broadcast follows a first held last Wednesday, August 24, to observe the International Day for Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition, with a stirring presentation by London-based Saint Lucian historian, author, poet and expert in Caribbean and African languages, Dr Morgan Dalphinis, who drew the links between the Caribbean and African history from before slavery to present and made the case for Africa to support the CARICOM case for Reparations for Slavery and Native Genocide.

Dr Dalphin’s also spoke of his latest book ‘History of Saint Lucia 1654-1915’ (available on Amazon).

Meanwhile, the NRC and the CDF are also preparing for a third broadcast on Wednesday September 7, to observe the First Anniversary of last year’s inaugural Caricom-African Union (AU) Summit.