On Monday 29th January, 2024, The Saint Lucia National Trust (the Trust) hosted a very successful stakeholders meeting with the Events Company of Saint Lucia (ECSL) as part of preparation for the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival (SLJAF) 2024.
During the thirty-one-year of Saint Lucia Jazz, Pigeon Island National Landmark (PINL) has become the home of the Festival’s mainstage events, generating its most iconic backdrops in international marketing campaigns. The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss the considerable growth of the Festival vis-à-vis PINL’s carrying capacity and the legal and operational parameters guiding the management of heritage landmarks. Heritage or Historic sites are usually protected by law, because they are officially designated as sites where chapters of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value.
The Chairperson of the Trust, Mr. Leslie Prospere, opened the meeting by calling for a collaborative, strategic and solutions-oriented approach. Mr Prospere urged stakeholders to manage potential risks that may hinder this year’s successful staging of Jazz events carded for PINL without compromising the Trusts’ legal mandate to conserve, preserve and ensure the sustainable utilization of Saint Lucia’s heritage.
The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the findings of a 2023 audit of SLJAF at PINL commissioned by the Trust, conducted by Ms. Bernadette Albert, an events management expert and co-author of ‘Event Planning and Management: Principles, Planning and Practice’. Mrs Albert also provided a synopsis of the draft Blue Policy and Green Guidelines for event management at the PINL, potential risk factors that need to be mitigated against and key milestones leading up to the delivery of SLJAF 2024. Mrs. Albert’s presentations were well received by those in attendance.
The Trust also presented recommendations for the PINL’s site layout focused on minimizing impact to the natural and built heritage of Saint Lucia’s only designated National Landmark while affording patrons the best experience of this much-loved heritage site.
Both parties committed to continued consultation and partnership for a successful event.