Collection of national books of historical value on display |15 October 2011

This was followed by a genealogy presentation under the theme Genealogy: an Avenue through History conducted by Gerard Lafortune.

Attending the exhibition and presentation was the Minister for Social Development and Culture, Bernard Shamlaye; the Minister for Education, Employment and Human Resources, Macsuzy Mondon; principal secretary for Culture, Raymonde Onezime; and members of the general public.

Mr Lafortune said his interest in history came through personal research of his family’s background.

“Anybody can do it and it becomes even more fascinating when it’s directly applied to you,” said Mr Lafortune.

He explained that at school he had never been interested in History and eventually gave it up as a subject.

“After a while, I decided I wanted to know where I came from and about my ancestors and of course the only way to find that out was through history research,” he said.

Since then Mr Lafortune said he has learned a lot through his research and has been particularly inspired by Charles Gaulette, a historical hero and pioneer who led the way for racial equality in Seychelles.

“For me, Charles Gaulette is the epitome of a typical freedom fighter and it’s amazing that he found his way to our small group of islands to help fight racial inequality. In the end he was chased off by the authorities but by then it was too late; he had already made a positive impact on our country,” he said.

Mr Lafortune added that though not related to him, he found Gaulette an admirable figure and said he feels thankful that he decided to begin his historical journey and plans to continue his research.