MYSCC visits the Seychelles Heritage Resource Council |07 November 2023
The National Assembly’s Media, Youth, Sports, and Culture Committee (MYSCC), led by chairperson Hon. Wavel Woodcock, visited the Seychelles Heritage Resource Council on Thursday, October 26, 2023.
The purpose of the visit was to engage with the council on its important role, gain an overview of its work, and learn about any difficulties it was facing.
Accompanying the chairperson was vice-chairperson Phillip Arissol and other committee members namely honourables Kelly Samynadin, Conrad Gabriel, and Flory Larue, as well as committee secretary Vincent Quatre.
Attending the visit were the chief executive (CEO) of the council, Benjamine Rose; principal project officer, Angelo Lesperance; and the director of finance and human resources, Medge Bijoux.
The meeting began with the CEO providing an overview of the Heritage Resource Council, which has the capacity to employ 35 staff, but currently employs 19. The CEO emphasised the need for all 35 staff members in order to achieve all their functions.
One of these units is the Research and Dissemination Section, which is responsible for conducting different types of research. The information gathered from this research, such as interviews with the elderly, is stored and made available to local and foreign researchers who are studying the culture and given to schools for cultural education.
There are currently 17 heritage clubs where children can participate in cultural activities with the elderly.
Additionally, there are three other programmes within this unit, namely ‘Konnesans Gran Manman’, which is geared towards commercial consumption, and secondly ‘Bazarki’, which focuses on the transmission of knowledge. The third one is the ‘Living Heritage Programme’ which comprises elderly individuals who visit the Domaine de Val Des Pres, a traditional Creole Village. There they showcase cultural and traditional practices twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every week, a group of students from both public and private schools, ranging from primary to university level, visit the village as part of their school curriculum.
Mr Woodcock requested further information on the objectives of the organisation, specifically regarding the identification, conservation, and promotion of Seychelles’ cultural heritage.
The CEO emphasised to achieve their conservation goals, the organisation not only engages in activities but also conducts maintenance on all its cultural sites such as the restoration of the ‘Lazare Picault’ monument in Baie Lazare.
Altogether they have 47 declared monuments, and a list of other sites and monuments that have not been declared yet, that will undergo future restoration.
One of the main hindrances faced by the Heritage Resource Council is limited financial resources. Ms Rose noted that the current assigned budget was not sufficient for the specialised processes and materials needed to conduct the declaration and restoration of sites and monuments.
The meeting concluded with a tour of the outdoor facilities, where the committee was able to interact with the proprietors of small art-based kiosks.
