The Tribune

COUNTRIES, like individuals and institutions, often commemorate silver, golden and diamond jubilees, as well as seminal events, with outstanding and dynamic celebrations which capture and reflect the occasion and moment.

The Eiffel Tower, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, bestrides the Champ de Mar in the French capital, Paris. The “wrought-iron lattice tower” was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as a centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair.

Though its design was criticised by some at the time, it is globally recognised as one of the great icons of France. Approximately 300 million have visited the Tower, with its spectacular views, restaurants, souvenir shops, museums and other amenities since its opening 133 years ago.

At midnight, this July 10, 2022, we celebrate our 49th year of independence and begin our 50th. When our 50th anniversary celebrations conclude, what physical, cultural, athletic, emotional, psychic and other memorials will we have on our built landscape and in our memory in commemoration of 50 years as a sovereign Bahamas?

We have an opportunity to do something wonderful, memorable and spectacular. But it is only an opportunity. Given our history, we risk losing and wasting the moment if we think small and indulge our proclivity for and comfort in half-stepping and doing most things at the last minute.

Stellar

A stellar celebration will not happen by magic. We need to have a deliberate well-designed and properly written plan that energizes and engages various stakeholders and communities, including all of the Family Islands. This should not be mostly a Nassau-centric celebration.

First, we the need the proper structure and capable individuals to populate the design and implementation functions of the 50th anniversary celebrations. This cannot be done within the typical bureaucratic mindset and restraints, often accompanied by a paucity of imagination.

A possible structure is an Independence Secretariat run out of the Office of the Prime Minister, headed by competent individuals, including consultants, and not cronies simply looking for an assignment.

The government should commit to identifying and selecting passionate individuals with proven track records in getting things done. This must be beyond political partisanship and narrow silos. It must be and seen to be beyond certain divides.

A number of people come to mind, such as cultural entrepreneurs and creatives, including highly imaginative individuals like Ian Poitier, Arlene Nash Ferguson, John Cox, Philip Burrows and others.

The Secretariat would be the coordinating body within government and may include a number of core committees. This should be a public-private grouping that also calls on the talents and skills of the Bahamian Diaspora.

The mistakes made in how parts of our national delegation were organised for the recent Dubai World Expo should be avoided.

The Secretariat might review what other jurisdictions have done during similar celebrations. Whatever master theme is chosen, we might highlight the ecological beauty and diversity, as well as challenges to our environment, including climate change.

The celebrations are an opportunity to use every media, live events, classroom instruction and other avenues to inform, educate and entertain Bahamians about our history, system of government, culture and environment. Bahamians at every stratum of society need to be engaged in the celebrations.

If the 50th anniversary is mostly centred on a series of receptions and the usual Fort Charlotte celebrations, etc, the commemoration may be a big yawn and an extraordinary missed opportunity. How do we make those usual events more imaginative while creating novel events and activities?

Collaborate

The government and private enterprise should collaborate, spending handsomely on the celebrations. There needs to be an administrative budget and an events budget, which may be in addition to what other ministries may also need to spend.

Yes, there are fiscal restraints given the state of the economy. But this anniversary is golden in so many ways.

It may be an economic opportunity, including inviting the Bahamian Diaspora and friends of The Bahamas to visit the country for various events, generating income and enjoyment and reconnections.

Bahamian entrepreneurs should be encouraged to produce all manner of goods and services, from souvenirs to concerts to Airbnb-type specials for Bahamians in the Diaspora and other visitors coming to the various Family Islands to join in 50th anniversary special events.

The celebrations may bring Bahamians and residents together around the arts, culture, education, athletics, science and technology, and other areas of national life. There are many sporting and athletic opportunities and events that could be included in the celebrations.

In planning for the anniversary, various institutions need to be physically renovated, such as the drab National Centre for the Performing Arts on Shirley Street.

These and other locations, like the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts, need greater funding, especially if they are to serve as venues for an exuberant variety of artistic and cultural events during and after anniversary celebrations.

Writing some months ago, Philip Burrows offered a plethora of ideas on how we might express and promote our culture in the visual, performance and literary arts. Burrows, an enormously talented individual, is also a director, producer and actor, whose creativity and insights should be utilised during the celebrations.

Cultural

Various private enterprises and foundations might provide funding to create cultural works, including in the visual arts, the theatre, literature and music, in conjunction with our 50th anniversary. These could serve as cultural landmarks and inspiration.

How might we promote other forms of cultural expression such as Rake ‘n’ Scrape, an extraordinary expression of Bahamian artistry, performance and culture? This cultural form might take centre stage with other Bahamian music during the golden jubilee. So too, the written word, including poetry and short-story and other writing.

What public art, ranging from sculptures to murals and other installations, might be produced and permanently installed during the 50th anniversary celebrations? What about a major outdoor mural tracing our history, including over the past 50 years?

A Festival of Ideas might be a year-long event utilising online and in person platforms covering topics ranging from cultural identity to gender equality to debates about The Bahamas becoming a republic. How might we explore ideas and dreams about a shared future for a renewed sense of national purpose?

The University of The Bahamas and its faculty, staff and students should play an essential role during anniversary celebrations, including in a Festival of Ideas, cultural programmes and other events uniquely suited to that national institution.

A series of community/mini-fairs for families, children and youth, might take place throughout the archipelago. These fairs may help promote cultural forms, ecological awareness, games, sport, dances and activities for younger and not so young Bahamians. The now defunct Commonwealth Fair may serve as a partial template.

Such events may include Bahamian foods and agricultural products, cultural and environmental displays, Rake ‘n’ Scrape and other musical activities, Bahamians reading Bahamian poems and short stories, song contests of original Bahamian music, performance art, kite-flying, ring play, shooting marbles, playing hopscotch and other games Bahamians have played for years.

Commemorations, like golden jubilees, take years of careful planning and preparation. We are already somewhat behind.

But as a small country we can catch up to where we need to be, utilising the coming July 10th as a catalyst to engage in the broad scale consultations and planning to create a wonderful 50th anniversary.

It could be a jubilee replete with landmarks and events that will delight and inspire a nation in celebration and reflection on whence we came and where we hope to tread, and to tread further.