"We The People" Project 2007 - Conference Schedule
Day 1: Friday, September 14, 2007
7:30 am - 8:30 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast - TIBBET ROOM
8:30 am - 10:00 am: Welcoming Remarks - Attorney Sheena Conway, Chair, The Virgin Islands Humanities Council
Opening Remarks: The Honorable John P. de Jongh, Jr. Governor of the United States Virgin Islands; The Honorable Donna M. Christensen, Delegate to Congress for the United States Virgin Islands; Ms. Dawn Drew, Vice President & Publisher, National Geographic Traveler - TIBBET ROOM
10:00 - 10:15 am: Break
10:15 am - 12:00 pm: Concurrent Workshops
Arts and Humanities - MAHOGANY ROOM
Identify ways or outcomes that ensure that the creative sector interacts closely with the travel and tourism industry to create, enhance and sell cultural products.
Moderator: Mr. Leo Helms, Designer, Hotel Kura Hulanda & Museum, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Panelists: Attorney Wayne James, Dr. Eugene Petersen, Executive Director of Island Center St. Croix, Ms. Betty Mahoney, Executive Director of Virgin Islands Council on the Arts
Historic Preservation - TAMARIND ROOM
What is the present state of affairs of our cultural heritage and natural resources? What initiatives need to be implemented to improve our cultural heritage tourism product?
Moderator: Mr. Gerville Larsen, A.I.A., Taller Larjas
Panelists: Mr. Felipe Ayala, Mr. Dean Reeder, Director of Tourism for the National Park Service, Mr. William Taylor, A.I.A., St. Croix Community Foundation, Mr. Myron Jackson, Director of the V.I. State Historic Preservation Office
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch/Cultural Entertainment - SAMAN ROOM; Dr. Eugene Petersen - Caribbean Folk and Calypso Songs; Per Ankh Neteru Kultural Herutage Ankhsamble (PANKHA): Restoration of the Bamboula: A St. Croix Experience; Opening of My Neighborhood, My Virgin Islands
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm: Concurrent Workshops
Education & Training - TAMARIND ROOM
In what ways can we best promote awareness of culture and heritage resources in the Virgin Islands?
Moderator: Mrs. Carol Henneman, Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Board of Education
Panelists: Mrs. Anna Wallace-Francis, Senator Shawn Michael Malone, Mr. Willard John, Principal of Elena Christian Junior High School, Mr. Glen “Kwabena” Davis, Director of Cultural Education for the Department of Education
Media Round Table - BOARD ROOM
In what ways can government entities, and the travel and tourism industries, assist the media in promoting the cultural heritage and natural resources of the Virgin Islands?
Moderator: Mr. Edward LaBorde, Jr. Motion Picture Producer, Cutting Edge Entertainment
Panelists: Mrs. Gloria Gumbs, Vice President of Gumbs Group, LLC, Mr. James O’Bryan, Jr., General Manager, Ackley Media Group
3:30 pm - 6:00 pm: Concurrent Tours
Bethlehem Estate Tour: Tour Guide - Percival Edwards; Frederiksted Town Tour: Tour Guide - Wayne James
10:00 pm - 3:00 am: "Hard Time" Quadrille Dance; St. Gerard's Hall, Frederiksted
Day 2: Saturday, September 15, 2007
7:30 am - 8:45 am: Continental Breakfast - TIBBET ROOM
9:00 am - 10:00 am: Welcoming Remarks: Dr. Roberta Knowles, Project Director; Keynote Address: Mr. Donovan Rypkema, Principal of Place Economics - TIBBET ROOM
10:00 am - 10: 15 am: Break
10:15 am - 12:00 pm: Concurrent Workshops
Economic Impact and Accountability - TAMRIND ROOM
In what ways can we strengthen the synergy between the public, private and non-profit sectors to expand markets and opportunities for artists and cultural and heritage institutions? In what ways can we increase the investment in islands’ cultural and heritage resources to advance the impact of this segment of the community?
Moderator: Mr. Paul Chakroff, Managing Director of the St. Croix Environmental Association
Panelists: Mrs. Beverly Nicholson-Doty, Commissioner of Tourism, USVI, Mr. Roger Dewey, Director of the St. Croix Foundation, Mrs. Nadine Marchena-Kean, Director of Lending and Enterprise Zone, Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, Mr. Rick Carrington, Executive Director, CHANT
Promotion and Marketing - MAHOGANY ROOM
In what ways can we nurture and encourage cultural heritage tourism?
Moderator: Ms. Geraldine Henderson, Ph.D.
Panelists: Ms. Pamela C. Richards, Mrs. Chantel Figueroa, Director of Marketing, USVI, Department of Tourism, Ms. Linda Bruton, Publisher of Settler’s Handbook
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch/Cultural Entertainment: A Tribute to Mrs. Delta Dorsch - Tradition Bearer; Bully and the Musical Kafooners; Weed & Seed Banjo Group (Directed by "King Derby") - SAMAN ROOM
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm: Workshop
Policy - TAMARIND ROOM
In what ways can we develop strategies for successful cultural & heritage tourism?
Moderator: Dr. Wanda Mills-Bocachica, Planning Director for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Panelists: Mrs. Vera Falu, Director of Herbert Grigg Home of the Aged, Senator Basil Ottley, Dr. Olaf Hendricks and Mr. Robert Merwin, CEO of Robert Merwin & Co., Inc.
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Wrap-up and closing Remarks
4:45 pm - 7:00 pm: Christiansted Tour - Mrs. Nina York