Published 30 May 2019
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Marlene Phillips, Research and Documentation Specialist at the Department of Culture
“I’ve known him for his entire term at UNESCO and there are so many projects I’ve been able to work on with Mr. Maynard,” she said. “From the Slave Route Project to the UNESCO Underwater Heritage and I attended many lecture series in regards to those two areas.
Ms. Phillips stated that Mr. Maynard has always had a close relationship with the Department of Culture.
“That’s where my professional relationship with him began,” she said. “He opened up my eyes to another whole realm of operating and in the position that I have at the Department of Culture. I became involved and invited to these different meetings representing the Department of Culture and I learnt so much through the Slave Route Project and the different activities.
The research and documentation specialist commented that Mr. Maynard has always been inclusive and inspiring.
“He has encouraged me personally to rise up in my position and to take hold of all the different projects we are working on in relation to UNESCO,” she said. “I would say he was definitely encouragement for this current project that we are doing, that is, the St. Kitts and Nevis Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).”
Ms. Phillip stated Mr. Maynard has been passionate about the projects that he has worked on.
“When Mr. Maynard started talking about the 2003 Convention for UNESCO, which deals with safeguarding intangible culture and heritage, he was really pushing it and leading it and saying this is very important to us. I know he feels passionate about his heritage and culture heritage of the country. So, I read up about it and shared it with my colleagues at the Department of Culture and we just followed his lead and that was about three or four years ago and now here we are,” said Ms. Phillip.
It was noted that St. Kitts and Nevis is the first in the Dutch and English speaking Caribbean to successfully receive money from the UNESCO ICH Fund. Ms. Phillip said that this accomplishment can be attributed to him “because if he didn’t encourage me, then I wouldn’t have had the drive to apply for the funding.”
Ms. Phillip stated that the secretary general reached out to the community and made sure that people from all different backgrounds were involved in the projects that he had worked on.
“He has definitely left a legacy in terms of the projects that the UNESCO National Commission has been able to engage during his reign over the 15 years,” she said. “I think that he is a great asset and a great resource still and I know he will always be available to tap into because he has travelled a lot in this position; he has met our international and Caribbean colleagues and I think he’s paved the way for the new secretary general.”
She congratulated Mr. Maynard for having a successful career as Secretary General of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Commission for UNESCO.
He will be retiring on May 31, 2019. Mrs. Dorothy Warner will be his successor.
