Seychelles National Heritage Resource Council |03 January 2024
Benjamine Rose defines role and aim of the entity
For the past 12 years, Benjamine Rose has been working in the culture sector where she has amassed vast experience in cultural management.
She initially studied fashion design at the University of Northampton, United Kingdom, and started off her career as a fashion lecturer at the School of Visual Arts of Seychelles. She quickly moved on to become the director of the school. During the course of her fashion career, she had had the opportunity to expose her creativity in various national and international events such as Miss World Beauty Pageant, Seychelles National Day Celebration, Seychelles Creole Festival and many more collaborations. Under the label Mangouya Fashion Studio, she showcased her creative wears in several Seychelles prestigious hotels for over 15 years. She also worked closely with the Seychelles national troupe whereby she designed several of their dancing costumes which won them many regional and international prizes.
Ms Rose moved to the cultural field in 2011 as the chief executive of the National Arts Council where she interacted on a more professional level with various artists and helped put together many artistic associations. She then moved to the culture department in 2012 as the principal secretary for culture and this move provided her with the opportunity to learn more about the different cultural and heritage aspects.
Ms Rose currently holds the position of the executive director of the Seychelles National Heritage Resource Council (SNHRC) where she oversees the daily running of the entity, which focuses on protecting, preserving and promoting the Seychelles heritage.
She holds an MA in Teaching and Leadership Innovation and enjoys craft work and designing as hobbies.
The SNHRC was previously known as the Seychelles Heritage Foundation but with the enactment of Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts Act in 2021, the Seychelles Heritage Foundation merged with the Seychelles Heritage Research Section to become the Seychelles National Heritage Resource Council.
The function of the SNHRC is defined under the act of 2021 of the culture institute which is basically to identify, conserve and promote the cultural heritage of Seychelles by conducting anthropological, archaeological and ethnographic studies and inventories in all aspects of the Seychellois Creole culture. SNHRC also has the duty to promote and develop aspects of the Seychellois Creole culture which could contribute to further the economic development of Seychelles. This is done through effective management of all heritage sites and by identifying potential sites which have commercial value and may contribute towards cultural tourism and other source of revenue.
Community engagement
The SNHRC also believes in community engagement, local as well as international partnership which is one of its major roles. It has several programmes in place which we are implemented to ensure and encourage broader public, community and private participation in activities designed to promote and develop the cultural heritage of Seychelles. Currently, the SNHRC has three programmes in place which are very successful among the general public, be it local or foreigners. These are the Bazar Domaine, the Heritage Clubs for schools and the Grandma’s Savoir Faire geared towards cultural tourism activities.
Since the implementation of these programmes, the SNHRC has witnessed a surge of people attending its activities and many people have expressed their appreciations to have such programmes on a regular basis. The SNHRC has achieved a record of more than 750 school children visiting its heritage sites for the year 2023. It is good to note that these kids come from diverse backgrounds, communities and schools. Kids from kindergartens and students from the University of Seychelles (UniSey) visit SNCHR heritage sites and attend activities for different reasons.
The Bazar Domaine has also been a success story for the SNCHR. It is through this activity that many local people have had the chance to experience our authentic Creole cuisine through cooking demonstration of various Creole dishes and other traditional knowhow. This particular event brings together more than 3,000 visitors and more than 30 participants every month.
Apart of placing emphasis on the safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage, the SNHRC looks after all the national monuments of Seychelles. There are more than 47 declared national monuments in Seychelles and as many heritage listed buildings. For the year 2023 alone, the SNHCR spent more than R2 million just to ensure the upkeep and daily maintenance of these heritage sites and buildings. In line with its function which is to generate revenue through sustainable cultural activities, it is currently conducting events and programmes which are yielding revenue for the SNHRC. One of the activities is the entrance fee at the Venn’s Town Mission ruins whereby the SNHRC collects more than R1.5 million yearly. The Grandma’s Savoir Faire programme is also contributing significantly and steadily towards our economic activities.
The research and dissemination section conducts research on all aspects of the intangible and tangible cultural heritage of our country. It also keeps documents and records of Seychelles’ heritage, provides assistance to researchers, students and the general public.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) defines cultural heritage as the inclusions of artefacts, monuments, a group of buildings and sites, museums that have a diversity of values including symbolic, historic, artistic aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological, scientific and social significance. It includes tangible heritage, intangible cultural heritage embedded into cultural and natural heritage, artifacts, sites or monuments. The definition excludes ICH related to other cultural domains such as festivals, celebrations etc. It covers industrial heritage and cave paintings.
The Unesco’s definition puts emphasis on the diversity of values of all the cultural domains, be it tangible or intangible. This shows that in the daily lives of people, they have to make use of some form of cultural heritage.
Cultural heritage is very important for the existence of any civilisation, it forms part of the very basis of life. It is a fundamental component of sustainable development. As a sector of activity, through tangible and intangible heritage, creative businesses and various forms of creative expressions, culture is a vital contributor to economic development and growth, social cohesion and environmental protection. As a source of wisdom and knowledge, meanings and values that filtrate in all aspects of our lives, culture also defines the way human beings cohabit and interact both at local level and worldwide scales.
SNHRC’s aim
The SNHRC’s aim is to ensure that culture permeates all sectors of society and stands as a key contributor towards the cultural, social and economic development of our country. This is done through the implementation of our strategic objectives, programmes and activities put in place to encourage participation of communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local and international stakeholders in order to keep alive the Seychellois culture and at the same time enable the people, especially the younger generation, to appreciate their culture and achieve a sense of identity.
Seychelles National Heritage Resource Council is always thinking of new ways to engage the people in understanding and appreciating our culture, therefore it is paramount that it puts in place new programmes that are inclusive and accessible to all. For some time now,it has been focusing on ensuring the inter-generational dialogue and transmission of knowledge between all generations. This is the safest way to ensure that our culture and heritage are kept alive. However, the SNHRC finds that the younger generation needs more active and engaging means of learning, so this year it will be focusing on using digital application to educate the youth about our heritage, history and culture.
The community will remain the hub for the dissemination of cultural information and knowhow, therefore the SNHRC will be offering more cultural programmes to the general public, with the anticipation of getting more of their involvement and participation. It also wants to introduce new activities such as Kanmtole Nights and bus tours at the Domaine De Val des Près heritage site and other heritage sites.
At international level, the SNHRC is working tirelessly to get another cultural asset recognised by Unesco. Work has begun to get the Venn’s Town Mission Ruins Heritage site nominated as a world heritage, and the SNHRC will be accelerating the work in collaboration with the culture institute to get the site nominated by 2026.
For quite a long time, there has not been a major renovation on the clock tower, one of the most photographed and prestigious national monuments in the centre of Victoria. This year the clock tower will get a complete restoration and renovation with new mechanism and facelift.
These are some of new projects and programmes the SNHRC has for the year 2024.
Ms Rose would like to take the opportunity to thank all partners for their support and dedications towards the Seychelles National Heritage Resource Council. Without your help, we would not have been able to achieve all that we did during the year 2023. I would like to thank the culture institute and the management for all their guidance and support towards all our programmes and activities. I would also like to say thank you to the senior citizens who have continuously provided their help and time towards our Bazar Domaine and Grandma’s Savoir Faire programmes. Thanks also goes out to all our stakeholders, all destination management companies (DMCs), tour operators, the tourism departments, contractors, service providers, schools coordinators, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), NGOs and all those who gave their time and effort to support us. Thank you!
Thanks also goes to the staff of SNHRC for their dedication throughout the year 2023. Last but not least a big thank you to all media houses, for their steadfast support in providing coverage and visibility throughout 2023. Your presence indeed helps promote our cultural heritage, values and assets. To end, I wish you all a blessed and prosperous New Year 2024.
