The Keeping Up with Language, Culture, Heritage, and Arts Symposium features lectures and presentations on publishing in Belize, archaeology, entrepreneurship, Belizean culture, anthropology, ancient and modern history and more.

by Khaila Gentle

BELIZE CITY,Wed. Oct. 12, 2022

From the plight of the Christian Workers Union’s stevedores, to periods of poverty, to the innovation of the ancient Maya, the topics explored during the Heritage Education Network Belize’s second annual Belize KULCHA Symposium ran the gamut. The three-day symposium took place last week and concluded on Friday.

The annual symposium is aimed at creating discussion around community issues and innovative practices in Belize. The main areas of focus are language, literature, and poetry; culture and cultural heritage (both tangible and intangible), archaeology, and anthropology; heritage and history (including natural heritage); and fine and creative arts in Belize.

This year’s symposium’s three main themes were Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Management in Belize, Belize’s Culture in Historical and Modern Context, and Celebrating Lamanai’s Nomination to the World Monument Fund’s Watch List.

Dr. Dylan Vernon, who recently published his book on Political Clientelism in Belize was one of four presenters who explored Belize’s culture in historical and modern context. His talk focused on the role that ethnicity and party politics play, and have played, in Belize’s political culture.

Dominique Noralez presented “Sitting at the Dock: Sugar and Cream, the Case of the Stevedores of the Christian Workers Union”, during which she explored the establishment and history of one of Belize’s most prominent unions as well as the struggles that the members of that union have faced at the hands of capitalist interests.

Under the theme of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Management in Belize, Dr. Amy Thompson and Aidan Hunt both focused on Belize’s Maya history, with Dr. Thompson discussing indigenous landscapes and village formation, particularly that of the Mopan and Q’eqchi’ Maya, while Mr. Hunt focused on British colonial policy towards the Icaiche Maya.

On Friday, the KULCHA Symposium presentations were centered on celebrating the recent nomination of Lamanai to the World Monuments Fund Watch List, focusing especially on the relationship between Lamanai archaeologists and the local communities that surround the site, including the village of Indian Church.

The World Monuments Watch is an initiative by New York-based NGO World Monuments Fund to draw international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, or disaster. The Heritage Education Network Belize successfully nominated Lamanai to the list in March of this year in an effort to underscore the greater need for action against climate change, imbalanced tourism, underrepresentation, and other issues that threaten the site and other places like it.

Those interested in viewing the presentations from the symposium can do so via Heritage Education Network Belize’s Facebook page. Both this year’s and last year’s presentations can also be accessed on the Heritage Education Network Belize YouTube page.