00:00 This project launch serves to officially announce the arrival of the divers from the Kingdom of the Netherlands
00:06 headed by Professor Martin Mandes and Dr. Levi Guy-Ockbard
00:11 who will lead the execution of the project over the next month in Tobago.
00:16 I am confident that this project will bring to the forefront an even better understanding
00:22 as to why our antiquities are important
00:26 and will play in the future a key role in bringing even more visitors to our island
00:32 not only in the academic sense through research
00:35 but also as an entry point into another niche market which has been previously untapped.
00:41 According to the Division of Tourism, this initiative aims to protect underwater cultural heritage
00:47 and promote its relevance within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
00:53 This project provides an avenue to gain much needed research, development
00:58 and the possibility of eventual excavation of such artifacts
01:02 which even further provides Tobago with an attraction worth coming to see, experience and hear about.
01:09 Ms. Boris said the project is part of a bigger plan to tie into the educational system.
01:15 One of the things that has to happen is we have to find a way to tie this into our current education system.
01:21 We have to find a way to transition our students from looking at traditional areas to go to university and study
01:28 and encourage them to take advantage of some of the economies of scale
01:32 and some of the things that are advantageous to the island of Tobago.
01:36 Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Trinidad and Tobago Cornelius Herschback brought remarks.
01:42 The cultural heritage is of great value in an ever-changing world.
01:46 Knowledge of the past helps us all to understand the here and now
01:50 as well as supporting our future endeavors.
01:52 Heritage can contribute to identifying solutions for societal challenges
01:58 such as climate change, sustainability, social inclusion.
02:01 Professor Martin Mandes said 16 students across the Caribbean are in Tobago
02:07 and would undergo training which includes underwater diving for the next three weeks.
02:14 And we're going out and we're doing underwater archaeology but especially underwater archaeological heritage management.
02:21 That means we're not just picking things up from the seabed and putting them into a museum.
02:27 We're thinking about how can we implement cultural heritage into society.
02:33 The program has financial and technical support from the International Program for Maritime Heritage
02:39 of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.
02:42 Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
02:45 [ Silence ]
