00:04good evening ladies and gentlemen I am Nicole M Romany and welcome aboard your favorite airline
00:10get your passports ready tonight we leave Trinidad and Tobago for a journey across
00:16the Caribbean one island one story one people at a time your destination this evening Jamaica
00:39some countries are measured by their size others are measured by their influence this week or journey
00:47takes us to Jamaica an island of just three million people that continues to shape music sport culture
00:54and global conversations far beyond its shores as Jamaica celebrates another year of independence
01:01we discover how one nation became one of the world's biggest cultural voices for Jamaica
01:08independence is more than a date on the calendar it's a story of a nation that found its voice
01:14and inspired others across the Caribbean to do the same speaking with wider region Jamaica's High
01:21commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago her excellency Natalie Campbell Rodriguez says Jamaica's greatest
01:28legacy began long before the world knew its music and athletes that in 1962 when we became independent
01:37it served as a blueprint for decolonization across the region that's the first thing so way back when
01:44it inspired even this country of Trinidad and Tobago to follow suit so that's the first legacy that we
01:51have given from our independence so it's not just one thing it's several things and of course we have to
01:58talk about reggae music we have to talk about Usain Bolt we have to talk about Shelley and Fraser all
02:03of those
02:03things are part and parcel of the legacy of Jamaica that we have given to the world today that legacy
02:10echoes far
02:11beyond Jamaica shows from reggae to sprinting from Marcus Garvey to Bob Marley Jamaica has become a cultural force
02:19recognized in almost every corner of the world but the High Commissioner says the country's greatest export isn't its music
02:27it's the spirit of the nation it's going downtown and walking and seeing where we have that whole artists
02:35section of Kingston where I forgot the official name right now and people are just walking there and they're
02:40seeing artists the work of artists from all different corners of the earth and it comes back Jamaica we say
02:48all the time ask anyone who's visited Jamaica and they'll tell you it's impossible to separate the
02:57island from its rhythm music spills into the streets history lives on every corner and culture isn't
03:04simply something you watch it's something you experience and also you're talking about when people go to
03:12Jamaica for example the reggae music the dancehall music for those who are old and love scare the scam music
03:20always there's something about going to Jamaica and being there which is different from everything else and
03:28you know one of the things that we must never ever forget is that reggae music has been recognized by
03:37UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity but while the word often celebrates Jamaica's past its
03:45eyes remain firmly on the future the High Commissioner says the country's next chapter is being written not
03:53only through music and sport but through economic transformation our sustained economic recovery and
04:01prudent financial management are some of the things that we are proudest of now I know that when people
04:08think of Jamaica they think about our sports our music our culture but you know what we want people to
04:16think of Jamaica as also that place that is an economic powerhouse Jamaica's story is one of hope
04:24innovation and unity which is also a powerful testament to resilience and the strength found in collaboration
04:33Jamaica's High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Her Excellency Natalie Campbell Rodriguez happy independence
04:40Jamaica as the sun sets on tonight's journey through Jamaica thank you for flying with us on
04:46wider region I am Nicole M Romany join us next Friday as we journey to another destination across the
04:53Caribbean uncovering the stories people culture and conversations shaping our region until then safe travels
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