Dominica as a Centre of Excellence for the Preservation & Celebration of the Creole Culture through Language, the Arts and its indigenous Kalinagos

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The kweyol language surfaced in Dominica and elsewhere in the Caribbean during slavery from the 1600s and became the first language among the natives. About the middle of the last century this changed with the colonised mother tongue, English, moving into the main stream gradually replacing the creole tradition. That decline continued particularly among the youth, in the urban areas and spread into some rural regions.For many decades use of the indigenous Kweyol language was forbidden in the homes of the upper and middle class since it was then perceived as a practice among the lower class and rural population. Moreover, families who migrated and settled in the UK for the most part abandoned the creole culture. As such, except in rare cases an identity gulf was created between Black-British descendants and their Creole heritage.However in the last 30 years there have been efforts on a national scale to expand its usage into non-traditional domains by cultural icons and advocates, the media, through tourism signage, internet and Parliament. This involved a concerted drive towards 'creole brand recognition' as a valued national heritage for its rich assets of a distinct language and an instrument for advancing creative cultural industries in the arts and among marginalised communities and the diaspora.Yet still today kweyol remains largely conceived as part of the cultural tradition celebrated in popular music, storytelling, dance and informal conversations, but generally this is limited mainly to Creole month activities. Hence, there have been recent efforts by KEK and other advocates to raise the profile of the language and its accompanying creole art forms among the populace and within the cultural tourism market. Nevertheless, marked by significant limitations and challenges of a small island and an LMIC efforts have not been fully realised. Accordingly, there is urgent need for an evidenced based approach to advance the work of KEK as a core driver to the national Creole cultural agenda of the island and in the wider Caribbean region.Thus the DoBeC network aims to explore, through public debate and research, ways in which the creole heritage can be preserved and further developed to ensure sustainability of the way of life, language, unique fashion and artforms. DoBeC seeks to celebrate innovative forms of its representation on the national tourism platform in the short term and future sustained growth at the level of World Heritage Status.In seeking in-depth contextual understanding through social constructivism and engaging activity theory the network will adopt a series of qualitative inquiry measures over a two-year period as follows: 1 Initial online scoping and planning meeting among lead investigators, 20172 Development of online presence via social media to initiate public awareness and promote the project, 20173 Public engagement workshop at the Dominica High Commission (UK), 20174 Creative Industries Expert Public Forum - University of Bedfordshire, 20175 A series of out-district workshops & focus groups in key cultural hubs in Dominica (Grand Bay, St. Joseph, Kalinago Territory, Petite Soufriere Area, Laplaine, Cottage/Portsmouth/Vielle Case), 2018 -20196 Youth symposium & focus groups, Dominica State College 2018, 20197 Youth symposium & focus groups UK, Dominica High Commission, April 2018, 2019 8 Expert video interviews with cultural experts, elders and icons on the island, 2018-20199 An International creole symposium in the Dominica during creole month October 201810 Academic conference - University of Bedfordshire, Summer 201911. Creation of Documentary, 2019 The data collected will serve to advance the research network specific objectives in the short and form a platform for advancing the broader mid to long term goals for KEK as a Centre of Excellence in Creole heritage and cultural preservation in the Caribbean region.