Developing a digital platform to promote engagement in Saba’s heritage

Developing a digital platform to promote engagement in Saba’s heritage

This is an initiative from the Sea & Learn Foundation

Wider Context/Project: Caribbean Netherlands

The island of Saba in the Caribbean Netherlands has a small population of approximately 2,000 people, with a rich, diverse cultural heritage. The Sea & Learn Foundation (SLF)’s Adopt-A-Box program consists of visually-appealing storyboards which have been adopted by members of the Saba community (families, businesses, local organizations) to highlight important stories of Saba’s culture: history, art, and nature. These storyboards are durable, inviting focal points for members of the community and visitors to connect with what makes Saba unique as they traverse the island’s winding roads. The project protects important electrical and telephone equipment from exposure to the elements which reduces upkeep, while simultaneously substituting an eyesore with aesthetically pleasing, informative artwork that documents and highlights important heritage information. Through community participation, Adopt-A-Box has developed into a still-growing collection of storyboards which allow locals and visitors to engage with and appreciate Saba’s cultural and natural heritage at locations throughout the island.

In response to widespread public interest sparked by this initiative, SLF has adapted the project format to be framed around greater involvement from all sectors of Saban society via a Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC).

Current Project Phase: Heritage Advisory Committees

SLF has received funding from Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie to initiate the next phase of the Adopt-A-Box project. This phase is based around the formation of a HAC, engaging community members as participants via a series of town halls and open, public events. SLF will then facilitate recurring committee meetings where community members are encouraged to share stories that they feel are important to Saba’s culture. A total of 60 meter walls will have doors constructed and new storyboards will be created out of this community storytelling process, wherein the committee members themselves will collaboratively decide on what stories to feature, contributing their knowledge, photos, and keepsakes to be documented and featured on the storyboards. SLF will also create a video archive of the HAC meetings and discussions to document and celebrate the collaboration and the details of the storyboard creative process. The Saba Heritage Center will collaborate in conducting these meetings and in recording the oral history of participants as they share stories and recall tales of people and events from the past. SLF seeks to extend the engagement with HAC members in an ongoing way, drawing on their knowledge and perspectives to guide and inform the ongoing direction of the Adopt-A-Box project. In doing so, and in consideration of how to create greater coherence between the various stories and heritage sites, a need has arisen to create a digital platform through which all of this information is accessible.

Project Proposal: Developing a digital platform to promote engagement in Saba’s heritage

SLF now seeks support for the development of a digital platform, utilizing input from the Heritage Advisory Committee to formulate what locations and key aspects of Saba’s heritage should be featured. Saba’s heritage will be made more accessible and interactive for residents and visitors via a digital platform/app that encourages people to explore the villages of the island by walking tours structured around the Adopt-A-Box locations and other important heritage sites. The platform will include audio recordings with more details and stories told by Sabans that can be played at various sites. Heritage Advisory Committee members will collectively elect numerous different representatives to deliver the audio recordings, literally evoking the polyphony that is integral to this project. It will also have a function that allows users the opportunity to participate in reservation-based and/or drop-in visits with members of the community at heritage sites determined by members of the HAC (dependent upon the consent and participation of the partner individuals/organizations), for example: historic homes, small museums, local farms, artist workshops, the Saba trail shop, Saba Lace shop, etc. This digital function will promote live, dynamic human interactions, allowing participants to connect with and learn directly from community members. Discussions with historic homeowners and farmers, for example, can prompt anecdotal knowledge-sharing about the challenges of life on Saba and how they have impacted the way of life here: why traditional houses are built the way they are, impacts of climate change on island life, hurricane impacts over time, etc. The engagement opportunities made available through the platform are intended to provide benefits for the mental health and sense of pride among participating community representatives, as their expertise/anecdotal knowledge/experiences are featured as valuable and of interest. These community members may also have the opportunity to sell their wares to participants.

To promote use of the platform, SLF will create an incentive structure, gamifying different ways of interacting with Saba’s heritage. In consultation with HAC members and partner organizations, SLF will identify different locations, themes, and challenges structured around promoting different aspects of Saba’s heritage and prompting users to visit lesser-known/less frequently visited sites. The incentives will be unique, high-quality stickers that represent the various specific themes, locations, events and activities that are a part of the platform. While the app and the incentives/stickers will be free (stickers earned through participation), SLF will sell Saba branded high-quality water bottles that tie into the overall platform theme, for participants to put the stickers on as memorabilia. The incentive structure will also prompt people to participate/engage more extensively to collect more stickers; for visitors to the island, it is a means of promoting repeat tourism. The purchase of the water bottles will go to benefit the participating local community members and organizations. The nature of the platform encourages physical activity for participants as they will be prompted to walk through Saba’s villages to reach different featured locations. This makes the water bottles a relevant purchase and means of featuring the sticker incentives. In addition to the permanent heritage sites that will be featured, there is the opportunity for specific events to be featured, so users of the platform would receive notifications about upcoming heritage activities (Saba Day, carnival, craft fairs, community walks, etc.): how they can take part and the special incentives available.

SLF will create supporting resources to promote use of the platform by groups as a fun team-building, development activity to be used by organizations, companies, schools, youth and church groups, etc. Participants will be able to use the platform to do “scavenger hunt” style activities, learning important facts and visiting different locations, taking in the many unique perspectives and vantage points of Saba’s heritage. The platform will also entail a social component, allowing participants to take and share photos of the sites and of themselves at the location, and to engage with one another’s content with comments and likes.

This digital platform is intended to be a centralized mechanism to feature Saba’s heritage and promote in-person engagement with the community of Saba. The proposal to create a digital platform/app increases the impact of the Adopt-A-Box initiative and supports the work of the Heritage Advisory Committee. Thus, the proposal links to the goal to develop a community based heritage policy, as mentioned in the Faro agenda/Caribbean.

Collaborators/Partner Organizations

SLF intends to collaborate with several key organizations with strong ties to the various sectors of the Saban community in order to engage a diverse range of participants in the Heritage Advisory Committee process and the subsequent digital platform component of the project. It is vital that voices from the various neighborhoods and demographics that make up Saba (socioeconomic groups, age groups, ethnic and national identities, gender and sexual orientation) are represented and that all are invited, welcome, and vital contributors in the process.

• Saba Heritage Center
• Saba LIFE Center (Elderly Care)
• Community Development and Culture Department
• Saba Lace Ladies
• Saba Conservation Foundation
• Handmade on Saba
• Sacred Heart School
• Saba Comprehensive School
• Body, Mind & Spirit Foundation
• Local artists
• After-school care organizations
• Local churches & community centers

Electricity meter box without the initiative Adopt a box.