Summary
in Englishof the 1st Virgin Island report.
Summary
in English
of the 1st Virgin Island report.
In recent years there has been a renewed interest in academic circles and governmental
departments in Denmark for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the former Danish West-Indies
Islands: St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. The focus of this interest is the
so-called “Slave-Route-Project,” a cooperation between the University
of the Virgin Islands, the University of Ghana and the University of Copenhagen.
The central part of this project is connected to the archives from the period
of the Danish colonial presence on the Virgin Islands. These archives are housed
at the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen and are the subject of much scholarly
interest.
Considering the obvious interest of the Virgin Islands in studying those records
the idea was fostered in Denmark to possibly utilize the expertise of the Danish
Ministry of Education of establishing and supporting programs of Danish language
and culture study currently in place at foreign universities and administrated
by the Lecturers Abroad Committee. Consequently, August 14-21, 1999, I visited
the University of the Virgin Islands to meet with university officials and others
from the local community to probe the level of interest in order to assess the
possibility of implementing a study program of Danish language and culture in
cooperation with the University of the Virgin Islands. Students from the Virgin
Islands pursuing Danish language study at the university would thus, in time,
be able to investigate those records themselves.
During the week I had the opportunity to address several groups of school employees,
administrators and teachers, on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, about the purpose
of my visit. I participated in the local television program “Face to Face,”
discussing the benefits of the project to the university, the local community
and to the Virgin Islands as such. I met with Commissioner of Education, Dr.
Ruby Simmonds, and received her support for the project. Likewise the Center
for Archeology and Historic Preservation, headed by Myron Jackson, and Beverly
Nicholson, Executive Director of the Hotel and Tourism Association, as well
as faculty members of the Humanities Division at the University of the Virgin
Islands all expressed their support for such a venture. Dr. Orville Kean, President
of the University of the Virgin Islands, also recommended that the project be
pursued although he was somewhat hesitant about UVI’s ability to participate
financially in the project. Despite a one-day-visit to St. Croix, I was unable
to meet with faculty and administrative representatives of the St. Croix campus.
During my stay at the Virgin Islands I was most kindly guided by Dr. Gilbert
Sprauve and Dr. Gene Emanuel, both of the Humanities Division.
I gave a class of basic Danish language instruction to a group of 11 persons
from the university and the local community. I met with the “Friends of
Denmark,” an interest group maintaining connections to Denmark. This group
also expressed their support for the establishment of a Danish study program
at UVI. Finally, I met Søren Blak, Consul General of the Royal Danish
Consulate, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mr. Blak is also in favor of the project, and
I suggested that he participate on the committee that is to be formed in order
to provide support for the project. This committee should preferably consist
of representatives from the university and from the local community.
The following plan of action to possible implementation of a Danish study program at UVI was agreed to:
1. The Danish language group will continue its study of the Danish language under the guidance of Dr. Gilbert Sprauve with regular contact to me via the Internet,
2. Possibly, I will return to the Virgin Islands later this fall or in spring for a week of intensive Danish language instruction to support the group,
3. Hopefully, the Danish Ministry of education will support the project by supporting a Danish language instructor at the University of the Virgin Islands beginning Fall semester 2000,
4. Hopefully, one or more UVI students who have worked with the Danish language during the year will be able to go to Denmark for intensive Danish language instruction during the summer 2000, with support from the Danish Ministry of Education,
5. A committee will be formed at the Virgin Islands to further these efforts.
In order to achieve a successful outcome of this plan of action, I have the following recommendations to the Ministry of Education:
Denmark and the Virgin Islands share a unique and fascinating history. It is
a history that should not only be confined to dusty archives. The initiative
of the Danish Ministry of Education to the establishment of a Danish study program
at the University of the Virgin Islands is remarkable and promising, and may
become the catalyst in a new relationship between the two cultures who were
thrown together by coincidences in the great grind of history. It ought to become
a relationship where the exchange of persons and ideas will provide practical
and intellectual enrichment in profit and joy for both societies, and prove
that out of historical mistakes in times when nations and individuals disregarded
the rights of the individual, may come something, civilized.
__________________________________
Kim Andersen, Director, Scandinavian Area Studies, Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-5120, U.S.A.; Phone: (509) 335-7694; Fax: (509) 335-3784;
E-mail: kimander@wsu.edu