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CONTRIBUTED - From left, JLP Senator Warren Newbly, seated next to committee members of the Association of Cultural Studies (ACS), Annie Paul, Carolyn Allen, Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah at the event's media launch at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, recently.

Conference guarantees full cultural immersion for participants

A major cultural conference is to be held at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, July 3-7. The conference dubbed 2008 ACS Crossroads is organised by the international scholars of culture which come under the umbrella of the Association of Cultural Studies (ACS).

This cultural conference has usually been held in locations in North America and Europe. When the overseas delegates arrive in Jamaica, it will represent the first time that an ACS Crossroads conference is being held in a country in the South.

To celebrate its arrival, the local organising committee has planned a grand cultural immersion experience that will bring together the more than 500 international scholars and local residents on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The Crossroads Cultural Village will host a packed line-up of day and night activities to broaden the dialogue about culture which will take place during the five days of the conference from July 3-7.

interaction

"During the day, participants may interact with artisans and craftsmen, sample a variety of foods and view the library and publishers' displays in the adjoining space at the Undercroft. After dark, the village will transform into a 'Revival Tabernacle', drumming chamber and dancehall 'street', as practitioners in the designated fields bring each night alive with sacred and secular rituals," said Carolyn Allen, exhibition sub-committee chair.

The cultural village is open to the public and will have free day and night activities for conference participants and the general public. The cultural village will contain authentically Jamaican gift, craft, fashion and wellness products on display and on sale.

Revival Night, Friday, July 4, will be led by Daddy Rhudd, featuring a thanksgiving table in celebration of sacred aspects of Jamaican culture and the 60th anniversary of the UWI. The Revival Table is one of Jamaica's traditional ways of celebrating and giving thanks for life and all good things.

AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN DRUMMING

Night of the Drums, Saturday, July 5, will feature ritual African and Caribbean drumming by Mystic Revelations of Rastafari, Akwaaba and Drum Xplosion.

Dancehall Night, Sunday, July 6, will feature a grand fashion show courtesy of members from the Fashion and Apparel Cluster. The show, titled: 'From Jonkonnu to Dancehall,' will precede an authentically Jamaican dance session with music by Stone Love.

The 2008 ACS Crossroads is not to be missed. While Caribbean and world scholars, like Rex Nettleford, Kamau Braithwaite and Arturo Escobar, will headline the daytime plenaries, bringing forth critical dialogues in culture, the cultural village will be a central crossroads where all are invited to experience the staging of Caribbean cultural activity.

For more information, visit the conference website at www.crossroads2008.org.