Over ten years ago a novel idea was first initiated on Bonaire, to try and involve the island’s youth in heritage research and preservation. This first heritage-oriented approach towards the youth, was the brainchild of Dr. Jay Haviser, as the archaeologist of the former Netherlands Antilles government. In 2002, with support from the then Island Territory of Bonaire, the Bonaire Archaeological Institute (BONAI) was established as a non-profit foundation, having the goal of supporting Bonaire’s high-school youth to be pro-active in documentation and protection of the island’s cultural and natural heritage. Under the direction of BONAI Board members Jackie Bernabela, Hubert Vis and Dr. Haviser, the BONAI program has guided over 100 youth participants over the years. Even more significant than its origin, is the fact that the success of the BONAI program became the inspiration for similar non-profit foundation youth programs on St. Maarten in 2005, called SIMARC, and now on Saba in 2012, called SABARC, all with the youth leading the way in heritage preservation.
Each research endeavor of these three island youth programs begins with the youth themselves deciding what is important to them and for their communities as heritage. Then together with their instructors, Dr. Jay Haviser is the director of all three programs, they outline a structured project design and implement it. Thereby, the students learn more than just facts about their heritage, they learn the scientific-methods required to properly record and understand heritage.
Some of the more interesting projects of these three youth groups include: archaeological investigations at various heritage sites, both historic and pre-historic, that have been threatened with destruction; the documentation of old traditional houses of the islands; the recording of all the largest ‘historical’ trees on the islands, including the establishment of a ‘National Tree Day’ for some of the islands; reconstructing an entire whale skeleton on Bonaire, and restoring old cannons and anchors for public display on St. Maarten; the compilation of cultural-historical GIS maps for the schools of the islands; the production of TV commercials and programs about heritage preservation; and even a UNESCO model-project of combining heritage icons with coral reef preservation.
As the international reputation of these youth programs has increased, so too has there been increased international institutional cooperation with the BONAI, SIMARC and SABARC youth projects. The European Union EUROTAST project, Leiden University of the Netherlands, City University of New York, NAAM of Curacao, the Bureau of Monuments and Archaeology of Amsterdam, and many others, have all directly cooperated with these three youth programs for the benefit of the local island communities heritage research. Even Queen Beatrix and Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands have visited with the SIMARC youth group. As well, the students in these programs are also reaching out into the international professional arena, by actually participating in international congresses with presentations about their work. While another aspect of the student’s reaching out, has been their direct cooperation with other island’s high-school youth, such as on St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Aruba, Curacao and Barbuda.
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