Instilling in adolescents and young children the care of heritage and respect for history is one of the missions that the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city has outlined.
To achieve this goal, they have developed several socio-cultural projects such as Harlequin, Patrimonio Rumba and Punto, Heritage Classrooms, summer workshops, tours to sites of historical and heritage value, among others. They have also reached out to schools.
A few meters from the headquarters of the Historian’s Office is the Marta Abreu primary school, which has been favored with several of the projects that seek to intertwine history and education in students to promote interest in local history, through the visit to sites of heritage value.
“We have learned a lot about the history of our town. We recently went to the Cemetery Interpretation Center and learned more about all the personalities that are buried there, in addition to the history of the place,” says Daniela de Jesús Finalé Rodríguez, one of the students of the Marta Abreu School.
Meanwhile, her schoolmate Denzel Pérez Álvarez talks about the importance of caring for heritage: “It is important that we care for and respect heritage, because that way we can pass on the history of our city from generation to generation.”
Children and their education are of great importance to the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city, therefore, in the institution’s approach to schools, it also seeks to improve the conditions of buildings and teaching aids.
Always taking into account the needs raised by teachers and students. An example of this are the interventions carried out at the Héroes del Moncada School and at Marta Abreu herself. “The Historian’s Office supports us a lot, and above all the work they do with the children is important, because not only do they learn about the history of the city, but they instill in them values that allow them to perform better in society,” says Yurielvis Veloso Ferrer, teacher at the Marta Abreu School.
The future of Camagüey’s heritage also depends on childhood education. Educating boys and girls in values that pay tribute to the care of the city and instilling in them a love for local history has the objective of including them in the participatory construction of a better city.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
