-, Jamaica, in 2007, led the call for the UN to erect a permanent memorial, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said would acknowledge the struggles of the millions of Africans who, over more than three centuries, 'were violently removed from their homelands, ruthlessly abused and robbed of their dignity'. As was the case in 2007, Jamaica took centre stage on Day One of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly. The country's permanent representative to the UN and chair of the Permanent Memorial Committee, Ambassador Courtenay Rattray, was the one who announced the Ark of No Return', done by Roger Leon, as the winning design.
Traditional Maroon culture was, however, determined to be in need of safeguarding and protection because of several factors. Chief among these was the fact that transmission of traditional knowledge from elders to younger generations was not taking place on the scale it was used to and the fact that migration patterns saw large numbers of Maroon youth leaving the traditional sites of settlements. In response, UNESCO was petitioned to assist in safeguarding traditional Maroon culture in Jamaica, in particular, that of the Maroons of Moore Town, who were deemed to be the most remote. In November 2003, UNESCO declared the Maroon Heritage of Moore Town as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This action facilitated the implementation of measures geared toward documenting, for posterity, traditional Maroon cuisine, language, the Kromanti play and the craftsmanship associated with the creation of tools and implements such as their unique Prentin drum, fishpots, spears and the abeng.
