Barbadian heritage has been officially acknowledged on the world stage as Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison are now included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation World Heritage Site list.

The official inscription was granted by the World Heritage Committee during its 35th session at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, which ran from June 19th through June 29th, 2011.

Advocating the inclusion of Barbados within the pool of countries with recognised heritage sites was Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley, who travelled to Paris to justify the admission of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison into the prestigious list.

On the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Barbados profile boasts its latest merit, and Bridgetown and its Garrison are considered “an outstanding example of British colonial architecture”, offering a story “which testifies to the spread of Great Britain’s Atlantic colonial empire”.

This now places Bridgetown and its Garrison amongst the ranks of other landmarks including the Pyramids, the Statue of Liberty and the Great Wall of China.

Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison site was considered for nomination after Barbados became signatory to the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention in 2002.

Barbados submitted the nomination dossier to UNESCO World Heritage Centre on February 1st, 2009, and that was among 45 proposals which were examined by the World Heritage Committee in June 2010.