| WHEREAS, March 31, 2011 marks the Ninety-fourth anniversary
of the transfer of the Danish West Indies (presently the United
States Virgin Islands) from the Kingdom of Denmark to the United
States of America; and
WHEREAS , the
people and Government of the Virgin Islands recognize the significant historical. ties between the Kingdom of
Denmark and the United States Virgin Islands during the period
in which the Danish West Indies was colonized by the Kingdom;
and
WHEREAS I the
people and Government of the Virgin Islands also recognize the historic ancestral ties of the people of the
former Danish West Indies to the people of West Africa, some of
whom were enslaved and transported to these shores during the
mid-Atlantic slave trade ; and
WHEREAS, the descendants
of the these enslaved Africans forced their emancipation on
July 3rd of 1848; and
WHEREAS I the General Assembly of the United Nations
declared the year 2004 as the "International. Year to Commemorate
the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition" to sensitize the
international community to the consequences of slavery and its
abolition throughout the African Diaspora, and to take
cognizance of the struggle for the liberation of the peoples
concerned; and
WHEREAS, the General.
Assembly of the United Nations adopted on December 9, 2003 a resolution
recognizing the U. S. Virgin Islands initiatives with Denmark on archival and museum
cooperation, and in this connection, reiterated its request to
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under its records and management program,
to assist the Territory in carrying out its archival. and
artifacts initiative; and
WHEREAS, March
31st, 1917 constituted the date of the official transfer of the Danish West Indies from the Kingdom of
Denmark to the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, this annual event serves as a
catalyst to foster trade, cultural exchanges , and promotion of educational exchange
programs for our youth; and
WHEREAS, the long-standing
relationship between the Kingdom of Denmark and the former Danish West Indies serves as a
foundation for a new and exciting partnership between Denmark
and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
WHEREAS, the Government of Denmark and the Government of
the Virgin Islands entered into an Agreement on October 27,
1999, for the surveying and arranging of
relevant documentation contained in the Danish West Indian
Local Government Archives housed in the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen, and in the
National Archives of the United States, and for the
establishment of a program for copying and distributing the
records with a view to supporting cultural, historical and
genealogical activities, and for subsequent transfer of archival
material to the Territory; and
WHEREAS, the Governments of Denmark and the Virgin
Islands, respectively, have formed a bilateral Archival
Commission co-headed by the Danish National Archives and the
Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources to
oversee the implementation of the Agreement dated October 27,
1999; and
WHEREAS, the Government of Denmark and the Government of
the Virgin Islands as a logical complement to archival
cooperation, entered into an Agreement on March 30, 2001, for
the establishment of a mechanism of mutual cooperation with the
aim of initiating a scientific survey of museum collections with
reference to the common cultural heritage, for the exchange of
knowledge regarding the respective museum collections including
the provision of training, for the establishment of modalities
for the exchange of items housed in the respective museum
collections for presentation to the interested public as well as
the academic community in the Kingdom of Denmark and in the U.S.
Virgin Islands; and
WHEREAS, the Government of Denmark and the Government of
the Virgin Islands, respectively, have formed a bilateral
Council between the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of
Denmark and the U. S. Virgin Islands to be comprised of museum
specialists as well as other relevant officials to oversee the
implementation of the Agreement dated March 30, 2001; and
WHEREAS, the Government of the Virgin Islands, through its
Historic Preservation Office, entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Virgin Islands Danish Apprenticeship
Initiative with the aim of establishing a long- term, technical
assistance and education program for the goals of educating
Virgin Islanders in the traditional building crafts; and
promoting best practice restoration skills and techniques in the
management and preservation of buildings and objects in the U.S.
Virgin Islands dating from the period of Danish colonialism; and
WHEREAS, the Government of Denmark and the Government of
the U. S. Virgin Islands in their common desire to maintain and
strengthen existing fraternal relations, are considering the
expansion of formal cooperation to include the areas of trade,
tourism, sustainable energy, investment, education, and cultural
affairs, bearing in mind the special development needs of the
U.S. Virgin Islands as a small and multi- island economy and the
nature of the present relationship that exists between the
United. States and the U. S . Virgin Islands; and
WHEREAS, the people and the Government of the Virgin
Islands recognize that economic and social progress in an
increasingly globalized world is enhanced by mutual cooperation
across borders and transcending boundaries; and
WHEREAS, both the St. Thomas-St. John and the St. Croix
Friends of Denmark Societies and their sister organization in
Denmark, the Danish West-Indian Society, have been in the
forefront of fostering and maintaining a warm, rich
relationship through educational and cultural exchange
activities; and
WHEREAS , it is important that every effort be made to
maintain and. strengthen the bonds of friendship, culture and
goodwill between the people of Denmark and the people of the
Virgin Islands;
NOW, THEREFORE I, John P. de Jongh, Jr., Governor of the
United States Virgin Islands, by virtue of the authority vested
in me by the Revised Organic Act of 1954 of the Virgin Islands,
as amended, do hereby proclaim the month of March 2011 as
"United States Virgin Islands - Denmark
Friendship Month." I call upon the people of the Virgin Islands to join with me in
this observance.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused
the Seal of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to
be affixed at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, this
1st day of March, A. D. , 2011 .
John P.
de Jongh, Jr.
Governor
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