PEOPLE interested in the work and philosophies of Marcus Mosiah Garvey – Jamaica’s first national hero – now have a new means to access information on that Pan-African icon.

The Marcus Mosiah Garvey Multimedia Museum at Liberty Hall, downtown Kingston, was officially opened on Sunday.

The first of its kind in the world, and the first multimedia museum in the Caribbean, the museum is committed to honouring the life and memory of Garvey. It features, among other things, eight state-of-the-art interactive touch-screen monitors, which together provide over three hours on his life and teachings in audio, video, text and photographs. In addition, the museum features films on Garvey, projected images of contemporary Africa and walls displaying images from Garvey’s life in Jamaica and abroad.

According to Donna McFarlane, curator and director at Liberty Hall, the museum will be partnering with the HEART Trust/NTA to infuse HEART’s curriculum with the works of Garvey in a four-step process. The steps will involve:

. The development of the museum to facilitate the introduction of HEART students for guided introductions to the works of Garvey, lectures and motivational talks.

. The infusion of HEART’s personal development activities manual, which every student must complete, with the teachings of Marcus Garvey.

. The creation of a mobile museum to be used for lectures at HEART’s rural centres.

. The development of a virtual museum that will allow students with access to the internet to traverse the museum from their HEART information technology computer labs.

“The board at HEART agreed to the proposal, principally, because they recognise the symbiotic relationship between the ethics that Garvey promotes and the philosophies that Garvey teaches,” McFarlane said.

Liberty Hall will also be offering, McFarlane said, community outreach programmes, a Liberty Hall scholarship, and guest lectures for children on all subject areas as well as evening classes for both children and adults in subject areas including drama, science, computer literacy and mathematics.

During the official opening ceremony, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller reaffirmed her intention to work towards the posthumous exoneration of Marcus Garvey in the United States.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Garvey paid a high price for his liberating messages and activities, both here at home and in the United States. And I am committed to giving my team in the attorney-general’s chambers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade my full support of clearing Garvey’s name.We will not stop pushing until we can get Garvey’s name cleared,” Simpson Miller said.

Simpson Miller also noted that she had given instructions to the relevant authorities to assist the Small Business Development Association in their bid to refurbish and restart Garvey’s printery.

“Just last week a deal came to me from the Small Business Association seeking assistance because they want to restore Garvey’s printery, which is very near to Vale Royal. I immediately gave instructions for us to begin to see how we can assist the Small Business Association with the refurbishing of that building and, certainly, to ensure the restoration of Garvey’s printery,” the prime minister added.

Commenting on the inclusion of Garvey’s teachings in Jamaica’s educational curricula, Simpson Miller stated that while she was not fully satisfied, she was secure that Garvey’s message was being passed on among generations.

“Although we are not where perhaps we should be yet, I am satisfied that Marcus Garvey, his life and works are included in the school curricula,” she said.

Dr Julius Garvey, who spoke on behalf of his family, said he would recommend the museum to people seeking to educate themselves about his father as well as to those who wanted to elevate themselves through education.

“The next thing that has to be done is for us as Jamaicans and as African people to use this edifice.appropriately. Marcus Garvey was always speaking of education – whether it was in a traditional setting or it was a continuous education based on the information that was available in libraries, books or travel. He was constantly educating himself. We have to rededicate ourselves and recommit ourselves to the vision of Marcus Garvey,” Dr Garvey added.