As part of the International Reggae Day (IRD) activities, on Thursday, July 1, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus will be staging a reggae music symposium entitled: Going Forward to our Rootz: Reclaiming the Healing Power of Reggae Music.

One of the aims of the symposium is to explore and reflect on the positive aspects of Jamaican popular music, which is embodied largely in the vintage Reggae, Rocksteady and Ska music, as well as consciously oriented Reggae music. As such the name for the title of the symposium was deliberately chosen by the event organisers, Dr Michael Barnett, (Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work) and Professor Carolyn Cooper (Department of Literatures and English), to reflect this aim, and to address the general theme that has been adopted in 2010 by IRD founder and producer, Andrea Davis — The Role, Power and Responsibility of Music and Media to change Jamaica and the World.

According to Dr Barnett, in these present turbulent times, it is very important that this fantastic resource that has been crafted in Jamaica, (reggae music), should be utilised as a positive force in Jamaica, and indeed the whole World.

For Andrea Davis, this year’s observance of the annual International Reggae Day celebrations, comes at a crucial juncture in Jamaica’s history which inspired the RedGoldGreen ILOVEJA campaign. According to Davis, this has been the most challenging period in Jamaican music since the birth of the International Reggae Day concept in 1994. The fallout in dancehall, with increasing visa restrictions on several of Jamaica’s most popular artistes and the huge movement against the perceived rise in homophobic content in Jamaican popular music, has endangered both the Reggae and Jamaica brands. The violence and instability that has plagued and rocked the nation recently has left the country struggling to find peace, purpose and hope. Reggae music is one of the few Jamaican resources that can be used to quell the anxiety that has gripped the nation.

Andrea Davis, an unassuming Rasta woman and brand specialist, has the distinction of conceptualising IRD16 years ago in 1994 and keeping it going almost uninterrupted, save for a four year break between 1996 to 1999, single-handedly.

Arguably, International Reggae Day inspired the inception of Reggae Month in February, 2008, and as such can rightfully claim its just due for keeping the flag flying for Jamaica’s unique gift to the world, Reggae Music, for all of these years.

“The UWI event organisers for International Reggae Day 2010, are proud to be a part of this commendable cultural imitative, and hope that it goes from strength to strength for many years to come,” a release from the UWI stated.