Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange has charged Jamaicans to honour their responsibility to protect the country.

Referencing the patriotic song, Jamaica Land of Beauty, by A.L. Hendricks and Lloyd Hall, Minister Grange said it aptly sums up that Jamaica is a divine gift.

“From riverside to mountain, from cane field to the sea, our hearts salute Jamaica, triumphant, proud and free. It is an exciting reminder of how richly we are blessed, but more than that, the song calls us to action. Jamaica, land of beauty, we promise faithfully to serve thee with our talents and bring our gifts to thee,” she said.

The Minister was addressing Sunday’s (May 18) National Workers’ Week and Labour Day Thanksgiving Church Service, held at Portmore Holiness Christian Church in St Catherine.

“Let us renew that promise. Let us honour not only the beauty of our land but also the deep responsibility we all share in protecting it,” Grange said.

Labour Day 2025 will be observed under the theme ‘Protect the Environment: Our Land, Our Duty, Our Future’, with the slogan, ‘Jamaica Nice, Protect Wi Paradise’.

The Minister emphasised that Jamaicans owe it to themselves, to those who came before them and to the generations yet to come, to safeguard the country.

The establishment of the Environmental and Research Park at Mason River in Clarendon has been selected as the 2025 National Labour Day Project.

Meanwhile, the Minister praised the stalwarts whose sweat, sacrifice and struggle laid the foundation for the freedoms Jamaicans now enjoy and also praised the workers who build the nation every day.

-JIS