PHILIPSBURG – On Wednesday, 19 August 2026, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport Melissa D. Gumbs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the St. Maarten Development Fund, represented by Managing Director Makhicia Brooks. The MOU outlines the management, development and execution of the nine culture and heritage projects related to the Ministry’s Action Agenda: Slavery Past. SMDF will execute the Action Agenda under the program designation Future Roots, in cooperation with the Department of Culture within ECYS.
The projects cover a wide range of critical heritage and cultural preservation measures, including upgrading of staff at the museum and SIMARC, the development of local history curriculum, monument remapping and restoration, and, most notably, a heritage scholarship program to build local capacity in heritage inspectors and managers.
“This is a significant step forward for our efforts in cultural development and heritage preservation,” Gumbs said, noting that this was one of the first times where St. Maarten was early with delivering their project plan and praised for the broad coverage of its projects. “We are operating under fiscal constraints, as a country, so I have prioritized the identification and response times to such funding opportunities. It’s important that we continue to put St. Maarten in these rooms, to understand that regional and international funding does not come without conditions nor does it wait until you ‘feel like answering.’ I applaud the Department of Culture for moving with urgency and intention on this matter, and I was happy to support in my capacity as Minister.”
Moving forward, SMDF will now begin outlining project timelines and deliverables alongside the Department of Culture; this will include consultation with stakeholders identified within the projects, which includes the Philipsburg Cultural Center, SIMARC, the museum, the Department of Education and others. At this stage, the first two tranches received from the Netherlands, totalling US$1.9 million, have been sent to SMDF as they prepare to begin executing their mandate under the MOU.
“Future Roots reflects a national commitment not only preserving St. Maarten’s history, but in strengthening the institutions, knowledge and people who will carry that history forward,” said SMDF Managing Director Makhicia Brooks. “Our responsibility now is to translate the Ministry’s vision into well-managed, tangible projects the community will be able to participate in and benefit from. We thank the Department of Culture and Ministry of ECYS for entrusting us with this process.”
