The Accompong Maroon Youth Culture Camp and Memory Bank

By exploring the history and culture of the Jamaican Maroons, the Accompong Maroon Youth Culture Group (AMYCG) seek to educate and uplift the youth of their communities by learning about their true history so they can learn, grow and be empowered from it.

Their After School Culture Program, the annual Maroon Youth Culture Camp and the Maroon Memory Bank have been developed to address some of EdJAM's key areas of investigation, History Education and Classrooms and Heritage Education and Everyday Lives.  An intergenerational project, the AMYCG work with Elders and youth of their communities to develop and implement spaces and activities where they can teach, talk and learn about their history and their present in order to support and prepare their youth for their futures. This work engages hundreds of young Maroons in educative activities based in culture and heritage where they use storytelling, music, and project-based learning activities to engage young people in active exercises to learn and grow from their violent past.

Aim

To address and educate young people about their Maroon history:

  • Their ancestors were captured and brought to Jamaica as slaves and they escape and fought for freedom

  • The importance of preserving their history, especially as told by their Elders today

  • The need to keep their culture active and alive in all aspects of their daily lives

Main outcomes:

Increased knowledge, understanding and pride in Maroon history and culture.
For all Maroons living in Cockpit County, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica to benefit from this project.

Key deliverables:

  • The implementation of a weekly Maroon Youth Culture Program (after school),

  • The creation of a Maroon Memory Bank, and

  • The successful implementation of the Maroon Youth Culture Camp 2022.

The AMYCG partnered with Chief Richard Currie and his executive council and the Young Lives Research Lab (York University, Canada) to achieve the goals and objectives of this project.

Meet the AMYCG team and access their project details and additional information about EdJAM here. 

See their project Blog here.