Honours and awards for more than 6000 people on National Heroes Day

More than 6000 Barbadians will be honoured on National Heroes Day next week for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those Barbadians who worked hard on the front lines and in supporting roles will be awarded during a two-hour long inaugural Humanitarian Awards Ceremony at Kensington Oval.

During a virtual  press briefing on Saturday, Minister with Responsibility for Culture Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight announced that the awards will be in six categories, presented by President Dame Sandra Mason.

The six categories are; Freedom of Barbados Award, The Honorary Freedom of Barbados Award, The Gold Award of Achievement, The Humanitarian Service Medals, The Humanitarian Lapel Pins and the Humanitarian Plaques.

The Freedom of Barbados Award, announced last November, will be presented to six persons on the COVID-19 Leadership Team in recognition of their indelible service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Honorary Freedom of Barbados Award is to be presented to the Director-General of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for his global leadership and friendship to Barbados during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Gold Award of Achievement Award will be conferred on 60 persons for extraordinary service to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Humanitarian Service Medals will be given to approximately 700 front-line workers. The Humanitarian Lapel Pins, the category with the most recipients, will be awarded to over 5000 front-line workers.

The Humanitarian Plaques  will be presented to representatives of countries, regional and international agencies and charitable foundations that generously donated supplies and resources to the Government and People of Barbados to assist with the management and control of COVID-19.

One of the highlights of the event will be photographs taken by and with the various awardees and dignitaries including the WHO Director-General.

A special ‘Park and Ride’ system for awardees and their guests  will be operated by the Transport Board.  Buses will depart Queen’s Park, Bridgetown; National Cultural Foundation Headquarters, West Terrace, St James; the Wildey Gymnasium, Wildey, St Michael; and the BTI Car Park, Bridgetown, from 6:30 a.m., at a cost of $7 roundtrip.

In excess of 6000 complimentary booklets will be produced by the Cabinet Office in collaboration with the National Cultural Foundation and they will be distributed as a memento of the occasion.

The event will be televised live via the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation and streamed on various online platforms. All Awardees are invited to participate in the picture-taking events. (MR)