From teaching history to preserving and celebrating it -- Heather Wilson is looking forward to the challenge.

Ms Wilson was last week chosen as the Island's new Cultural Affairs Officer, taking over from Ruth Thomas.

And as of August 4 the job will catapult her from the history class of the Berkeley Institute into making and preserving history and culture.

"It is different from teaching but it is not different from the area I work in because one of the areas I teach is Bermuda history and cultural affairs,'' said Ms Wilson, 42.

"Some of the major responsibilities of the office require that programmes be developed that promote our heritage and the history and traditions and values of our Bermuda culture.'' Government announced Ms Wilson's appointment last week and said she would be responsible for developing and fostering a cultural programme embracing Bermuda's "customs, traditions, habits, way of life, beliefs and values''.

She will also be required to develop and conduct research and educational programmes and prepare and manage her department's annual budget.

"I do have some ideas, but they are still in the embryonic stage, but I do have some ideas that I will be putting forth.

"I want to get out into the community and I am liasing with other Government departments as well as areas of the community,'' added Ms Wilson, a Bermudian.

She wants to raise people's awareness of the Island's culture and ensure greater documentation of its culture and heritage.

"One of the areas I want to see more work done is in raising people's awareness of our culture. I want to see more done in terms of recognising and celebrating the various components that make up our culture.

"We need to celebrate our cultures but at the same time we are still all Bermudians. We need to respect our differences and celebrate them.'' "That is a long-term aim. That is not something that can be accomplished overnight,'' she added. "One of the areas I also want to develop will be promoting more documentation of Bermuda's cultural heritage to keep a permanent record.

"Certain things have been written about Bermuda and its culture and heritage.

I want to see that more is written about our history and that our history is documented in different forms'' Ms Wilson, of Hamilton Parish, has been a teacher at the Berkeley Institute since 1978 and has chaired the BSSC History Committee which was responsible for developing and writing the Bermuda history syllabus.

Her appointment comes in the wake of controversy over the selection of candidates for the post.

Some people expressed surprise that Bermuda's international opera star Gary Burgess was not short-listed for an interview.

One person said: "Who's making these decisions? We should know who's sitting in judgment. People need to know how their tax dollars are being spent.'' However the rules of the Public Service Commission, the body responsible for making the appointment, state that qualified people already in public service are considered first.

Heather Wilson