A special event is to be staged to commemorate the life and achievements of one of Bermuda's national heroes.

Yesterday Dale Butler, the Minister for Culture and Social Rehabilitation, announced that his ministry in partnership with the Batho Pele Organization will host a special commemorative event on April 3 to pay tribute to Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego, who died last year.

Mr. Butler spoke about Dr. Kamarakafego's accomplishments and said Government would be commemorating the efforts and celebrating his life through an array of songs, dance and speeches by those who have been transformed by their association with Dr. Kamarakafego.

The community will have an opportunity to learn about his role with the United Nations Development Program and his work as an ecological engineer, who believed in sustainable development.

Speakers at the event will include Premier Ewart Brown and overseas speakers including Dr. Acklyn Lynch, who collaborated with Dr. Kamarakafego on numerous occasions and shared a great friendship.

Dr. Lynch was the former Chair and Professor of the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Maryland for more than 25 years and is credited with 40 years of inspiring African-American and Latino students.

CedarBridge Academy student, Zaid Simmons, will also be one of the speakers, and met Dr. Kamarakafego before he died and was inspired to follow in the footsteps of this civil rights trailblazer.

Mr. Butler added: "We believe it is essential to honour those among us who fought for social justice and democracy for all people. Too often we have not given enough credit and recognition to those Bermudians who have made significant contributions to our Island home.

"Furthermore, we believe that it is critical that the youth of Bermuda are made aware of those individuals who fought for basic civil rights in Bermuda, to ensure that they don't take for granted this most basic of civil rights… the right to vote."

The intention of the event is to educate young Bermudians and the community about the life of Dr. Kamarakafego, his struggle to bring about Universal Adult Suffrage in Bermuda and his efforts to assist developing nations around the world including Africa and the South Pacific.

Dr. Pauulu Roosevelt Osiris Nelson Browne Kamarakafego – also known by many throughout Bermuda as "Roose" – was a brilliant man. Having earned a Ph.D. in ecological engineering, he began a lifelong journey, through his relentless advocacy, of awakening people's conscience to sustainable development.

He did not confine this concept to its ecological meaning only. Instead, he also looked at it through the social and human lenses, and then considered challenges that should be highlighted in order to achieve sustainability in those arenas.

Mr. Butler said: "He taught at a university in Liberia, amongst other places. As an ecological engineer, he worked on community, government and international contracts in rural areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, where he developed and taught techniques to improve the standard of living of the people in these communities."

In 1996, the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements awarded Dr. Kamarakafego for two of his designs which exemplified 100 sustainable development "best practices".

He also coordinated many conferences on sustainable development including the Southern NGO Summit held in Nigeria in early 2002, where he was honoured with the Eminent Person Award, in recognition of his long-standing commitment to the principles and cause of Sustainable Development.

"His, is a legacy of service to people through out the world. He did this because, in his own words, he 'learned at a very early age that whatever knowledge [he] acquired from society does not belong to [him] therefore we …should always give back to the society wherever we are, be it Bermuda or any other place we may find ourselves in the world'.

"This man, short of stature, was a giant in his own right for the good that he accomplished in helping and serving others in Bermuda and throughout the world."

"We encourage the community and especially the youth to come out to this event. This promises to be an occasion that will cause each of us to reflect on the contributions of a man who played an instrumental role in the development of democracy and social justice in Bermuda," said Mr. Butler.

The event on April 3, the one year anniversary of Dr. Kamarakafego's death, will take place in the Harbour View Room of the Hamilton Princess Hotel at 7.30 p.m.