An Online Platform for Education on Belize’s Legacy

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology has launched an online platform that brings Belize’s ever-evolving history at your fingertips. Access 501 features fifteen categories of Belize’s rich heritage, ranging from reading material to technology, music, cultural videos and the environment. It is described as a revolutionary tool for everything Belize, inside and outside the classroom. A launch ceremony was held in Belize City. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology launched its Access 501 online platform today. Carlos Quiroz is the coordinator at 501 Academy and the visionary behind the new platform.

 

Carlos Quiroz, Coordinator, 501 Academy

“A young Froyla Tzalam around 2010 wrote a book, the people who carved Jade and their descendants. Now we can say, we are children of the people that carved Jade and wrote book. Never underestimate words. In August of 1969, a young Evan X published a string of words titled the Rockville Generation. Fifty-five years later and hundreds of thousands of words later, that is as hard as Jade in our social imagination, formed under intense heat and pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. Then there is Leroy the Grand Master Young constantly translating for us the realities of our 501 as he sees it playing out. Access 501 is them, the people I just listed and many more. It is them; they are us. It is a project to harness energy, 501 energy. It is an attempt to provide access to every Belizean to the raw material for our imagination.”

 

The online multimedia platform provides a wealth of resources that delves into information about Belize’s past and present in fifteen categories. These categories range from technology to the environment, music, cultural videos and more. Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Education, Dian Maheia, spoke to the importance of the platform to education in Belize.

 

Dian Maheia, C.E.O., Ministry of Education

“Access 501 is a tool. It is a tool. The same way your pen is a tool, your keyboard is a tool, or a hammer is a tool. A tool is latent action. It does nothing unless you do something with it. It is a potential for learning, and it is a potential for lessons. The hope is that once this goes live and you all leave here, you will recognize this for the tool that it is and you will be willing to use this tool, because you don’t need a special skillset for it. With Access 501 anybody can use this. It is also an answer. It answers the questions of teachers who don’t know where to find material. It answers the questions of teacher, educators, students, parents, of people who say I don’t even know where to look. I don’t have books. Where can I find this. How can I find this.”

 

Minister of Education, Francis Fonesca was also present at today’s launch. He announced the creation of a People’s Digital Archives, led by the establishment of this Access 501 platform.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“This project isn’t just about honoring our past. It is about shaping our future. Today we are thrilled to announce that Access 501 will spearhead the creation of the People’s Digital Archives. This initiative will open a door for our citizens to share their personal stories, contribute ideas to our national builders’ section and engage in the rich tapestry of what it means to be and become Belizean. This isn’t merely an archive. It is a living, breathing, collection of our collective journey and aspirations. Access 501 is a vaccine to fight fire, hurricane, but also to fight growing disconnect. If we don’t internalize this, others will take its value.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.