CLGF Programme Officer Sandra Singh has welcomed the establishment of a Hall of Fame in the West Trinidad community, Diego Martin, celebrating local heroes. 
The Hall of Fame is the result of an initiative run by Ms Singh, after CLGF successfully secured £90,000 of funding from the Commonwealth Foundation for a three year project from 2014 to 2017. The focus of the project is to foster a democratic culture in schools and local communities. The Hall is the result of much hard work by students from 18 secondary schools from across the country. Having been taught the principles of governance and democracy, and trained in communication and research skills, the students took on the task of researching cultural icons that deserved to be celebrated because of their contribution to the cultural development of the community. 
Creating the Hall of Fame involved a detailed cultural mapping exercise which, in turn, deepened the students’ understanding of the rich cultural heritage that already existed within their community. 
Speaking at the launch of the Hall of Fame at the end of July, CLGF Project Manager Sandra Singh explained that so many of our local heroes exist outside the spotlight; people like midwives and teachers who make such a valuable and far reaching contribution.  
Expressing her gratitude to CLGF, the Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA) and the Commonwealth Foundation, Regional Corporate Chairman Susan Hong hoped that the Hall of Fame would help to ensure that all future local heroes are recognised and not taken for granted. 
The Trinidad and Tobago Association of Local Government Authorities (TTALGA) will seek to have the initiative adopted in other municipalities and a similar initiative is being rolled out in Guyana, St Lucia and the Bahamas.