The Founders

The Folk Research Center (FRC) was founded by Msgr. Patrick Anthony (P.A.B.A) together with a group of young people with whom he helped to develop organization, discipline and commitment to the development of the St. Lucian society. They formed two social action groups:
The FRC was formed, as a result, to give greater stability and an institutional basis to the important work of these two groups.

The FRC began as an institution that was deeply involved in the Catholic Church. Through its work in the 70’s it adopted a mission to ‘indigenize’ the church in St. Lucia and ensure it’s relevance to the local social environment in its teachings and practices. Its members established a folk group called the Kokeeoko Singers who used drama, singing and indigenous cultural forms to popularize our culture in the church and in the wider society. That period saw the controversial introduction of dance, drumming, calypso and reggae music and many other forms in church services. This church connection proved to be very restrictive when the Centre sought to expand its research work into areas of cultural life that were tabooed by the church.

In 1985, after a mass consultation with individuals and groups from every sector of the society, the FRC was registered as a not-for-profit company with a membership base, not aligned to either church or state, but having a sovereign identity determined by its membership. Today an elected Board of Directors guides the ongoing work of the Centre and monitors policy implementation. The actual staff of the FRC operates under the leadership of an Executive Director. The general membership is the highest decision making body of the organization.