Development and Cooperation


	Contributions from the Column Focus Soccer enthusiasts in Latin America Soccer World Cup: Togo’s top athletes Why African museums struggle „Mosambicans love plays“ Visual media and sports in India 06/2006		Treasures in Europe and North America Africa needs a sense of history. Museums are institutions to foster people’s understanding of themselves. International cooperation is not doing enough to safeguard African heritage. [ By Peter Musa ] “Does Africa need museums?” This question is often asked. I have no doubt that museums are necessary for Africa’s development. Otherwise, our past shall be lost – and if one’s past is lost, so is one’s understanding of oneself. Hundreds of years ago, Africa was undiscovered, considered primitive, and became a hunting ground for slaves. Colonialism ran its course. In the 20th century, independence struggles arose and modern African states came into existence with a myriad of challenges, successes and failures. Museums in Africa have the duty to preserve the memories. They can help future generations of Africans (at home as well as in the Diaspora) to understand their origins. They must document the lifestyles of our ancestors, Western and Islamic influences and the various social and economic results of developments that took place in the more recent past. That is essential for building a better future. In South Africa, the prison of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists were held captive, has been transformed into The Robben Island Museum. It is a relevant place for anyone who wants to know about the freedom struggle, the collapse of apartheid and the emergence of South Africa’s new “rainbow nation”. Similarly, the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) has a good reputation for safeguarding heritage. The NMK has a collection of over three million objects, covering nature as well as the arts and culture. A good museum needs experts on topics as diverse as history, research, teaching and communication to be able to target its audience. Kenya’s NMK works with artists, anthropologists, museologists, archivists, documentalists, field researchers/scientists, conservators, restorators, educators, administrators and volunteers. Cameroon should follow this example. In most of Africa, museums are run by various ministries. They may be in charge of culture, education, transport, or even of defence or research. But if a museum is to actually preserve the entire heritage of a nation, covering all aspects from nature to history and culture to contemporary arts, all stakeholders must be involved. The National Museum in Cameroon, for instance, depends too closely on the Ministry of Culture. Widening that scope would help Cameroonians to get to know their country better. Privately-run museums are also contributing to the preservation of African heritage. Cameroon’s oldest such museum was established in 1902 at the Palace of the Sultan of Foumban. Our Musa Heritage Gallery (Mus’Art) in Kumbo, a town of more than 100.000 people, is another, fairly young example. Opened in December 1996, our museum focuses on the arts and crafts of the western grass fields region. We run a schools outreach programme and want to start interactive programmes in order to interest young people in the arts. If students become creative, they can make good use of their time, for instance, during vacations. The future of art in our region depends on them. Cameroon is not a popular destination for tourists from rich countries. Therefore, our private museums struggle to survive. Most Africans do not constitute a museum-going public, and therefore it is even more difficult than in rich countries to sustain programmes on the basis of visitor fees. On the other hand, if museums cater predominantly to tourists and expatriates, they risk to lose sight of the primary mission of serving their local communities. Museums, after all, can contribute to current debates and the development process. HIV/AIDS is a crucial issue in Kumbo. Therefore, Mus’Art is working on a project to raise awareness among the youth. We also plan temporary exhibitions on other topics. For instance, we are trying to organise one on the Millennium Development Goals in cooperation with “Art4Development” from New York and the Municipality of Kumbo. Called “A CreativeChange Travelling Arts Exhibition”, it is currently on display in the USA and features works by more than 50 young artists from all over the world. Quite a lot is already being done to improve museums in Africa. But much more still needs to be done. We have to deal with the illicit trafficking of cultural property and handle new information and communication technologies (ICTs). Lack of funds makes it difficult to cope with these (and other) challenges of globalisation. Fortunately, African Museums do enjoy some international support. The International Partnership Among Museums (IPAM) organised by the American Association of Museums (AAM) promotes joint projects. In a similar sense, the African-Swedish Museum Network (SAMP) facilitates cooperation, for instance, by twinning Museums in Sweden with counterparts in Africa. It is also investing in capacity building, joint projects and research. Other useful initiatives include UNESCO-ICOM Partnership Programme for Preserving Endangered Movable Cultural Properties and Museum Development, the Centre for Heritage Development in Africa (CHDA), West African Museums Programme (WAMP) and the International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM). They are all working towards developing capacities for African museums and their staff, information exchange and in marketing African museums internationally. German traces in Cameroon Cameroon was a German colony before becoming a trusteeship territory under the French and the British. There are still many traces of German heritage in the country. These include monuments, buildings, bridges, fountains and the Bamenda and Lomie Forts in the North West and East Provinces. Last year, an internship at the NMK in Kenya gave me the opportunity to visit Fort Jesus in Mombasa. The NMK and her partners are doing their very best to maintain this historical site, which was erected by the Portuguese. Adequate preservation of such colonial buildings will help upcoming generations to understand historical legacies. Germany should therefore consider contributing to renovating old forts in Cameroon. The German language is another aspect of heritage in Cameroon. Sadly, most of the old people that spoke this language have already passed away. But some are probably still alive. Why doesn’t a German museum come up to collaborate with our National Museum in order to document this intangible heritage? Old men and women should tell their stories, and that would be a good basis for an exhibition. In 1999, there was a major exhibition of African art in Berlin organised by the Museum für Völkerkunde. This exhibition was very much appreciated by the German public. Cameroonians and other Africans, I suppose, would have similarly appreciated it, had the Museum für Völkerkunde also organised a travelling exhibition for African countries, from where the artefacts originated. As it is, the event in Berlin had no effect in Cameroon at all. It is depressing that much of Africa’s most treasured heritage is found in museums in Europe and North America today. Even if these objects will probably not return to Africa, it is obvious that we need our own museums. Peter Musa is a freelance journalist and visual artist. Since 1996 he has been the director of the Musa Heritage Gallery (Mus’Art) in Kumbo, Cameroon. http://www.musartgallery.info.ms ; musartgallery@yahoo.com Links: International Council of Museums http://www.icom.museum International Council of African Museums http://www.africom.museum Centre for Heritage Development in Africa http://www.heritageinafrica.org African-Swedish Museum Network http://www.samp.org International Partnership Among Museums/ American Association of Museums http://www.aam-us.org/getinvolved/ipam/