UNESCO recommends benchmark exercise to identify important documentary heritages in East African Sub Region

By Elias Hakizimana.

Various Representative of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa have brainstormed ideas to protect and sustain the richness of East Africa Sub region through identifying important documentary heritages that have world significance in Africans history.

These experts were discussing on Friday, January 21, 2022 during an annual work plan validation workshop that was held virtually.

The workshop was organised by the Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Rwanda Ministry of Culture (MYCULTURE) and Rwanda Cultural Academy (RCHA).

Albert Mutesa, Secretary General of the Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO said that increasing the number of submissions and inscriptions for being nominated and considered by UNESCO Memory of the World International/Regional Register is also a good move that will help to protect the Memory of the World (MoW).

Mutesa pledged the role of Rwanda in supporting and collaborating with other partners to attain successful results.

“The Government of Rwanda through Rwanda National Commission of UNESCO and other agencies having Documentary heritage in their attributions is committed to support and collaborate with National Committees for the Memory of the World and share with them opportunities that would make the Committees more operational and results based organs.” Mutesa said.

He requested all stakeholders, Governments, private sector and non-Governmental organizations and different partners to support and join the move for the effective implementation of the validated annual action plan.

Mutesa said that CNRU recognizes the efforts of UNESCO and National Committees of the Memory of the World in East Africa Sub Region, Recently Established.

“Sitting together as NATCOM leaders and National Committees for the Memory of the World from East Africa and deliberate the way forward after a fruitful dialogue we had on 3rd September 2021,  is an indicator that reflect that we will achieve all together the objectives of the Memory of the World Programs as elaborated by UNESCO and ensure that the implementation of  UNESCO 2015 Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to documentary heritage including in digital form[1] and we have right and positive direction to social and cultural promotion.” Mutesa said in the speech delivered to participants to the virtual validation workshop.

The implementation of this action plan will lead to the Capacity building and skills development for the national committees for the Memory of the World; and the community will be aware of the existence and significance of African documentary heritages in the East Africa Sub Region according to Mutesa.

“The effective implementation of this annual action plan will reveal all hidden agenda and make East Africa sub region citizens understanding the methodology for preparing an application for nomination to the International Register of the Memory of the World, and the number of submissions and inscriptions of documentary heritages from the region on the Memory of the Register increasing.” He said.

Prof. Elisam Magara, Vice President (Training and Registers), African Chapter, Memory of the World Committee (ARCMOW) said that the need for East Africa sub-regional dialogue was one of the questions that required an answer during the 25th to 27th June 2018 consultation meeting in Abuja on the theme “Documentary Heritage for Sustainable Development in Africa”.

“The discussion based on the 2015 UNESCO recommendation on documentary heritage concerning the preservation of, and access to documentary heritage including in digital form, adopted on 17th November 2015 represents a significant milestone in UNESCO’s efforts at preserving documentary heritage, providing universal access to it, and raising public awareness of its shared cultural values.” Magara said.   

A related meeting was held on 3rd September 2021 with the aim to bring together National committees on memory of the World and to come with a common agenda on the sub-region for the concerted engagement on strengthening resilience on African memory institutions.

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