CCFU participated in the African Youth Museum Forum from the 6th to 9th of June, 2023. The Forum which was organised by the Ecole du Patrimoine Africain-EPA (African School of Heritage), in partnership with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property – ICCROM brought together young people and heritage professionals from 17 African countries, including Uganda.
While at the Forum, CCFU shared its experience implementing the Heritage Education Programme (HEP) in partnership with over 21 community museums in Uganda.
The Youth Museum Forum was officially launched online on 7 October 2022 on the https://forum.epaprema.net/ platform, with the aim of addressing the lack of attendance at museums and young people’s disinterest in these institutions.
At the heart of this debate was the “The young African’s dream museum”. A study conducted by the African School of Heritage in Benin as part of the Youth.Heritage. Africa (Y.H.A) programme, which aims to engage young people in museums and heritage and give them a sense of responsibility, using digital technology.
The physical meeting
Since the launch of the online forum, young people and emerging professionals from Africa have been interacting on the web platform, sharing their opinions on specific themes, such as “Museums and new technologies”, “Working and taking action for museums”, “Travelling exhibitions”, and so on. Each month is devoted to debates on a specific theme and to the organisation of a webinar during which invited experts share their experience on the subject and exchange views with participants. As part of this dynamic interaction, a physical meeting of the Youth Forum is organised around the theme “Young people, your voice counts”, to enable them to share their innovations in museums and their visions for the next five years of the “African Youth Forum on Museums”.
At the 3 days meeting held at the African School of Heritage in Benin, young people shared their experiences working with museums, with the aim of redefining the dream museum for young people in Africa. Heritage professionals participated in the forum to share their experiences and lessons while interacting with heritage. The meeting also involved visits to museums and other heritage sites in Benin. Young people also participated in drafting a youth engagement strategy for the forum, which will be used for the next 5 years.
CCFU’s experience working with young people and community museums
The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) supports Community Museums to promote and preserve Uganda’s diverse cultural heritage. Inspired by the pride and self-motivation exhibited by individuals, families, clans, and community groups to preserve and showcase their artefacts and literature. So far, we have worked with close to thirty self-motivated and dynamic individuals, groups and families, as our partners. All have established museums: these community museums display unique ethnographic collections, literature, and traditional instruments, all demonstrating the cultural rights of self-expression and identity by a variety of local communities. 6 of these museums have positioned themselves as centres for research and heritage education and cultural entrepreneurship. They have documented and publicised cultural heritage resources within their communities. A digital site for community museums has been developed to further profile their work.
Through community museums, CCFU implements a Heritage Education Programme (HEP). Started in 2011, the programme aims at enhancing heritage education in Uganda, recognising the role of the young generation in promoting cultural rights and heritage. More than 175 “school heritage clubs” are part of the programme. The club members participate in an annual national heritage competition which culminates in a production of a national calendar. Because of their efforts, young people in heritage clubs have been inspired to start school museums to showcase their different cultures. So far, about 5 schools have started community museums and about 15 have started cultural enterprises.
The Foundation has engaged the National Curriculum Development Centre to integrate culture into the new national curriculum for lower secondary schools. For more information, see HEP resources. Community museums have been instrumental in supporting young people to start cultural enterprises through capacity building and providing linkages to markets of young people’s products.