An interview with Dr Webber Ndoro, Director General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
We asked Dr Webber Ndoro, one of the MAEASaM project’s advisors, to give his perspective on the importance of heritage in Africa today and the role of ICCROM in supporting its preservation.
Q. ICCROM’s mission is to provide its member states with the best tools, knowledge, skills and enabling environment to preserve cultural heritage in all its forms, for the benefit of all people. How does ICCROM approach this?
Over the last two decades, ICCROM has developed and implemented many capacity-building initiatives and field projects in various regions of the world. In 2020 we initiated a new programme for Africa: Youth Heritage Africa. This is driven through three key objectives: first, to engage Africa’s youth in caring for heritage including its conservation, resilience, management, and promotion; second, to mainstream sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities within the heritage sector; and third, to engage and strengthen heritage institutions to develop sustainable, resilient, and innovative use of heritage for education, development, and peace.
In all its training courses, ICCROM foregrounds people-centred approaches and recognises the effects of heritage on the well-being of communities. Heritage is no longer just for professionals, conservators, archaeologists, and architects. It is also for communities. For example, our interest in heritage is not just for those who stay at sites, but also for those who may be affected by the heritage itself. In Africa, the saying goes: nothing about us without us. Heritage affects all aspects of our lives and contributes to the well-being of society. The current global pandemic and the impacts of climate change only serve to underline this.
Q. How do you see the MAEASaM project contributing to the development of professional tools for archaeological documentation and site risk assessments in Africa?
The project’s purpose to document the archaeological heritage will in turn enable institutions in Africa to provide the necessary protection and promotion of archaeological heritage. Digitisation makes the information available to planners, educators and those who might want to promote it. The documentation will also ensure that the legal instruments on heritage provide protection to those sites and monuments identified.
Q. In your view, what makes a heritage project sustainable in Africa?
The simple answer is when the project is owned by the local institutions, whose professionals determine the objectives and trustworthiness of the project’s activities. This local involvement in critical areas of the project is key. The institutes of education must also play a role in developing capacities.
We must engage and strengthen heritage institutions to develop the sustainable, resilient, and innovative use of heritage for education, development, and peace.
(ICCROM Africa)