| Summary: |
AFRICA 2009 is a ten-year capacity building programme launched
in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 1998. It is the result
of a survey and needs assessment carried out in 1996. The programme
is a joint effort of African cultural heritage organizations, EPA,
CHDA, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICCROM, and CRATerre-ENSAG.
It is rooted in the notion that the problems facing conservation
in Africa must be addressed not only through technical solutions,
but also through a better understanding of the relationship between
the immovable cultural heritage and its social-economic and environmental
aspects. The programme which, closes at the end of 2009, has during
its various phases continuously contributed to the improvement of
national capacities in the management and conservation of immovable
cultural heritage in sub Saharan Africa.
During its programme of activities, Africa 2009 has emphasised
the importance of the linkage between tangible heritage and its
intangible aspects. Indeed, the intangible aspects of immovable
heritage are crucial to the understanding of its value and significance
and are a vital consideration in the competent management and conservation
of a heritage site. Sacred heritage sites, as designated and defined
by individual communities, play a key role in the lives of such
communities. The understanding of the link between the tangible
and intangible aspects of sacred sites is fundamental to the development
of relevant and all-inclusive approaches to their management and
conservation. It is undeniably ineffectual to disregard the importance
of the rites, rituals, traditions and other forms of intangible
cultural heritage which contribute to the reality and meaning of
such sacred places. It is in an effort to draw attention to this
rich heritage that ICOMOS devoted the 2008 ICOMOS International
Day for Monuments and Sites to 'Religious Heritage and Sacred Places'.
Objective
The seminar aims at giving an opportunity to African heritage and
allied professionals to explore the relationship between the tangible
and intangible aspects of sacred heritage sites in order to facilitate
the development of relevant and all-inclusive approaches to their
management, conservation and promotion.
Programme
The seminar programme will allow for the sharing of information,
experiences and ideas on:
- The typologies and characteristics of African sacred heritage
sites;
- The 'sacredness' of sacred heritage sites, i.e. what makes identified
sacred sites sacred?
- The relationship between the tangible and intangible in African
sacred heritage sites;
- The experiences and challenges of conserving and managing sacred
sites in Africa;
- Proposals for approaches best suited for the management and
conservation of sacred heritage sites.
The seminar will start off with presentations (case studies, reflections)
by seminar participants on approaches to the management and conservation
of sacred sites in their own countries. The presentations are expected
to cover all or some of the issues in 1 to 5 above. These presentations
will then be followed by group work to identify the key issues arising
from allocated topic (s) as well as suggest possible solutions and
strategies. The seminar will end with a plenary session that will
discuss proposals and strategies for the better management and conservation
of both the tangible and intangible aspects of African sacred heritage
sites. A visit will be made to a sacred site in Ghana as a case
study for the seminar.
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