Africa-Press – Angola. The Regional Museum of Dundo, in the province of Lunda-Norte, will soon be able to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Real for Central Africa, one of the largest museum institutions in the Kingdom of Belgium, located in Tervuren, on the outskirts of Brussels, capital of this European country.
The information was provided, on Sunday, in Dundo, by the Belgian ambassador to Angola, Jozef Smets, at the end of a meeting he had with the director general of the Dundo Regional Museum, Ilunga André, during which conveyed the intention of a partnership between the Angolan and Belgian institution.
The diplomat assured that the partnership could consist of training Angolan staff, since, annually, the Royal Museum for Central Africa receives dozens of young researchers from various African countries for internships.
“One of the challenges would be to receive Angolan researchers and students for an internship at the Royal Museum for Southern Africa, as the institution receives dozens of young people from several African countries annually. Therefore, a first response in this partnership plan would be to ensure that Angolan researchers are part of this group,” he said.
He referred that the director general of the Museum of Dundo presented a series of challenges that he considers interesting in order to receive support from similar institutions in his country.
The direction of the Regional Museum of Dundo should work in the next few days on a concrete proposal, to be sent to Tervuren, which is ten kilometers from Brussels, capital of Belgium. The two official languages are the most widely spoken, namely French and Dutch, but the ambassador considers that this factor is not a problem for the establishment of scientific relations between the Dundo and Real Museums for Central Africa.
According to Jozef Smets, the signing of a memorandum of intent will be an important basis for establishing a partnership, given that the Dundo Regional Museum has a great reputation in Belgium.
Jozef Smets, who, before the meeting, took a guided tour of the ten temporary exhibition rooms of the Dundo Regional Museum, which was also attended by the ambassadors of Argentina, Japan and the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Angola ( UNHCR), said that there is great interest in his country in the approach to colonization and its consequent presentation to museum institutions.
The diplomat said that in the past, there were already Belgian researchers specialized in the Lunda Cokwe Culture who had contact and collaborated as correspondents with the Regional Museum of Dundo.
The meeting with the management of the Regional Museum of Dundo served to deliver the message of the desire for cooperation and renewal of contacts with the Belgians, declared the diplomat.
Jozef Smets assured that, recently, he discussed with the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, the possibility of bringing together Angolan and Belgian specialists, for a scientific meeting on the Cokwe Culture.
The Dun-do Regional Museum, he stressed, is a major research centre, whose dimension extends beyond the borders of Angola, due to its multidisciplinary nature.
Asked about the possibility of Angolan pieces in the collections of some museums in Belgium , Jozef Smets explained that the only existing ones were acquired in the northern region of Angola.
He assured that the Belgian Minister for Scientific Cooperation is open to any discussion on the matter, and that if there are pieces that were acquired illegally, steps must be taken to return them to their origin.
Jozef Smets expressed satisfaction with having found the eight pieces from the Dundo Museum that had disappeared and recovered by the Sindika Dokolo Foundation from Belgium, on display in the institution’s recreational activities room.
Documentaries are shown in all Media Libraries
Four documentaries about the new vision of the Kingdom of Belgium in relation to the colonial period in Africa will start to be shown from the 18th in all media libraries in the country, informed the Belgian diplomat.
Jozef Smets explained that the starting point, for the beginning of the presentation of the documentaries, will be the media library of Cazenga, in Luanda.
The role of the African diaspora in Belgium, including a debate on the phenomenon of racism, is also included in the initiative.
He highlighted the importance of diplomatic relations between Angola and Belgium, stating that there is a great change in mentality in the society of his country in relation to colonization.
The diplomat added that two of the four documentaries portray the renovation of the Royal Museum for Central Africa, with strong debates on how to show new and future generations the reality and African wealth.
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