Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund organised a Workshop on the theme, ‘The Power of Museums’, on Friday 20 May, in Beekrumsing Ramlallah Interpretation Centre in Port Louis, for public and private museum institutions with a view to sharing experiences and best practices adopted for the better functioning of museum institutions in the local context.
The event was held in line with the International Museum Day, organised, since 1977, by the International Council of Museums on or around 18 May annually, to raise awareness on the crucial role played by museums in society.
The theme for this year’s International Day is ‘The Power of Museums’. The Chairman of the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, Mr Rishiraj Kanhye; the Director of the Trust Fund, Mr Hariduth Chand Ramgoolam; and representatives from the private and public museums participated in the Workshop.
In his keynote address, Mr Kanhye dwelt on the theme chosen both for the International Museum Day and the Workshop. He thus highlighted the essential power of museums in fostering sustainability and climate justice; in innovating on digitisation and accessibility; and in community building through education.
According to Mr Kanhye, the Beekrumsing Ramlallah Interpretation Centre, in displaying historical documents and artefacts related to the Indian immigrants and using technology to share and transmit history, could be deemed to fully meet the functional powers of museums.
For his part, the Director of the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, Mr Hariduth Chand Ramgoolam, underlined that Mauritian museums contained exhibits and artefacts that provided important witnesses of the past.
He added that the valorisation of museums was primordial for the construction of a common unified identity and for the development of a deeper knowledge of Mauritian history, as museums were the centres of pedagogy for the Mauritian Nation and tourists alike.
Moreover, Mr Ramgoolam stated that local museums, as well as history and heritage sites, were symbols of the construction of a Nation on an island that was originally inhabited.
He underlined that they also gave insights into discoveries, technical progress, historical evolution of society, important personalities in history, and the greatest crimes against humanity such as the slave trade and indentured labour.
The Workshop was marked by presentations on the management of, challenges faced by, and way forward for, museums by representatives of public and private Mauritian museums.
These institutions comprised the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, the National Heritage Fund, the Blue Penny Museum, the Mauritius Postal Museum, the Bank of Mauritius Museum, the Trou Chenille Open Air Museum of Le Morne Heritage World Heritage Site, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, and the Musée des Coquillages.
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