Africa-Press – Senegal. Soixante directeurs de musées venant de 28 pays d’Afrique et de dix pays d’Europe ont mis sur pied à Dakar un réseau ‘’de discussions et d’échanges mutuels’’ dans le but de ‘’forger un futur commun afin de repenser la muséologie et renforcer les partenariats mutuels’’, a appris l’APS des initiateurs, vendredi.
This decision was taken after a three-day meeting, held at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, from April 25 to 27. At the end of this meeting, a « Dakar declaration » was adopted. In this text, the initiators undertake to “build together a common future with a view to dialogue between cultures, of which Léopold Sédar Senghor [man of culture, first president of the Republic of Senegal] was one of the greatest champions”.
« The basic idea is that it was necessary to reform the museological relationship between Africa and Europe, but more generally, it is a question of rethinking world museology », explained the director of the Museum of Black Civilizations , Professor Hamady Bocoum, during a press conference co-hosted with the former Director General of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium, Gryseels Guido.
« We have all arrived in this second globalization and (…) we must rethink the narratives in our museums, in our institutions, and above all, try to project a better world, less conflictual and more consensual and this is happening first in the minds of men where museums must play an extremely important role,” he said.
Hamady Bocoum points out that three major themes were discussed during the Dakar meeting. « We insisted on exhibitions with a traveling dimension, demonstrated cultural continuities and strengthened the capacities of staff on both sides, » he said.
Among the priorities of this network are also access to contemporary art, the importance of a policy of acquisition of contemporary art. There is also the way of involving schools in museums, and above all, of moving from traditional narratives to the language of young audiences in order to attract them. Professor Hamady Bocoum believes that it is wrong to say that 90% of African heritage is in Europe.
« Europe has a lot to learn from museums in Africa, from Africa itself, in particular on the important collections, a better knowledge of its decolonized collections… », estimated for his part the former director general of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium Gryseels Guido, convinced with all the participants in the meeting that museums have a major role to play in promoting peace and mutual understanding.
According to him, after this meeting in Dakar, donors such as the Commission of the European Union, UNESCO and the sub-regional communities in Africa will be seized for the granting of funds in order to carry out the program of multilateral partnership between the museums of Africa and Europe, based in Dakar.
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