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July 13, 2022

ConferenceICOM Webinar: Sustainability Initiatives in African Museums

This webinar aims to showcase examples of sustainable development initiatives in African museums.

Organized by ICOM-WGS as part of an ongoing series on the role of museums in sustainable development, the session brings together four museum professionals from different countries in Africa to exchange and present their initiatives and their contributions to sustainable local development. From Benin to Egypt, Mozambique and Zambia, webinar presenters will show how their museums are to the 2030 Agenda and much more.

Presented by the ICOM-WGS
July 20, 14:00 to 15:30 Paris / Maputo time

access the webinar

SPEAKERS

Ibrahim Tchan, Ecomusée Tata Somba, Benin

Ibrahim Tchan is a Beninese jurist specializing in cultural heritage. Director and Co Founder of the Tata Somba Ecomuseum, the first ecological museum in West Africa. After Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba, was included on the 2020 World Monuments Watch, he began coordinating the Koutammakou Cultural Landscape Preservation Project, Benin and Togo with Corps of Benin Volunteers, with the financial support of the World Monuments Fund. Also Steering Committee Member of the Climate Heritage Network (CHN), he is CHN Africa Region Representative within the Climate Heritage Network-GlobalABC. He works on traditional techniques and construction materials of Tata Somba architecture for the application of this knowledge for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Precious Mubiana, Lusaka National Museum, Zambia

Curator of Ethnography at the Lusaka National Museum  in Zambia with a demonstrated history of working in the museums for over 15 years. A museologist skilled in conducting research in cultural heritage, exhibition designing on different aspects of cultural heritage and responsible for the management of Ethnographic collection of the Lusaka National Museum. Efficiency is one of her main targets in everything she does and her inspiration has been drawn from working with different team players from different professionals. Specialised also in the field of museum education and presently Vice  Chairperson of ICOM Zambia.

Samson Cuamba, agronomist, Mozambique

Samson Cuamba is an agronomist. He studied at the University of Ciego de Avila, Cuba. He currently works at the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA). He has been involved in major projects related to sustainable development, for example as National Coordinator of Project “Prevention and Disposal of Obsolete Pesticides in Mozambique”, implemented by Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture with assistance of FAO.

Tarek Tawfik, Vice Chair of ICOM Egypt

Tarek Tawfik is the former Director General of the Grand Egyptian Museum project from August 2014 to January 2019. He was elected Vice President of the International Association of Egyptologists in November 2019 and is also Vice President of ICOM EGYPT. An Egyptologist, he holds a BA & MA in Egyptology from the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University and a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Bonn.

MODERATOR

Caitlin Southwick, Executive Director, Ki Culture, and Secretary of WGS

Caitlin Southwick is the Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture and Sustainability in Conservation (SiC). She holds a Professional Doctorate in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam. Before founding Ki Culture, Caitlin worked in the conservation field for eight years in museums and sites around the world, including the Vatican Museums, The Getty Conservation Institute, The Uffizi Gallery, and Rapa Nui. She is the Secretary of the Working Group on Sustainability for the International Council of Museums (ICOM), a member of the Steering Committee on Climate for Europeana, and a Climate Reality Leader for the Climate Reality Project.