Activities >> Courses


1st Regional Course on the Conservation and Management of Immovable Cultural Heritage
Kenya 1999

From 5 July through 3 September the first Regional Course of AFRICA 2009 was carried out in Mombasa, Kenya, hosted by the National Museums of Kenya. The stated aim was to bring together a group of approximately 20 African heritage professionals to work towards creation of a greater awareness of the most important issues in the area of conservation planning and management. The course also aimed at deriving a deepening of knowledge of the problems and challenges that are faced in carrying out conservation work in African contexts.

The stated objectives were:

• to give participants the tools to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a given immovable cultural heritage site and its management system, and taking into account the specific context, develop appropriate and realistic solutions;
• to examine some of the issues facing conservation of immovable cultural heritage at the national level, with the aim of introducing gradually, the most important approaches within the participants' home organizations.

The 9 week long course was conceived as a forum for dynamic interchange among participants, guest instructors/facilitators, and staff. For this reason, the character of the course and the ultimate value of the experience was based on the active involvement of the participants in all course activities. In all, 22 participants attended the course from 17 countries in the region.

The design of individual units varied according to subject matter and instructor/facilitator. Some were conceived as miniature "workshops" within the framework of the course (Stakeholder Participation in Conservation of Cultural Heritage, and Partnership, Fundraising, and Advocacy). Others resembled a more traditional classroom format. The central feature of the course (weeks 3 - 5) was a 3 week hands-on site management planning exercise which involved intensive work by the participants on two sites near Mombasa. Week 1 was devoted to an overview of immovable cultural heritage in Africa and an introduction to important concepts in conservation. Week 2 covered the topic of citizen participation and co-management of heritage sites. Following the work on the management plan (weeks 3 - 5) weeks 6 - 8 covered important topics at a more national policy level. These topics included: legal and administrative frameworks, urban conservation, tourism, inventory and documentation, and partnership, fundraising and advocacy. Study trips also took place within the framework of the course, as well as a short computer training for those participants without prior experience.

In selecting instructors/facilitators for the course, it was agreed that the coordination team would look for outstanding professionals and academics to cover the necessary topics. With that in mind, however, it is the policy of AFRICA 2009 to place a strong emphasis on using African professionals where possible. When it is not possible, weight was given to the selection of instructors/facilitators with a strong knowledge and experience in Africa. In this way, it would be possible to ensure that the content delivery would be as relevant as possible to the existing situations in the region. Numerically speaking, 53% (8 people) of the instructors/facilitators were African professionals. Of the remaining 7 people all had a substantial background in working in various African contexts.

Within the framework of the regional course, the following results were obtained:

• 22 English speaking professionals from 17 countries in the region successfully completed the training;
• 8 professionals from Africa took part as instructors for the course;
• 7 professionals from outside Africa took part as instructors for the course;
• draft management plans were created for 2 sites near Mombasa;
• some facilities at the National Museums of Kenya were upgraded and equipment and didactic material purchased;
• a significant number of NMK staff were exposed to important concepts from the course;
• 4 articles were written in the newspaper about the course.

For more information on the Mombasa course, see the final report (Pdf 1,52 MB).