Activities >> Sites

Cameroon: Inventory

Background

Several years back, the Ministry of Culture of Cameroun has been willing to develop a complete inventory of its immovable cultural heritage. For that purpose, a very serious study of the typologies of heritage in Cameroun had been prepared as well as sophisticated inventory sheets. Based on that, field officers were trained and further sent to the field in order to collect the information. The project mixing intangible, movable and immovable heritage quickly appeared to be to complex to undertake and the project was abandoned without any serious result. Based on the experience gathered during the first technical course organised by Africa 2009 in Bafoussam, Cameroun, it had been suggested that a project for an inventory of the ICH in the whole of Cameroun could be launched in order to test on a large scale, the technical recommendations produced. Cameroun professionals also strongly feel the need to have promotional material and the DPC alos expects that the project can be valorised through the production of a book as well as a map of sites and monuments and postcards on the ICH in Cameroun.

Objectives

The long term goal of the inventory exercise is the preservation of the identified cultural heritage sites, in order to provide economic opportunities through better managed tourism and its associated activities. The objectives of the Projet Situé are to (1) make an inventory of the ICH in the whole of Cameroun (2) collect basic documentation for the 100 most interesting sites of Cameroun, average of 10 per region (3) prepare a comprehensive document with the collected information (4) prepare documents for promotional uses

Structure

The project is to be implemented in several steps:

• preparation, definition of heritage to be covered;
• experimental phase in two regions;
• national seminar with staff from all regions;
• pre-inventory in all regions;
• collection of data / information;
• preparation of a first comprehensive document (report);
• preparation of promotional material Africa 2009 steering committee has accepted to fund the 6 fitrst steps of the project, waiting for the results before publication of the results being envisaged.
  

Results in 2004

• Categories of Cameroonian immovable cultural heritage defined .
• First inventory campaigns in 2 regions completed (80%).
• National seminar organized (with participants from the 12 regions).
• Pre-inventory work carried out in all regions It is to be noted that the first results obtained have been very much appreciated by the Minister of Culture himself so that he has asked his personnel to do all their best to provide full assistance so as to ensure the good realization of the project. Besides that, after having taken stock of the results of the work undertaken in Cameroun, the Director of Congo has invited Dr. Asombang to contribute to a national seminar in his country which is meant to prepare a national inventory of ICH.
  

Members of Africa 2009 network involved

Raymond Asombang, Premier conseiller technique du Ministre de la Culture, (DS,SC) Christophe Mbida Messi, DPC (DS, RP) Michel Ndoyé Messi (RC, TC) Hulio Nko’o (TC)