Programme Objective

The Programme Objective of AFRICA 2009 is:

increased national capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa for management and conservation of immovable cultural heritage.

Outputs

The programme will achieve the following four Outputs by its conclusion in 2009:

1. national awareness as a means of promoting political, institutional, financial, and community commitment;
2. trained national professionals and other skilled persons involved in the conservation and management of the immovable cultural in the participating countries;
3. an active network for exchange of information and experiences;
4. effective and efficient management and implementation of the programme.

Guiding Principles

AFRICA 2009 tries to ensure that all of its activities take account the need for cultural heritage remains a vital, useful element within the variety of social and cultural contexts found in the region. With this in mind, the programme has developed the following series of guiding principles over its pilot phase to aid in the design and implementation of activities:

• to involve local communities in planning for and protecting heritage resources within their territory;
• to give priority to local knowledge systems, human resources, skills, and materials;
• to ensure capacity building;
• to create a stable equilibrated base on which further sustainable developments can be made;
• to give priority to simple, incremental solutions to problems, that can easily be implemented within an existing framework;
• to focus on prevention and maintenance as a cost effective and sustainable strategy for management and conservation;
• to ensure tangible benefits to local communities;
• to create awareness and respect for international conservation norms.