Connect and inspire African youth with the possibilities of their rich heritage. Use digital technologies, including social media, to promote heritage awareness and support creative industries. Engage heritage as an economic asset, to address poverty and unemployment among young people. These are just some of the potential directions discussed during ICCROM’s Africa Expert Meeting for Cultural Heritage Conservation, held at the Egyptian Academy in Rome from 9 – 11 January 2019.

Fifteen professionals from 15 institutions met to discuss how best to design an impactful programme to support youth and its engagement in heritage in the African region. The Africa Expert Meeting took inspiration from the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and particularly from the development goals for sustainable cities and communities, gender equality, decent work and economic growth. Also invoked was the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 “The Africa We Want,” which is committed to realizing Africa’s full potential in development, culture and peace.

The event was launched on Wednesday 9 January in the presence of HE Mr Hisham Badr, Egyptian Ambassador to Italy, HE Mr Hassan Abouyoub, Moroccan Ambassador to Italy, Mr Giovanni Panebianco, Secretary-General of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC), and Dr Gihane Zaki, Director of the Egyptian Academy in Rome, together with Dr Webber Ndoro, Director-General of ICCROM.

“Africa has the youngest population of any continent,” said Dr Ndoro, ICCROM’s Director-General. “Heritage can be for youth a source of livelihood, identity, and a stimulus for development.  The input of youth needs to be clear for what our heritage is and how to take it forward.”

Noting Egypt’s upcoming presidency of the African Union in 2019, Egyptian Ambassador Hisham Badr commented: “This meeting focuses on two important elements: culture – with all its meanings, values, messages – and youth.” He added, “Culture is a mainstay. Egypt is a nation that’s proud of its culture. In all its international relationships, in its sustainability initiatives, culture is the key.”

“We must consider the needs and special skills of youth,” underlined Giovanni Panebianco, Secretary-General of the Italian Cultural Heritage Ministry MIBAC. “Heritage conservation offers real opportunities to build a better future for Africa. Italy is aware of its role with respect to Africa, and is actively pursuing scientific and cultural cooperation in the aim of overall sustainable development on the continent.”

“It’s time to invest in young Africans,” said Dr Gihane Zaki, Director of the Egyptian Academy in Rome.  “How can we put young people forward, help them take responsibility for their heritage, with enthusiasm, energy, generosity and passion?” Dr Zaki stressed Egypt’s keenness to support young people in the African continent. “I am confident that ICCROM will play a strategic role in implementing new, fresh and innovative ideas to engage young people. It’s important also to remember and appreciate women’s pivotal role in African societies.”

The three-day discussions led to definition of broad directions for a future Africa programme that aims to make African heritage attractive to young people on the continent, improving their involvement in the stewardship of heritage to ensure inclusive economic and social benefits to all generations. The proposed Africa programme includes the following objectives:

1) Sustain economic and social development through innovation and engagement with stakeholders for youth and women in heritage.

2) Increase engagement and interest of youth and women in heritage through the adoption of a people-centred approach in conservation.

3) Strengthen institutions as dynamic, innovative, reliable and attractive resources for communities, government and the private sector.

These objectives were presented at the event’s closing ceremony on Friday 11 January, attended Mr Giorgio Marrapodi, Director-General of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), and Mr Cléophas Adrien Dioma, Director and co-founder of the Ottobre Africano festival and representative of the African Diaspora in Rome.

“This programme is about making heritage cool through innovative ways, and making African heritage accessible to African youth and women,” said Benis Nchang of Better Life Initiative, Cameroon and Alyssa K Barry of Senegal, youth representatives to the meeting.  “It’s about making youth proud of our African cultural heritage, and encouraging them to contribute to its conservation.”

For his part, Dr Ndoro thanked all the meeting participants for their contributions to the discussion, as well as the ambassadors and institutional representatives present.  He extended particular thanks to the Egyptian Academy in Rome for hosting the event, and called on all ICCROM’s partner institutions and Member States, both in Africa and worldwide, to support this new initiative.

“It’s time to unlock the potential of heritage to provide a better life and livelihood to communities in Africa,” said Dr Ndoro.  “Heritage is about now, about what is happening today. Youth must see the opportunities in heritage.”

Member States represented: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

The Africa Expert Meeting was held at the Egyptian Academy in Rome, by gracious invitation of its Director, Dr Gihane Zaki, also an ICCROM Council Member.  The Egyptian Academy is the only fine arts academy in Rome that represents both Africa and the Arab States, and thus is a committed stakeholder in a successful Africa strategy at ICCROM.

About ICCROM
ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage worldwide. It works with 136 Member States to ensure the best tools, knowledge, skills and enabling environment to preserve cultural heritage in all its forms, for the benefit of all people. www.iccrom.org

Zimbabwean teachers will strike from Tuesday to press for US dollar salaries as talks with the government failed to bring a breakthrough, a union says, adding pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to contain a runaway currency crisis.

Cash shortages have plunged Zimbabwe’s financial system into disarray, threatening social unrest and undermining Mnangagwa’s efforts to win back foreign investors sidelined under his predecessor Robert Mugabe.

With not enough hard currency to back up funds showing in bank accounts, the value of electronic money has plummeted, prompting businesses and civil servants to demand payment in US dollars they can withdraw.

Just over four months into Mnangagwa’s contested presidency, the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Union (ZIMTA) said its members would strike as spiraling inflation has left them unable to buy basic goods and fuel that are in short supply. Government doctors have been on strike for more than a month over the same issue.

ZIMTA president Richard Gundani told Reuters a meeting between public sector unions and acting Labor Minister July Moyo only resolved to re-start talks, but teachers would not report for duty from Tuesday.

“We were very frank to each other and all the unions agreed that workers are incapacitated and we provided sufficient justification that they are unable to work,” Gundani said.

“ZIMTA’s declaration of incapacitation stands and teachers will not go to work.”

Moyo did not immediately answer calls to his mobile phone.

The government employs more than 100,000 teachers and ZIMTA has 44,000 members.

On Monday, police arrested and later released 9 members of the smaller Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe who were picketing at a park in central Harare, their lawyer said.

There was a heavy presence of police with water cannon elsewhere in the capital.

As doctors continue their strike, Zimbabwe’s public hospitals have been left short of drugs and reliant on patients to buy them. Pharmacies have stopped accepting insurance policies for purchases and demand payment in dollars.

Zimbabwe is also struggling with acute shortages of fuel, forcing motorists to queue for hours.

Civil servant salaries accounted for 90 percent of the budget last year but Mnangagwa’s government has made an ambitious pledge to cut this to 70 percent in 2019 as part of reforms aimed at boosting growth and investment.

Mnangagwa came to power in November 2017 after Mugabe was forced to resign following an army coup. He was declared president in August 2018 after a presidential vote that his main opponent says he won fraudulently.

(Source: Reuters)