Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO (CNRU) launched on Wednesday 24 March the process of inscribing Rwanda’s documentary heritage in the Memory of the World. A workshop is being held in Kigali to discuss the issue.
According to the Secretary General of CNRU, Albert Mutesa, the objective of this workshop is to strengthen and promote the capacity of the Memory of the World program me to preserve documentary heritage. It also aims to demonstrate the value of including Rwanda’s documentary heritage in UNESCO’s Memory of the World program.
Jean Butoto, coordinator of the genocide memorial sites World Heritage project, says there are many interests. “The first is to cooperate with the international community in the preservation of documentary heritage. The second interest is to make your documentary heritage known. It’s accessibility,” he says. He also added that the partnership between member countries and the education of the present and future generations.
The workshop, which brings together representatives of different institutions interested in documentary heritage, is also expected to set up a Memory of the World Committee. Its task will be to identify the documentary heritage existing in Rwanda that can be registered in the Memory of the World program.
The challenges are great…
The first challenge is that Rwandan culture is based on orality. “Our culture is based on orality, so we have a big job to see how to preserve the important elements,” says Albert Mutesa, Secretary General of the CNRU.
The Academy of Cultural Heritage of Rwanda (APCR) represented by Beate Nyirabahizi also cited several challenges in preserving cultural heritage in Rwanda. In some institutions, libraries are almost non-existent as in most secondary schools. Those that do exist have a shortage of qualified staff due to lack of motivation.” Librarians in most libraries and archive managers have very low salaries compared to staff of the same level in other sectors,” says Beate Nyirabahizi. “Those who are trained are not motivated, the others do not have the right skills,” she reveals after a survey of the situation of libraries in the country.
“This results in the disappearance and deterioration of the documentary heritage,” says Jean Butoto of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), who is not short of examples.
CNRU Secretary General Albert Mutesa insists on the need to preserve documentary heritage and list it on the Memory of the World program. “The process has started. The focal points representing the different institutions will have to continue to work with CNRU to overcome the challenges and achieve the registration of documentary heritage in the Memory of the World Program,” he said.
Gérard Rugambwa
