The Gambia Archives - Page 2 of 2 - The Heritage Management Organization

HERITΛGE 2nd visit to The Gambia

58 heritage professionals trained, MOUs signed, meetings held with stakeholders

Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) Director, Dr. Evanghelos Kyriakidis, and HERITΛGE instructor Dr. Eleni Stefanou visited The Gambia on 24th November – 4th December to hold training workshops and meetings with stakeholders for the HerMaP Gambia program aimed at strengthening the country’s heritage sector.

58 heritage professionals were trained during in-person workshops on Community Engagement and Oral History. Oral History is a topic of specific interest to The Gambia’s heritage sector as the country is notably rich in cultural heritage conveyed orally from generation to generation.

Dr. Kyriakidis held a number of meetings with stakeholders, including General Assembly member, Omar Jammeh, National Centre for Arts and Culture Director General, Hassoum Ceesay, representatives of the Gambia Tourism Board, as well as representatives of the Youth Chamber of Commerce.

“The Gambia’s rich heritage is an incredible resource; at HERITΛGE we are very proud to be contributing to the country’s development by training local heritage managers, giving them the necessary tools to engage with and empower local communities,” said Kyriakidis.

Acknowledging the value of partnerships, HERITΛGE’s Director also signed MoUs with the Wassu Stone Circles Tour Guides Association and the Juffureh Albreda Youths Society, aimed at deepening and building upon HerMaP initiatives in The Gambia.

Finally, HERITΛGE had the opportunity to visit sites of cultural importance such as Kunta Kinteh Island, the Wassu Stone Circles, and the Geniere Cultural Museum among others, and to briefly attend the first day of the annual Niumi Fort Bullen Festival celebrating traditional arts and culture.

About HerMaP Gambia: The program is co-funded by the European Union and it aims at developing the business skills of heritage and cultural managers to enable them to establish and better support heritage and cultural enterprises. Supporting The Gambia’s heritage sector will promote community solidarity and provide high-quality employment opportunities for local talent.

This workshop is part of the HerMaP Gambia program with funding partly matched by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. It is being realized in partnership with the NCAC.

HERITΛGE in the news

HERITΛGE teams continued delivering online and in person workshops, training heritage professionals around the world, as well as contributing to the global heritage debates.

HERITΛGE work in Africa and beyond was featured in Athens Voice, Greece’s premier free press weekly. AV spoke to HERITΛGE director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis. Read the interview [in greek].

Finally, HERITΛGE director, Dr. Evangelos Kyriakidis, spoke to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT and its 2nd Program radio station during the annual European Heritage Days celebratory weekend. Speaking to journalist Ioanna Niaoti and #namaste, Kyriakidis explored themes such as why cultural heritage is important, the threats it faces and paradigms from around the continent.

Listen to the program here.

HERITΛGE visit to The Gambia – Meeting with heritage sector beneficiaries and stakeholders & Executive Leadership Workshop

The Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) completed an in-person visit to The Gambia for the HerMaP Gambia program on 17th – 24th August to build on and develop the program’s capacity mapping and building functions for the heritage sector.

The team, headed by Project Manager Mina Morou, held meetings with The Gambia’s Vice President, Badara Alieu Joof and key heritage beneficiaries and stakeholders as well as training sessions with local heritage managers.

“We are happy to be in The Gambia after the lifting of the pandemic restrictions to further implement the HerMap Gambia program which serves as a springboard to develop the capacity of the country’s heritage sector, empowering local communities to grow sustainably by building on their culture, history, and traditions,” said Morou.

Morou, along with expert educator and trainer of trainers (ToT) Iordanis Paschalidis, and ethnomusicologist Stella Paschalidou, delivered an executive leadership workshop on Capacity Development: Strategies and Best Practices, attended by 25 cultural managers from Barra, Wassu, Janjanbureh, Juffureh and Albreda, and Banjul and its greater area.

HERITΛGE is grateful to The Gambia’s National Centre for the Art and Culture (NCAC) and its General Director, Hassoum Ceesay, for introducing and hosting the workshop as well as supporting our mission throughout its visit.

About HerMaP Gambia: The program is aimed at developing the business skills of heritage and cultural managers to enable them to establish and better support heritage and cultural enterprises. Supporting The Gambia’s heritage sector will promote community solidarity and provide high-quality employment opportunities for local talent.

The worskshop was funded by the European Union with funding partly matched by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. The HerMaP Gambia in co-funded by the European Union.

HERITΛGE in the news

The Heritage Management Organisation’s people, programs and partners have all been in the news. You can find some of the articles below.

Heritage Director, Evangelos Kyriakidis, told Euronews’ Jonny Walfisz that Britain must seize the opportunity for cultural diplomacy and give up its fears regarding the restitution of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece and the British Museum needs to see past the legal arguments it has been presenting on the issue…