Local museums not reflecting nation’s identity
Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Faustina Caley said Namibia faces a challenge of establishing museums that reflect the country’s identity.
She stated this during the official opening of the Zambezi Museum, held virtually on Tuesday. The development of the museum forms part of the Museum Development as a Tool for Strengthening Cultural Rights in Namibia project, funded by the European Union Delegation to Namibia to the tune of N$3.5 million.
Caley said the central focus of the new museum will be on the ecology of the Zambezi Region, and to highlight environmental challenges that residents face.
“The museum will show traditional and contemporary ways in which communities have been and continue to be resilient in the face of these challenges,” she observed.
Caley also lauded the EU Delegation to Namibia for the contribution made towards the establishment of the museum, stating that the line ministry will take care of it as an important asset.
EU Ambassador to Namibia, Sinikka Antila, said cultural diversity can only be protected and promoted if human rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed.
“These fundamental rights constitute essential foundations for democracy, sustainable inclusive development, and participation in public affairs alike,” she noted, adding that the Zambezi museum will emphasise the relationship between culture and the environment.
“The museum will demonstrate ways in which traditional cultural practices have helped people in the Zambezi Region to be resilient, and to adapt to environmental challenges. The museum will also display and elaborate on the economic importance of culture,” she explained.
On her part, director of heritage and culture programmes at the Heritage Council, Esther Moombolah-Goagoses, stated that most museums in Namibia have concentrated on history and cultural heritage, with very few focusing on the country’s natural heritage. Hence, the Zambezi museum will focus on environmental issues, thereby making an important contribution to the growing network of museums across Namibia. “The Zambezi museum will be the first major museum in the Zambezi Region that I think will become an important educational space. Its aim will be to create educational resources, with a particular focus on learners and young people,” she said, adding that the establishment of the museum provided an opportunity to create a local memory bank of indigenous knowledge about places and flora and fauna in the region, and will also provide information about some of the pre-colonial and colonial heritage sites in the region.