28 May 2019

Archaeologists have been urged to establish private museums to boost research.

This was said by an official from the National Commission for museums and monuments of Nigeria, Olakunle Makinde at the International Museum Day celebrations in Gaborone recently. He said  private museums could assist the National Museum in identifying special heritage sites and help to preserve culture.

He advised those in the field to take an interest at villages with heritage sites with an emphasis on documenting culture, language, norms, and values.

Makinde said this year’s theme: Museums as Cultural Hubs called for Africans to preserve their culture in all ways including  cuisine, linguistics, and regalia. 

“Public engagement should be the core of museums while archives should be kept up to date to preserve cultural heritage looking at today’s modern life,” he said.

Professor Thapelo Otlogetswe said there was the need to consider language as a vital artifact while museums need to put structures in place to explore documentation of languages of Botswana.

He said language was much more than just a tool of communication but an inseparable part of people’s culture as it was a living repository of people’s culture and customs.

Edwin Moraka, the winner of the Best Youth Promoting Culture and Heritage advised that cultural practices such as Meila be used to promote good conduct in the society as modern technology and fast lifestyles were leading to moral decay. ENDS