Departments > Landscapes and Heritage

In the framework of the UNESCO project: "Sustainable management of cultural heritage for the reduction of poverty in Porto-Novo", EPA initiated a collaborative agreement with CAEB (Conseil des activités éducatives du Bénin) to develop an education-sensitisation programme to cultural heritage in public primary schools of the historic districts of Accron and Gbècon. The aim was to mobilise, through their children, the parents around the cultural heritage of their districts. This programme led to a morning of events at the Gbècon public school on Friday June 4, 2004. The pupils of the Accron and Gbècon schools presented small sketches on historic events of the town which took place in their area; they mounted an exhibition of drawings which showed some elements of cultural heritage which had been inventoried in these districts (royal palaces, traditional temples, trees, etc.). Officials from the town, the Ministry of Education and heritage services, as well as pupils' parents and inhabitants of the two districts were invited. The event was covered by the local radios. As some inhabitants and parents spontaneously remarked, this event represents a milestone in the relationship between the inhabitants of these districts and cultural heritage. "It's as if we'd been in a deep sleep, our children have woken us up", some people said, very moved. Requests for the same operation to be carried out in other parts of the town were made... Congratulations and thanks to the CAEB team for its professionalism, and to the directors and teachers of the two schools for their mobilisation and enthusiasm.

Pupils' sketch about the history of their district   and the heritage which testifies it   Spectators