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Regional technical meeting - Central Africa « Museums at the service of development » - Msd

Date: June 04 – 08, 2007

Location: Musée national des Arts et Traditions, Libreville, Gabon

Context:
« Museums at the service of development »- Msd is a programme elaborated by EPA, and financed by FSP (Fonds de solidarité prioritaire) of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the development of museums and related institutions, whether public, private or communitarian in order that they become true actors in the educational, cultural, social and economical life in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Msd works mainly with calls for projects. The first international committee in charge of examining and selecting projects held its first session in February 2007. Seven projects over the 21 submitted were selected to be financed.

After the workshop for the launch of the Msd which took place from February 12 to 16, 2007 at EPA, Porto-Novo, the present regional meeting which follows the one in Ouagadougou (02 to 06 April 2007) aims at giving key actors of museums and education from Central Africa, the opportunity to think and exchange ideas on their experience in the area of the Schools-Museums relationship.

The Libreville meeting is under the patronage of the Gabonese Minister of Culture and Arts and the Gabonese Minister of National Education, Civic Instsruction, in charge of Popular Education.

Objectives:
- Encourage cooperation between professionals of museums and key actors of the educational world in Central Africa
- Set up networks to implement the MSD programme and conceive working tools
- Introduce and encourage participants in the elaboration of a scientific and cultural project (SCP) for their institution as well as in the drawing up of complete and relevant files, eligible for the MSD
- Diffuse on a regional scale information relating to the content and mechanisms of the implementation of the Msd programme and the results of the Porto-Novo workshop
- Make a first synthesis of lines of key actions in the "school-museum" relationship with the results recorded in West Africa
- Make a synthesis of private and community museums in Central Africa.

Participants:
About forty professionals from museums (project holders as well as potential project holders), education and research of Central African countries.

Expected results:
- A better knowledge of the importance of the SCP and initiation of its elaboration techniques
- A better reciprocal knowledge between the museum world and the world of education and research
- Production of pedagogical material which enables a better use of museums and heritage as a source of education
- A better knowledge of the situation of private and community museums in Central Africa.

Financing:
- Fonds de Solidarité Prioritaire (FSP) / French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Government of Gabon
- CICIBA
- Ecole du Patrimoine Africain - EPA

Contacts:
Ecole du Patrimoine Africain – EPA
In Benin : 01 BP 2205 Porto-Novo- BENIN
Tel : +229-20 21 48 38/ 20 21 28 16 ; Fax : +229- 20 21 21 09 ;
E-mail :

In Gabon : BP 11544, Libreville - GABON
Cel. +241 07 14 36 91 / 07 46 10 36