The Museum must not go!
A response to Robert Kalumba’s Article on Uganda Museum in Daily Monitor Tuesday, March 22 2011 

Emily Drani | April 2011
Executive Director | Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda

There are a number of Ugandans who may not value the Uganda National Museum for various reasons ranging from a lack of heritage education, a negative attitude towards culture due to influences of colonialism and conventional religions to the need to appear “modern” and therefore discard anything remotely historical or traditional. The question is not about what our past is, who is doing research, are there new discoveries – the answers are clear. If not you, then who? Let us not become arm-chair critics, passing on responsibility to others. All who have visited the Museum and felt disappointed with its state – what have you done about it? No one is going to come to Uganda to help us make our heritage attractive and vibrant – we are responsible for it and the time to do something about it is now. “Ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for Uganda!

In our quest for modernity, let us ask a few questions: “Why do we find modern cities worldwide preserving old buildings and hosting numerous museums?” “Why does Uganda (aspiring to become modern) have only one operating National Museum? Is it because we are short of cultural heritage?  Where are our national records of the social, political, economic, technological changes that have taken place in this country of the past 50 years? Did our history begin with this generation? What motivates the Government of Kenya and Tanzania to invest in the promotion and preservation of their national heritage while Uganda plans to demolish the only National Museum it has? What contribution will Uganda make in respect to heritage to the East African community or globally? Will the East African Trade Centre add anything to our national heritage? Uganda should be discussing how to expand and preserve the existing artifacts and this historical structure and not demolition of it!

Rather than arrogantly dismissing the efforts of those who have tried to preserve whatever little is left of our heritage, be open minded, listen and learn. The fact is the museum has not been exploited to its potential. The trustees of the Museum have not been supported to develop a vibrant, attractive and resourceful museum. Evidence from past national budget allocations indicate that heritage preservation is not a national priority hence “the sight of an old neglected building devoid of modernity, lacking in research and visitors and slowly losing its relevancy.” As civil society, we call on the Government of Uganda to invest in heritage development and promotion as a source of national identity and pride as well as revenue – starting with the Uganda National Museum.

The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda, a local NGO registered with the National NGO Board in 2005, is one of the organizations that strongly advocates for the preservation of the Uganda National Museum. It needs to be expanded to reflect our cultural diversity as well as our political, social, economic and technological history. In the past 5 years, the Foundation has explored the relevance of culture in development and produced 22 publications with accompanying DVDs to this effect. We have supported 21 community museums across the country to preserve their diverse cultural heritage because we recognize their efforts as a clear indication that heritage preservation is an important aspect of cultural identity and history. CCFU has contributed to national policies on culture which promote the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage. The Foundation is also a member of the Executive Committee of the International National Trust Organisation (INTO) that promotes heritage globally, including preservation of historical monuments. We welcome you to visit our website at www.crossculturalfoundation.or.ug or our offices off Gadaffi Road – Makerere Hill for more information. 

During CHOGM 2007, CCFU, was in its infancy but co-implemented a workshop with the Commonwealth Foundation on “Culture: A must for sustainable development”. As a result the aspect of culture has been given prominence in the Commonwealth Foundation; unfortunately this has not been the case in Uganda. CCFU will continue to be true to its mission and objective to preserve and promote cultural heritage in Uganda. Therefore, advocating for the preservation of the Uganda National Museum (building and artifacts) remains a high priority on our agenda for development that truly reflects Uganda’s national diversity and identity.