Home Sections Blog Museums as agents of social change

Museums as agents of social change

Saturday, 24 May 2008

By Yelibenwork Ayele What can museums do in the 21st century? Dr Kassaye Begashaw of the Addis Ababa University says that the word's development agent and social change are controversial. The subject is important at this point in the history of museums, it is provocative and a turning point. There about 20 thousand museums around the world in 70 countries. These museums are deliberating on the same topic. Dr Kasaye's presentation at the discussion on international museum day last week was not particularly about the museums in Ethiopia. Rather, it was about museums in general. One of the points that should be stressed in the discussion about the role of museums as agents of development and social change is the aspect of management. "By management, we do not mean only the decision-making body but also all the professionals in a museum." Second, the museum's capacity is worth considering seriously. Does the museum have the capacity to bring about social change and development? If museums do not change, can they still change people? Are museums themselves prepared for change? And, suppose museums are prepared for change, but is the community prepared to cope with the change? Museums today have greater goals to accomplish than before. But, what should museums be like so that they may attain their new goals? This requires redefining museums in the 21st century. The UNESCO, American Museum Assoicaiton, and European Union have all defined a museum, except for the African Union. But it is doubtful that the definitions by these international organizations, made half a century ago, fit with what museums should be like today. So, how should museums be defined in this age? For Dr Kasaye, a museum is like a sacred place. A holy place accommodates and brings together so many people at once. Or it is like a market place where a seller takes his goods not knowing who the buyers are and vice-versa. Likewise, a museum is a center of interaction for different people. Interactions at a market do not just end with transaction. They include elements that lay the foundations for changes in communities. Therefore the interaction among people, whether at a market place, a holy place or a museum, has results.   Museums are currently not just sanctuaries for collections of culture and history. Like mines and energy, they can generate income for sustainable economic development. "When thinking about a museum, we should think about tourism as well" On the other hand, a museum is a place where we may congregate to discuss our country's problems like HIV/AIDS, the environment and politics. "For example, after South Africa passed first through the evils of slave trade, then colonialism and finally apartheid when the country was about to secure its independence, it needed a constitutions. Many conferences were held for the purpose of drafting the constitution, several institutions were involved in it and intellectuals were invited to participate. And one of the institutions was a museum. The museum contribute to the drafting of the South African Constitution by bringing artists together to paint their impressions about what it is to be like. UNESCO had suggested museums to take part in making peace in Uganda when the Lord's Resistance Army was active. The national museum of Uganda set a painting competition for primary school students on the theme of "Peace for Uganda". The winner was a student who drew president Musevini shaking hands with the leader of the Lord Resistance army. So museums play a vital role in peace-making processes bringing about interaction and unity among people, said Dr Kasaye.   "Our museums, therefore, should be creative, dynamic, imaginative. Only then will they be relevant to modern society. The professionals working in a museum need to have new approach, new concept, ideas and visions. There are two focus areas here. One is nation-building whereas the other is networking with other countries. Just like cement holds together the bricks in a wall, the culture of a country, displayed in a museum, is the element that binds different countries and nations together. A museum has various functions, documentation, collection, conservation, research, and exhibition. What is collection and how can it be applied for social change and development? Collection is representation. All members of Ethiopia who created Ethiopia, the nations and nationalities, are represented by the collections in the National Museum. But the big question is how well the collection had prepared the museum for functioning as an agent of development and social change? When it comes to conservation, it should not be a complicated business. "As for me, hiring a guard is part of conservation, and so are drafting laws and creating awareness about heritages. Simply put, it is preventing deterioration." A museum's relation with the community is worth considering. Projects can not be implemented without the participation of the community. How is a sense of ownership instilled in the mind of the community without which they will have neither motivation nor commitment to the protection of heritages and participation in the process of change? One way, for example, is opening souvenir shops, and other businesses that bring the community in contact with tourists. It has to be something from which the community can benefit. Historical sites and parks, tourist attraction sites are all museums and, because of them, airports are built and hotels and other service providers established. The community has its products promoted and it works with the various services providers. Only then is the community prepared for social, change. At the same time, the community's awareness of history and heritage is raised to a higher level. The modern day museum reflects coexistence, tolerance, harmony and unity and prosperity within a country. That is how different the modern concept of a museum is from the traditional.

 

< Prev		Next >