Civil Society organisations led by the Cross Cultural Organisation of Uganda (CCFU) have appealed to government to increase funding to the culture and tourism sectors to support museums as potential cultural tourism resources.
The call was made during the launch of the National Exhibition by Community Museums in the country held at the National Theatre in Kampala ahead of the International Museum Day.
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Uganda will join the rest of the world to celebrate the day in Soroti district under the theme; “Museums shaping knowledge for the future” derived from the International Council of Museums (ICOM) international theme: “Museums for Education and Research”.
While presiding over the exhibition launch, Bugweri Woman Member of Parliament, Racheal Magoola highlighted the need for government to fund community museums as sources of research and employment to its citizens.
Magoola said that government should extend funding to Community Museums since they play an important role in in preserving and promoting diverse culture as centres for research, education and knowledge dissemination.
“Community museums are making an effort to link our past and future through their collections, which are accessible to schools, researchers, residents and foreign visitors. Community museums are also playing an important role in preserving and presenting the diversity of Uganda’s cultural heritage and provide spaces for appreciating different cultures; they are cultural repositories, some with well-documented literature on culture and other socio-anthropological aspects,” Magoola said.
Magoola who serves as the chairperson, Parliamentary forum on creative Art added that the museums have the potential to employ several Ugandans as well as attracting foreign incomes from international tourists.
CCFU Executive Director, Barbra Babwetera appealed to all Ugandans in their capacities to support community museums as centres for research and heritage education and as centres for cultural rights expressions, enjoyment and access.
Babwetera said that community museums are a good tool for shaping the country’s future, noting that they need to be supported.
“A number of us are not aware that museums are actually centres where you can innovate, research and come up with great things. It is the reason we put a focus on museums to promote learning by putting a link between the past, present and preserving it for the futures,” Babwetera said.
Babwetera said it is high time community museums are supported in their endavour to not only preserve culture and heritage but also act as sources of knowledge for research purposes.
She appealed to the policymakers, media actors and CSOs to embrace and support cultures.
“If the policy makers and planners right from the district level up to the national level, do not plan for our culture, then who will? If the media does not write about culture, who will?” Babwetera noted.
CCFU Deputy Executive Director, Fredrick Nsibambi appealed to cultural leaders and institutions as custodians of culture to play their role in promoting the diverse cultures through community museums.
“They need to engage young people and use modern technologies to disseminate information about traditional cultural values. Finally, our religious institutions should use the pulpit to promote our positive cultural practices – practices that promote our identity, unity and social cohesion rather than condemning culture as satanic,” Nsibambi added.
