Papaye n° 3
West
African Museum Programm (WAMP) : For a stipulation of museum policies
West
African Museum Program was established in 1982 by the International African
Institute( IAI) under the form of a project. Five years later, its office was
transferred from Abidjan to Dakar, in 1987. From a state of a project, WAMP has
now changed into a program in 1992, before becoming four years later 1996 an
independent organization located.
By Larou Diop
Museums
promoter, the only program based in Africa dedicating itself especially as a
partner to museum’s development, WAMP has been conceived to encourage the
development of West African museums. West African Museums Program commits itself
to promote a better professional practice in the field of museums, to contribute
to the adequacy of activities, museums programs and to the needs of society. It
encourages the development of human resources, communication and professional
exchanges, technical aid and program planning. This is all the more necessary
since WAMP has the conviction that education and preservation of the cultural
patrimony provide to West African communities the basics of reflection and of
redefinition of their identity, as well the possibility to plan independently
their future by their own solutions. Contributions concerning staff training,
the conception of programs and activities, the acquisition of collections,
architectural study, survey and documentation of collections, research,
collection and organization of museum’s stock, training period on the
conservation of photographic archives among other museum activities have been
fulfilled. For example, WAMP contributed to the re-opening of the Musen Nacional
of Bissau Guinea. In the same way, it has contributed in the Gambia and Cote
d’Ivoire, to the training of the staff of the National Museum in Banjul and of
Civilizations Museum. In Nigeria, the National Commission for Museums and
Monuments has benefited from a preliminary study related to the realization of a
data base on the cultural possessions of this country and of a workshop designed
to develop the curator’s vision.
In
Senegal, WAMP has put in place, for the account of the Historical Museum of
Goree, an experimental working capital and a contribution to a project of
archeological working site-school. Other countries like Ghana, Togo, Benin,
Niger, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Mali, Liberia have benefited from the actions
of WAMP. The influence of such actions
is amplified by twenty years of effective presence among other efforts done by
WAMP.
WAMP
is funded by ford and Rockfeller foundations, the Swedish Agency for
International Development and Cooperation, Overseas Development and
Administration (ODA), United States Information Services and the Getty Grant
Program of Jean Paul Getty Foundation.