African museums raising awareness about HIV/AIDS

The Blantyre Museum

The Blantyre Museum has run educational programmes on how to combat HIV/AIDS.

For further information email Lois Irvine: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

You might also be interested in reading a paper entitled “Museum tackling HIV/AIDS thought rights and cultural practices: Museum of Malawi case study” delivered by Michaeol Gondwe, Educational Coordinator, Museum of Malawi at the recent conference of the Federation of International human Rights Museums. Entitled “Fighting for equality: social change through human rights activism”, this conference was held at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, UK. Download Gondwe’s paper and presentation from the FIHRM website.

NAMIBIA

The Museums Association of Namibia

The Museums Association of Namibia (MAN) is in discussion on possible exhibitions on HIV in Namibia and the SADC countries with the help of external consultants from The Netherlands.

For further information email Floris Guntenaar: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) , Jeremy Silvester of the Museums Association of Namibia: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Fransje van der Waals of the Health[e]Foundation: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

See the website of the Cultural Heritage Foundation or the Health[e]Foundation.

NIGERIA

The National Museum Jos, Plateau-Nigeria

The National Museum Jos, Plateau-Nigeria held a public exhibition titled HIV/AIDS and the society in 2003. It was designed and mounted with the help of postgraduate students in Museology and Field Archaeology at Ahmadu Bello University.

For further information email Abubakar Sulesani: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The National Museum Kaduna and the National Museum Ibadan

The National Museum Kaduna and the National Museum Ibadan carried out HIV/AIDS Awareness Raising Activities under the support of the Swedish Africa Museum Programme.

For further information email Nath Mayo Adediran: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), the National Museum of Kaduna: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), the National Museum of Ibadan or SAMP: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

SOUTH AFRICA

The Western Cape Museum Service

The Western Cape Museum Service produced three sets of the travelling exhibition called Legacy of Deadly Diseases, which is shown in all national museums, libraries and culture centres in the Western Cape.

For further information email Douw Briers: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the Western Cape Museum Services website.

The Simon’s Town Museum

The Simon’s Town Museum started the yearly ‘knit-a-jersey’ initiative by collecting self-knitted toys and clothes from the local community to donate for a chosen charity.

For further information email Cathy Salter-Jansen: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the museum’s website.

The Adler Museum of Medicine

The Adler Museum of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, designed a major exhibition on HIV/AIDS as part of an awareness programme covering the most important questions about transmittance.

The exhibition will support the awareness raising of HIV risks at the university by providing study material, student tours and a free publication.

For further information email Rochelle Keene: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Albany Museum

The Albany Museum in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape of South Africa hosted a crafts project related to HIV/Aids awareness, which was initiated by its Department of Anthropology funded by external resources raised for this purpose.

The project aimed at improving the craft skills of the members through training as well as to generate income. Overall it had a psychological benefit on the participants’ social, psychological and conomical wellbeing. Some of the artefacts, such as pottery, were exhibited in Rhodes University.

For further information email Ras Mpho Jeffrey Molapisi: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the museum’s website.

TANZANIA

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism organised a workshop for the Museum and House of Culture Dar es Salaam about HIV and youth education.

A second programme was launched by the museum with the support of the Swedish African Museum Network Programme (Samp) on how to live positively with HIV/AIDS. The workshop included weekly meetings, including workers and HIV positive participants looking at cultural values and norms regarding HIV. The results were shown in a permanent exhibition in the ethnography gallery including the display of medical plants in the garden.

For further information email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

ZAMBIA

The Livingstone Museum

The Livingstone Museum in Zambia has a number of HIV/AIDS projects for the community, such as teaching sexual education using traditional stories, traditional proverbs, traditional music and traditional poetry and using sacred emblems for teaching.

For further information email Victoria Phiri: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

ZIMBABWE

National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe

The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe and the Khami restoration camp carried out a half-day training workshop on HIV and AIDS aimed at youth.

For further information email Mulekeni Ngulube: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Information collected and compiled by Karalyn Monteil and distributed via AFRICOM-L