Somalia seeks to strengthen management of its newly rehabilitated National Museum

Following the reopening of Somalia National Museum on 1 July 2020, UNESCO partnered with the Somali Academy of Science and Arts (SOMASA), in collaboration with the Somali National Commission for UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of Somalia to UNESCO to organize a capacity building workshop on 25th November 2020 that aimed to strengthen the management and administration of the National Museum.

The National Museum of Somalia was founded in 1933, however, during 30 years of armed conflict, its building was badly damaged, the national collections were looted, and its staff dispersed. Although the museum building was fully rehabilitated from 2019 to 2020, there is an urgent need to establish critical management and administrative structures for the museum and its future collections.

The workshop, which is part of an ongoing project for revival of the Somali National Museum, funded by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), was hybrid in form with physical participation of museum stakeholders at SOMASA in Mogadishu and online participation by international experts in museum and collections management as well as representatives of UNESCO and other UN agencies in Somalia.

Mr. Jocelyn Mason, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative for Somalia, gave the opening remarks at the workshop. He highlighted the potential role of the National Museum in contributing towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want as well as the Somali National Plan for Development.