Project: Organisation of a training in Mozambique for the capacity building in Africa on underwater cultural heritage
Beneficiary: Unesco
Amount: 92.650 USD
Duration: 2019 – 2020
This project aims to improve the protection and management of maritime and underwater cultural heritage in the African countries, within the framework of the principles and standards of the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
A regional training course is planned on legal protection and practical management of underwater cultural heritage. These two weeks of training on Mozambique Island shall assemble national authorities, selected heritage managers and academic stakeholders of a dozen (East-)African countries in order to learn how to protect and investigate underwater cultural heritage in a practical way. UNESCO will collaborate with international partners (ICOMOS, Unesco Chair for Ocean heritage, The Slave Wrecks Projects), and local partners (University Eduardo Mondlane, CAIRIM research centre, local community) for this training.
Mozambique Island is a World Heritage site with all the necessary facilities and interesting diving spots for underwater cultural heritage.
The project aims to
- increase professional and scientific capacity;
- raise the awareness of research and protection needs in the academic community and in local communities;
- illustrate how best practices in protection and presentation can be applied to underwater cultural heritage in the African region.
Thanks to Flemish funding, African underwater cultural heritage will be better protected in the longer term.