The 7th Meeting of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA) was held virtually on the 06 July 2021. This was a follow up meeting of the 6th Meeting which was held in November 2020. The aims of the meeting were among others to discuss on the preparations for the launch of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA), receive updates on the preparations of the 1st Exhibition of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA) and review progress made in the drafting of the GMA Statute and the clearance of the Host Agreement between the AUC and the Government of Algeria on the GMA.

The establishment of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA) was inspired by the AU Agenda 2063, aspiration 05 and by the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance of 2006 which recently entered into force and the continental launch was held on 25th May 2021 as part of the Africa Day Celebrations.

In her opening remarks which were presented on her behalf by Mrs. Angela Martins, the Head of Culture Division, Mrs. Cisse Mariama Mohamed, Director for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) said that the process to establish the GMA has been a long and engaging task which it is time now for those who have contributed tirelessly to it to celebrate the achievements gained so far. She assured the members of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the GMA that major launch preparations are ongoing regardless of the fact that the third wave of the COVID 19 has led to the postponement of the scheduled launch which was planned for July 2021. She thanked the Government of People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for the continued support in the implementation of the GMA project. She conveyed sincere gratitude to all Members of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the Great Museum of Africa representing Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa, partners such as UNESCO, the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and Independent Cultural and Heritage Experts for their continued support for the establishment of the GMA.

The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the Great Museum of Africa, Mrs. Nawel Dahmani. In her remarks she reiterated the commitment of the Government of People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to the success of the GMA project. She informed the Meeting of various challenges which the project has faced including the temporary site for GMA at Villa du Trait being closer to a hospital which pauses a threat to the project particularly with the rise of the third wave of the COVID-19. She also pointed out the need for fundraising for the project as the budget needed for the renovation of the GMA Temporary Site will exceed the budget allocated by the African Union. She informed the meeting that the Government of People's Democratic Republic of Algeria will officially communicate the new proposed dates for the Launch of the Temporary Site of the GMA which will likely be in the later part of 2021.

The meeting, among other things, agreed to establish two (2) working groups which will support the process to come up with a Communication Strategy for the launch of the museum as well as concretizing the exhibition modalities. It was also agreed that the development of the Communication Strategy should be done with the support from the Department of Information and Communication (DIC) of the African Union Commission.

The meeting also took note that the two (2) key legal documents for the establishment of the GMA namely the Host Agreement between the AUC and Algeria and the Statute of the GMA were in advance stages. In this regard, it was also agreed to have a series of meetings between the Government of People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the African Union Commission involving both the Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC) and the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (DHHS) to finalize both legal documents.

For information related to the 7th Meeting of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA), kindly contact:
Mrs. Angela Martins| Head of Culture Division| Health, Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development Department, African Union Commission | E-mail: MartinsA@Africa-Union.Org cc: ShuleV@Africa-Union.Org and MekbibA@Africa-Union.Org

For Media inquiries, please contact:
1. Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou | Head of Information Division | Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission | Mobile: +251911361185 | E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org
2. Mr. Gamal Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer| Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter |