MEDIA ADVISORY

Launch of the Temporary Site of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA).

A Flagship Project of the African Union Agenda 2063

INVITATION TO THE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

What: Launch of the Temporary Site of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA), a Flagship Project of the African Union Agenda 2063.

Theme: “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”

When: Opening Ceremonies start from 9:00 am (GMT+1) on Wednesday and Thursday, 14 and 15 June 2023.

Where: Villa Boulkine, Algiers, Algeria

Who: The Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) of the African Union Commission (AUC), in partnership with the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.

Why: The Great Museum of Africa (GMA) is a flagship project of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 in the culture sector aiming to showcase Africa and its rich culture, heritage, history and outstanding natural beauty to its people and to the world.

The purpose of the GMA is to create a dynamic and interactive contemporary museum for the collection, preservation, study and engagement with Africa’s history, material and non-material culture and heritage. The GMA will feature a strong emphasis on African genealogy along with a Slave Trade Memorial considering the continents’ large presence in the diaspora and the socio-economic future for its teeming youthful population.

The vision of the Great Museum of Africa is to educate and inspire generations of Africans and others to harness the continent’s history, heritage and endowments for advancement. Its mission will be to systematically collect, preserve, study, interpret and exhibit African cultural properties and heritage for integration, intercultural engagements and economic prosperity.

The GMA is hosted by Democratic People’s Republic of Algeria on behalf of the continent. The Permanent Site of the Museum is yet to be constructed, but on 15 June 2023 the GMA Temporary Site, Villa du Trait, will be launched and this will mark the official start of the programmes and activities of this much needed African Union Office.

The African Union adopted its blueprint strategy, the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa we Want, in January 2015. The AU Agenda 2063 outlines seven (7) aspirations of which aspiration 05 is about the development of the arts and culture sector including its cultural and creative industries sector to enable its contribution to the development of the economy of the continent. The declaration of 2021 by the African Union Assembly as the year of arts, culture and heritage and the launch of the Great Museum of Africa also in 2021 showed clearly the commitment of the leadership of the Union in promoting the development of the sector on the continent.

Objectives: The objectives will include the following:

1. Launch the Temporary Site of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA), a Flagship Project of the African Union Agenda 2063;

2. Popularize and disseminate information related to the Comprehensive Project Document of the Great Museum of Africa;

3. Call the attention of the Media, partners and the public at large of the operationalization and existence of this important and critical AU Office in the area of heritage protection, promotion, preservation and profiling;

4. Pass key messages related to the protection, promotion and preservation of Africa’s rich cultural and natural heritage.
Media representatives are invited to cover the opening ceremonies of the Launch of the Temporary Site of the Great Museum of Africa (GMA), a Flagship Project of the African Union Agenda 2063 on 14 and 15 June 2023 respectively.

For any additional information kindly contact:

African Union Commission (AUC) – Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social (HHS)

Ms. Angela Martins | Acting Director, Social Development, Culture and Sport Directorate, Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | E-mail: MartinsA@Africa-Union.org cc: ShuleV@Africa-Union.Org; MekbibA@Africa-Union.org
Ministry of Culture, Algeria

Ms. Nawel Dahmani | Director of Prospective Studies documentation and IT and Chairperson of the Technical and Advisory Committee of the Great Museum of Africa | Email: younsinawel@m-culture.gov.dz

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communications Directorate, African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

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