The National Museum Foundation (FNM) and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed, Monday in Rabat, a Euro 300,000 grant agreement to fund a pan-African training program for museum and heritage professions in Africa.
Signed by French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean Yves le Drian, President of the FNM, Mehdi Qotbi, and Director of the AFD in Morocco, Mihoub Mezouaghi, this agreement will enable the National Museum Foundation to consolidate its position as a crossroads of African know-how in terms of heritage conservation and preservation as well as cultural engineering.
The agreement aims to implement a program of capacity building and exchange of experiences within the framework of pan-African cooperation through mobilizing a group of experts from French-speaking West African countries and France in order to exchange good practices and structure a network of African experts in museum and heritage professions.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, president of the FNM stressed the resolve of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to establish culture as a national priority, a binding force for the cohesion of the nation, and a reflection of its identity and authenticity.
Referring to the rich cultural history of the Kingdom which constitutes “a real bridge between Africa and Europe,” Qotbi said that the Nation Museum Foundation enjoys international recognition that reinforces the close and fraternal relationship with both international and French institutions as reflected by eminent collaborations with bodies such as the Louvre Museum, the Musée d’Orsay, the Mucem, the Pompidou Center and the Arab World Institute.
In a period of uncertainty, antagonism and misunderstanding, culture must take a more prominent place to help dispel misunderstandings, he insisted. “We must come together and prove our humanity through sharing, dialogue and exchange,” he added.
For his part, AFD director in Morocco underlined that this partnership agreement with the FNM aims to structure a network of African experts in the area of art objects’ management and preservation and of cultural heritage.
This network will mobilize about thirty experts from Africa and France to promote an exchange of experiences and strengthen the capacities and skills that are currently being structured on the continent, he told MAP.
As part of this partnership, the role of the FNM will be to lead and coordinate this network of experts on the African continent, Mezouaghi went on.
“Given its position and experience, Morocco is today endowed with a museum engineering capacity that is highly recognized internationally,” he stated.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of French Ambassador to Morocco, Hélène Le Gal, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee at the French Senate, Christian Cambon, and Director General of the French Institute of Morocco, Clélia Chevrier Kolačko.
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