Statement by H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Chairperson of the African Union Commission at the Occasion of the African World Heritage Fund/African Union Side Event 31 January 2014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Your Excellency, Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and Chairperson of the African Union
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, leaders of Delegations
Members of the Executive Council and Ministers
Your Excellency, Deputy-Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Getachew Engeda
Your Excellency, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission Mwencha, Commissioner Kalako and Commissioners
Mr. Sibusiso Xaba, Chairperson of the Board of the African World Heritage Foundation, Director General of the South African Department of Arts and Culture and Co-host of this event
Board Members, the CEO and Staff of the African World Heritage Foundation
Representatives of the Private sector,
Ladies and Gentlemen
A warm welcome to this historic event and to the AU Headquarters.
Ethiopia is a perfect place to share views on the status of Africa’s World Heritage Sites, with nine out of eighty-eight African sites situated here: the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, Simien National Park, Axum, Konso Cultural Landscape, Fasil Ghebbi, Lower Valley of the Awash, the Lower Valley of the Omo, Tiyah, and the fortified Historic town of Harar Jugoi. I hope you will find the time to visit and experience these sites. I already visited Lalibela and Axum, so still seven more to visit!
The African World Heritage Foundation (AWHF) was founded by the AU, based on decisions taken at the First African Union Conference of Ministers of Culture in Nairobi in 2005 and endorsed by the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit, held in Khartoum in 2006.
The Fund was created to address African challenges in the implementation of the 1972 Convention on the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; the under-representation of African sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List; and the need to strengthen the conservation and management strategies and practices at our African sites.
The showcasing of and investments in Africa’s heritage is also critical to the growth of the tourism industry, a sleeping giant, which also faces infrastructure and resource challenges like other sectors. This situation must change, we must adopt measures that accord dignity and respect to our sites.
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman,
African World Heritage sites transcend national boundaries, for example, the Mosi-oa- Tunya/Victoria Falls that straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Great Nile Valley and The Maloti Drakensberg Trans-boundary World Heritage Site. In terms of natural heritage Africa blazes the trail by negating the colonial barriers that restricted the free movement of wildlife.
This saw the merging of two great parks into the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and we support it’s listing as the home of the earliest inhabitants of our continent - the San People.
The African World Heritage Fund initiated several capacity-building programmes devoted to the nomination and conservation of World Heritage sites on the African Continent. As a result, 12 new African sites were nominated into the World Heritage List and over 40 conservation projects, as well as emergency assistance, have been financed by the Fund.
The urgent need to safeguard cultural heritage during conflict (such as was the case in Mali), as well as the on-going threats from mining and development activities across the Continent, underscores the increasing need for the Fund to support risk management training programmes and provide more funding for conservation efforts.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We walk in the footsteps of Pan African giants such as Wangari Maathai, who showed us in tireless and varied ways - how to nurture and sustain our beautiful land.
African landscapes are more than just tourist attractions, they inspire our novelists, songwriters and poets who penned unforgettable texts and lyrics about its beauty. It has been celebrated with the unbelievable panoramas of our century old rock art paintings.
Mauritius termed the pearl of the Indian Ocean, Cote d’ Ivoire our little piece of paradise, and Benin the birthplace of Voodoo, enjoy the status of being in this prestigious list. Namibia and Lesotho have answered the call for increasing the number of registered sites on the list. Algeria’s beautiful sites stretch majestically from the Mediterranean to Central Sahara.
I have therefore the honour to seek your support or the implementation of the programmes of the Fund, so that it can prosper in fulfilling its goals. A great number of our State Parties have generously supported the African World Heritage Fund in creative ways and we thank you for this continued generosity and solidarity. We also thank UNESCO for its tireless support.
Excellencies
Let me at this point encourage Member States, who have not ratified the 1972 World Heritage Convention, to enlist our treasures in the World Heritage register. The African World Heritage Foundation was formed to support and enhance your efforts to achieve that.
As we embark on the implementation of Agenda 2063, we must also ratify the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, the guardian and promoter of our heritage, shared values and traditions.
My final task, an exciting task, is to launch a magnificent publication, fresh from the press entitled – World Heritage Sites in Africa.
Let us support the cause of the African World Heritage Fund, and the cause of Pan Africanism and Renaissance. We may grow our economies and solve our social problems, but our cultural growth is our soul, Africa should not neglect her soul.
I THANK YOU
