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Archive -Seychelles

British Museum experts on fact-finding visit |25 June 2016

A fact-finding team from the British Museum in London left Seychelles this week after spending a week here to take stock of our museums and explore how they can help in setting up the new history museum.

The two-member team comprised Julie Hudson, a curator who coordinates a programme for Africa at the British Museum and Nicholas Badcott, an education manager who also works with a programme for Africa at the British Museum.

On Thursday we caught up with them in the office of Ceceile Kalebi, the acting director general for culture, before they set out on yet another site visit.

Ms Kalebi said the team had visited the site where the new history museum is to be set up at the ex-Supreme Court in Victoria, held talks with museum professionals, visited historical sites and storage facilities and take stock of artifacts in store.

Explaining the purpose of the visit, Ms Kalebi noted that museums here have always been set up and organised in a certain way.

“We are looking at and exploring more innovative ways of display and as the services museums offer have changed, we want to ensure when the history museum opens it is one for all Seychellois and one that visitors and locals can identify themselves with, a place that is exciting and welcoming. We have to keep up with the changes taking place in museums worldwide,” Ms Kalebi pointed out.

Ms Hudson said it has been an interesting week of excitement trying to discover the cultural identity of the Seychellois and how to harness and represent that.

“The most striking thing for us is the rich diversity of peoples here and the harmonious mix and this is a unique identity which you don’t see in any other places and you need to have a museum that celebrates this diversity and richness from different parts of the world,” Ms Hudson said.

She noted that museums could be a cultural portal and a place of discovery and where discussions among different age groups could be organised.

Mr Badcott for his part said it was a great exciting opportunity to discover the potentials of the museums here and to share ideas of how best these could be developed.

The two experts are expected to submit their findings and proposals by the end of August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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