National Museum goes digital on 55th anniversary |19 November 2020
Historian Tony Mathiot making his presentation by (Photos: Anel Robert)
By Elsie Pointe
As the Seychelles National Museum celebrates 55 years in existence this year and the country marks 250 years since the arrival of the first settlers, the culture department yesterday organised a series of activities to highlight the importance of preserving history.
Key among this was the official launch of the Seychelles National Museum first-ever website followed by a talk of Lazare Picault’s expeditions to the Seychelles, all held at the National Museum of History.
It was the principal secretary for culture Cecile Kalebi who had the honour of launching the website.
Work on the website started last year to bring the Seychelles National Museum closer to the community and visitors.
The National Museum is an institution mandated to acquire, conserve, research, communicate and exhibit material of significance on the historical, cultural and natural heritage of Seychelles. The website has been devised as one of the means to give people a better opportunity to know more about Seychelles.
It features information on all museums and services that fall under the umbrella of the Seychelles National Museum including the Natural History Museum, Museum of National History, the Herbarium which specialises on plant species and the new conservation unit.
“As the world evolves, we have seen everything going online or digital and we felt that it was important to also have a digital footprint, where we can promote our services, what we represent,” explained Sharon Fernandes, the museum research officer.
“It took around a year for us to develop the website,” Mrs Fernandes added.
Right after the launch, historian Tony Mathiot took the floor for a talk and presentation which addressed the fierce debate on where Lazare Picault actually disembarked when he landed on Mahe in 1742.
Bella Rose, the museum curator, said that yesterday’s talk forms part of a series of talks aimed at providing clarifications to parts of our history, noting that the museum will be informing the public on the dates for additional culture talks.
“We want the students to retain the fact that Lazare Picault landed at Anse Boileau and not Baie Lazare,” said Ms Rose
“We invited various persons, particularly students who are the future generation that will be able to re-transmit this information so that everyone knows where Lazare Picault disembarked.”
Ms Rose said that the large turnout comprising principal secretary Kalebi and principal secretary for education Odile De Commarmond shows the keen interest on learning about our short but rich history.
“We hope that they continue to come to the museum to learn more,” she concluded.
