Seychelles represented at first International Congress on Cultural Heritage in Cuba |06 May 2023
The secretary general (SG) of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David André, headed a delegation to Cuba to attend the first International Congress on Cultural Heritage held under the ‘Meeting of the Ministers of Culture of the Group of 77 and China-Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development', from May 2-6, 2023.
The May 2-6 meeting was held at the Havana International Conference Centre (Palacio de las Convenciones).
In a speech during the meeting, SG Andre expressed his thanks for the warm hospitality received by the host country and the Cuban Minister for Culture, Alpidio Alonso Grau.
He also communicated his appreciation for the support of Ambassador Martha Hernández Caneiro of the Republic of Cuba in Seychelles for all her efforts in assisting the Seychelles delegation to participate in the meeting.
SG André stated that “Culture is the soul of a people”, it is the means through which communities express themselves and establish human connections.
He further explained that it is because of this that the Republic of Seychelles recognises the need to establish culture as a global public good. That this emerging narrative has taken new urgency, as the world is becoming increasingly polarised. Also that culture must be a shared commodity across the globe, and has always been the bridge which has brought civilisations together, and has most of the time promoted peace through human interactions. It has been the common denominator among nations throughout the ages, through trade and other forms of interactions. Therefore cultural goods should be freely exchanged among nations, as it is critical for discourse, exchange and diplomacy, whenever other means may have failed communication between nation states.
SG André emphasised that this is particularly important in the south-south development agenda. In this regard, there is an urgent need to bring all partners together in the south-south cooperation sphere, develop and launch the necessary mechanism and resources to significantly increase the current level of transfers and exchange of cultural goods for a sustainable
development approach.
Mr André continued by highlighting that the south-south partnership is critical at this juncture as these categories of countries face similar challenges, therefore it is important that we find common ground on which to establish solid foundations and stand together, come out of this congress with a common purpose, joint vision and one voice through the declarations.
SG Andre also presented Minister Alonso Grau with a moutya drum.
A total of 57 countries took part in the conference.
During the meeting, SG André had the opportunity to attend the centenary celebration of Martha Perez. She was a sculptor and a ceramist. She did an exceptional work related to the preservation of the cultural patrimony of Cuba. She worked hard for the creation of museums in the country and the preservation of the Cuban historical memory.
Mr Andre and members of his delegation also had the opportunity to visit the House of Africa Museum whereby he donated a moutya drum to be part of the museum collection.
Additional visit was made to the National Archives and the Archeology Centre.
The Seychelles delegation also had the opportunity to visit specialised heritage management centres and discussed opportunities for exchange of expertise and capacity building opportunities for heritage management.
Mr André also met with Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the World Heritage Centre, Unesco.
Members of the Seychelles delegation included the permanent secretary for the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, Cecile Kalebi; technical advisor Gabriel Essack; and senior international cooperation officer, Sophia Rosalie.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the Seychelles delegation’s visit to Cuba.
Press release from the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts
