A study of African megalithic sites is under way to reveal more about these impressive tokens of the continent's ancient cultures. It will enable various African countries to determine appropriate methods of looking after these significant cultural-heritage sites with a view to safeguarding and developing them. The sites could be included in package tours, thus contributing to the countries' economic development and helping to improve their people's standard of living.

A study is under way for production of a handbook on cultural heritage conservation. It is being carried out by professionals from the Programme for Museum Development in Africa (PMDA), which is one of the two subregional structures set up following the PREMA training programme for African museum professionals developed by UNESCO and ICCROM over a period of ten years or so.

The School of African Heritage (EPA), the second of these structures, which is already taking museum professionals from French-speaking African countries, has been established in Benin. UNESCO has entrusted it with organizing a pilot training workshop on visitor reception for museum professionals from Benin and Togo and providing them with tools for measuring visitor satisfaction.

During the 1998-1999 biennium UNESCO launched a special museum outreach programme in West Africa. Designed for museum professionals from West and Southern Africa, it is to be extended by AFRICOM to the eastern and central parts of the continent during the current biennium. The aim is to encourage an approach producing innovative methods and techniques reflecting African realities and to extend this to the whole of Africa. UNESCO has provided support by supplying equipment to the recently established International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM), which brings together professionals from African museums. Its object is to develop ICOM activities and programmes throughout the region. The assistance is meant to enable AFRICOM to play a full part in working for African heritage and strengthening the endogenous capacities of African countries.

As part of UNESCO's project for a strategy to develop sustainable tourism in the Sahara region, a study is under way

(i) to identify the different types of cultural heritage site in the Sahara and the measures needed to protect them;

(ii) to introduce cultural heritage preservation as an important dimension of tourist development strategy;

(iii) to bring home to public opinion and to political and economic decision-makers the added value that archaeological sites - preserved and developed - can bring to the tourist industry and the economy in Saharan countries;

(iv) to demonstrate that, in the long run, properly preserved cultural heritage sites foster and humanize tourism whilst also meeting economic development criteria.

At the request of Gabon's Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Nature Conservation, a feasibility study on integrated cultural tourism in Gabon was carried out in July 2000 in cooperation with the UNESCO Office in Libreville. The object of this study was to formulate a strategy for tourism policy that would help to safeguard the natural and cultural heritage and encourage social and economic development, and to lay down recommendations and proposals for specific action to implement it for the benefit of local communities. For its part, Senegal put in a request for a feasibility study on an implementation strategy for cultural tourism in West Africa. A basically positive response - contingent on selecting the financial partners - was given in September 2000.

The following national activities took place within the framework of the World Heritage Centre:

(i) Cameroon: Three African specialists were trained at the Garoua Wildlife School, and the proceedings of the international seminar/workshop on "Training for Managers of World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves" were compiled.

(ii) Republic of Tanzania: In 1999 the Ngorongoro site was entered in the List of World Heritage in Danger; under aid for training, three bursaries were awarded for study in Mweka.

(iii) Guinea: A project to conserve biodiversity in the Nimba Mountains - classified as endangered world heritage since 1992 - is currently being financed by GEF.

(iv) Madagascar: A biodiversity programme has been set up to allow group nominations.

(v) Niger: An emergency rehabilitation plan is being drawn up for the Air and Ténéré Nature Reserves, world heritage sites since 1992.

(vi) Democratic Republic of the Congo: The following sites, entered in the List of World Heritage in Danger, have funding from the UN Foundation to pay their wardens: Virunga National Park, Garamba National Park, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Salonga National Park and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

As part of the international campaign to safeguard the main sites and monuments of Ethiopia, international experts will go to Ethiopia to implement the development plans for the historic cities of Aksum and Harar. A workshop for training Ethiopian national managers in inventory techniques for movable and immovable cultural property is being prepared. It will be followed by practical application of the acquired knowledge in compiling an inventory of church furnishings in the city. Project documents relating to restoration and development of Ethiopian cultural heritage sites are being prepared for submission to donors. The establishment of a multipurpose centre in Lalibela, as recommended by UNESCO studies over the past few years, is being arranged with the Ethiopian authorities. This centre is intended to facilitate future work on restoring, conserving and enhancing the Lalibela monuments. It will house documentation on the city and its sites and will also be a centre for guide training, visitor reception, exhibitions and sale of craft products.

Intangible heritage

Eight Member States from the Africa region (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda) received preparatory assistance for putting together their submissions for the proclamation of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity, which took place in May 2001. The Africa region was the region with the highest number of requests for preparatory assistance, the assistance consisting of a grant of up to US $20,000. Of the nineteen submissions proclaimed as masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity, four came from the Africa region: "The Geledé Oral Heritage" in Benin; "The Gbofe Trumpets of Afounkaha: the Music and the Cultural Space of the Tagbana Community" in Côte d'Ivoire; "The Cultural Space of the Sosso-Bala" in Guinea; and "The Cultural Space of the Jemaa el-Fna Square" in Morocco.

The Intangible Heritage Section is currently preparing a publication on the Intergovernmental Conference on the Linguistic Policies of Africa in collaboration with a publishing house in Southern African. UNESCO was the principal organizer of this conference, which took place in Harare in 1997. A large number of African countries were represented, and detailed information on the linguistic situation of countries in the region was collected. In this connection a questionnaire on "Linguistic Policies and Practices in Africa" was distributed to the 53 African countries, and the replies have been used as the basis for analytical statistics for the whole of Africa regarding linguistic rights and usage in the fields of the constitution, law, justice, government, education, business and the media. These data are currently being updated and will constitute an important supplement to the Conference publication.

Mali has proposed the idea of creating an African Academy of Languages and has requested UNESCO's support in raising extrabudgetary funds to start the Academy and run its activities.