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E-JUST/UNESCO Webinar on Museums and Sustainable Development in Egypt and Sudan
Under the banner of the ResiliArt debate the second Webinar on Heritage Science and Africa was held on 5 September 2020 Jointly organised by the EgyptJapan University of Science and Technology EJUST and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States the Webinar focused on Museums and Sustainable Development in Egypt and Sudan The Webinar began with the message of Dr Wafaa Seed Ahmed SecretaryGeneral of the Sudanese National Commission for UNESCO Dr Ghaith Fariz Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States Dr Pavel Kroupkine Head of the UNESCO Office in Khartoum and the EJUST as well as Dr Abdelrazek Elnaggar EJUST delivered the opening remarks Three museums associated with the UNESCO International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia 19601980 were also represented namely Dr Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim Executive Director of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation NMEC in Cairo Dr Hosni Abdelrehaim Director of the Nubia Museum in Aswan and Dr Ikhlas Abdellatif Deputy Director of the Sudan National Museum SNM in Khartoum They made presentations on the achievements progress and plan of their respective institutions Prof Ismail Al Fehail Director of the House of Heritage in Sudan also made a presentation on the national strategy for the Intangible Cultural Heritage ICH safeguarding in Sudan that is under development The presentations by the experts in museum studies and management Dr Okasha ElDaly at the University College of London and Dr Ilona Regulski at the British Museum provided the international perspectives for the contribution of the museum sector to sustainable development The virtual discussions with eighty attendees including fourtyeight women facilitated by the EJUST moderator highlighted the importance of the multilateral cooperation framework for the safeguarding of the Nubian heritage and the development of the related museums to address continuing challenges The communityfirst approach traditionally applied by the Egyptian museums attracted attention especially in this time when the tourism sector is recovering from the impact of the COVID19 The participants also learned the significance of the ICH safeguarding in culturally diverse Sudan its contribution to peace and prosperity and the role communitybased museums can play in ensuring community participation Digital Divide in Africa was identified as one of the issues that needs to be addressed urgently The next session of this Webinar series is planned for December 2020