ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s Adwa Museum is of paramount importance in preserving heritages that commemorate first black victory against colonial powers, Ethiopian Heritage Authority (EHA) disclosed.
EHA National Museum Lead Executive Officer Andualem Girmaye told The Ethiopian Herald that the recently inaugurated Adwa Victory Memorial Museum plays a pivotal role in honoring forefathers/mothers’ sacrifices, collecting, developing, and preserving heritages to pass it down to the next generation.
As to Andualem, Adwa museum is the first ever in the country for its, accessibility, trained professionals, facilities showcasing descriptive heritages, tourism sites, recreation places, and so on.
In this regard, he said, most of the Ethiopian museums do not fulfill such international standards and their heritages have been vulnerable to damage for years.
However, Adwa Museum is specialized as it is gathering and protecting particular heritages pertained to the battle of Adwa that Ethiopia achieved the first black victory against colonial powers, according to the Officer.
He further stated that Ethiopian Heritage Authority is working in close collaboration with Addis Ababa City Administration in order to ensure better protection and development of heritages.
For instance, he said, the Authority moved heritages in to the Adwa museum by deploying three experts, along with capacity building trainings, awareness creationprograms to safeguard and develop heritages.
It has been also drawing lessons from countries like France, United Kingdom, the U.S., and the likes as they are exemplary in preserving war-related collections, he noted.
Moreover, the authority is also negotiating on the return of Ethiopia’s heritages from various countries, he mentioned.
Thanks to the steady diplomatic efforts, the government of France recently promised that all African heritages will back to their homelands, Andualem said.
BY MESERET BEHAILU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2024
