Benin/Signature of a research program on restitutions in Benin: AFD and EPA strengthen their partnership

On March 19, 2024, during a visit by Rémy Rioux, CEO of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to the Ecole du Patrimoine Africain (EPA) in Porto-Novo, a partnership agreement was signed with EPA Director Franck Ogou on the research program "Restitution des biens culturels du Bénin: entre politiques publiques et enjeux patrimoniaux". Exchanges also took place with 29 heritage students involved in the new Abomey project collections project.

Culture and heritage are priorities for the Beninese government, and France is a key partner for Benin in the field of cultural cooperation. With this in mind, the AFD Group, through its subsidiary Expertise France, has stepped up its activities in Benin's cultural and creative industries (CCI) in recent years. In particular, it is supporting the Agence nationale des patrimoines touristiques (ANPT) in the construction of the future Musée des rois et des amazones du Danxomè and the restoration of the Abomey palatial site, as well as the training of African heritage players, in partnership with the EPA.

In line with this partnership, and following initial support from the French Embassy in Benin, AFD and EPA have launched a scientific cooperation program entitled "Restitution of cultural property in Benin: between public policies and heritage issues".The aim of this 3-year program is to contribute to the establishment of a theoretical and operational framework for theanalysis of the social and legal-political processes structuring the restitution of cultural property, its patrimonialization and its place in the "new" paradigms of development cooperation.

Housed within EPA, the program is initiated and implemented in partnership with the Laboratoire d'Analyses et de Recherche Religions, Espaces et Développement (LARRED) at the University of Abomey-Calavi and the Laboratoire Anthropologie, Archéologie, Biologie (LAAB) at the University of Paris-Saclay. It is open to students, doctoral students, teacher-researchers, researchers, cultural heritage professionals and other players involved in the restitution of cultural property in Benin, Africa and France.

Ultimately, the research program aims to provide tangible results in relation to knowledge, conservation techniques, community representations and patrimonialization that are likely to be disseminated for better heritage management in Africa. In the long term, EPA hopes to create a research hub for development in the field of heritage in Africa.

The visit was also an opportunity to exchange views with 29 heritage conservation students involved in the second "chantier des collections", taking place from March 18 to 29 in partnership with the French Institut national du patrimoine (INP). The aim of this activity is to put students in a hands-on learning situation. It is part of the Abomey project, which, in addition to building the museum and renovating the site, aims to build the capacities of those involved in African heritage.

"The AFD Group is strongly committed to promoting culture and heritage, at the request of the Beninese government. Our collaboration with EPA contributes to the training of African heritage professionals, and enables us to capitalize on Benin's magnificent experience of restitutions, which is inspiring a large number of countries, in Africa and beyond" said Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of AFD."It's a partnership that supports training and capacity building at the school, as well as research, since EPA combines higher education training with recent publications on the use of iron in Africa. I've seen in the program that we're going to fund a thesis and fundamental research work which will then feed into training courses. It's a small seed, but it's part of a whole policy (...) we're in the process of building a major project with the help of the European Commission to support this proposal put forward by the museum directors," he added.

For Franck Ogou, Director of EPA: "EPA is very honored by today's visit, which inaugurates a new era in relations between France and Africa in general, and EPA and AFD in particular. This cooperation, which will extend to other issues, will enable Africa's only heritage training institution to provide African states with technical executives capable of meeting the challenges facing African heritage. We will continue to work with AFD teams in this direction".

It should be noted that the session ended with a lagoon walk, which was joined by the Mayor of Porto-Novo, Charlemagne Yankoty.

Source: matinlibre.com/