Douala Maritime Museum, key player in the protection of underwater cultural heritage

January 17, 2023

Since this morning, the Douala Maritime Museum is taking part in the regional sensitisation and training workshop on " Promoting the protection of underwater cultural heritage for sustainable development in Central Africa ". The workshop, which is taking place from 17 to 19 January 2023, is being held in the city of Douala at Hotel La Falaise Bonanjo and aims at remobilizing state and other stakeholders on the ratification and implementation of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The maritime museum was invited to this workshop to share its experience as an awareness and protection facility for Cameroon's maritime heritage, with a focus on works directly or indirectly related to the protection and exhibition of underwater cultural heritage.

Mr. Ekwalla Patrice, Service Head and curator at the Douala Maritime Museum, will present a paper on this very important subject. This workshop puts the CNSC in the forefront as one of the institutions having identified early enough the need to document, conserve and disseminate various forms of aquatic and underwater heritage by setting up the Douala Maritime Museum.

Participants at the workshop representing a host of institutions hailed from different countries such as Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Gabon, France and of course Cameroon, just to name a few. Among the institutions present were the Regional Offices of UNESCO for Central and West Africa, the Ministry of Arts and Culture, the Ministry of External Relations and the Douala Maritime Museum. Participants attending this workshop will visit the DMM's exhibitions on the morning of Thursday 19 January 2023.