By DOH JAMES SONKEY
Cameroon has revised the tentative list of its cultural and natural properties intended for submission to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. The revision was carried out during a workshop organized last October 24-27, 2017 at the National Museum by the Ministry of Arts and Culture with support from the country office of UNESCO.
Chairing the workshop, Arts and Culture Minister, Prof Narcisse Mouelle Kombi took a commitment that “we will not have to wait again for another 11 years before organizing a the next revision workshop for the tentative list of Cameroon’s cultural and natural properties because culture has to play a determinant role in Cameroon becoming an emergent country by 2035 as projected in the vision of the President of the Republic, H.E Paul Biya.”
This second seminar came up exactly 11 years since 2006 when the first workshop for the revision of cultural and natural properties of Cameroon was organized.
Minister Mouelle Kombi stressed that Cameroon in particular and Africa in general despite huge cultural values is still underrepresented on the world’s patrimony list, thus a lot is still to be done. “The valorization of these sites can be a source for job creation and employment,” Explained the Arts and Culture boss.
He further stated that “The general inventory helped us to identify Cameroon’s huge cultural and natural goods. By drawing up a tentative list of these goods, we will propose to the international community goods with cultural universal and exceptional value. This seminar will help us to ameliorate the level of representation of our country on the global cultural chart.”
On what will happen after the list, the Minister explained that “once ready and approved, it will be registered on the World Patrimony List of Humanity.”