Seminars for Africa

African heritage suffers from the looting of archaeological sites and the illicit export of ritual objects, masks and bronzes. Trafficking routes cross several borders, and control services sometimes lack resources and shared databases.

The Nairobi seminars help identify these routes, share alerts and harmonise seizure and restitution procedures.

Four themes recur: inventorying collections, identifying objects during checks, training front-line officers and restitution. Each seminar selects two of them and explores them over two days.

One module is devoted to masks and statuettes, the primary target of the illicit market, with identification sheets for customs use.

The seminars involve UNESCO, ICOM, the World Customs Organization and Interpol, under OIMAP's cooperation agreements. Experts from these partners present the shared tools: the stolen objects database, training, alerts.

African universities also take part, notably for preventive archaeology.

Participation is free for public officials. A scholarship programme covers travel and accommodation for around forty participants from low-resource countries. Applications are submitted three months before the seminar.

Applications are assessed on geographical diversity, experience and a commitment to share what is learned within the home service.

At the end of each seminar, participants adopt recommendations: information exchanges, national training courses, reform projects. They are forwarded to the relevant ministries and monitored by the Nairobi office.

A regional working group meets online every quarter to measure progress and share results.