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Training

Training in Nairobi

The African campus: site protection, the fight against trafficking, identification of African objects and training of customs officers.

Updated : October 28, 2026· 3 min read

Training in Africa for Africa

Portrait of a Man, Gustave Caillebotte (1880)
Portrait of a Man, Gustave Caillebotte (1880)

Opened in 2013, the Nairobi campus trains four hundred African officers and professionals each year. It offers programmes adapted to the realities of the continent: archaeological sites, living heritage, cross-border trafficking, ritual objects.

It has a teaching collection of seized African objects, entrusted by States for teaching, and an identification laboratory.

This page presents the offer, partners and practical information.

  • Nairobi
  • Africa
  • Sites

Training in Nairobi in figures

400Trainees per year
180Places
32African States represented
2013Year of opening

Source: OIMAP Academy.

Breakdown

Customs and police54%
Conservation and sites26%
Justice12%
Civil society8%

Audiences trained.

Site protection

The Site Guardians training teaches how to monitor an archaeological site, document damage, work with communities and use simple mapping tools. It brings together archaeologists, local guardians and community representatives.

It leads to the creation of management plans and networks of village guardians.

A Lady Reading, Francis Seymour Haden (1833–1910)
A Lady Reading, Francis Seymour Haden (1833–1910)
Miniature Teapot, Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1886–96)
Miniature Teapot, Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1886–96)
St. Anthony Reading, Albrecht Dürer (1519)
St. Anthony Reading, Albrecht Dürer (1519)

Fight against trafficking

The customs and police programme covers trafficking routes in East and Central Africa, cross-border networks, ports and airports, and regional cooperation. It draws on real cases and on the experience of specialised brigades.

Trainees practise on the teaching collection and on control simulations.

Living heritage and ritual objects

Sacred and ritual objects raise particular questions: respect for communities, access restrictions, restitution. The campus offers modules led with community representatives and anthropologists, who teach how to treat these objects with respect.

These modules are open to curators and magistrates.

Regional partners

The campus works with the National Museums of Kenya, the African Union, the World Customs Organization and several African universities. These partners provide speakers, placement sites and employment opportunities.

Exchange programmes with the Paris and Singapore campuses are supported by scholarships.

Programmes in Nairobi

Four programmes
ProgrammeDurationAudience
Site Guardians2 weeksGuardians, archaeologists
Fight against trafficking1 weekCustoms, police
Ritual objects and communities1 weekCurators
Due Diligence Certificate3 monthsDealers

Milestones

  1. Opening

    First trainees.

  2. Site Guardians

    Programme.

  3. Teaching collection

    Filing.

  4. 400 trainees

    Review.

A programme designed with communities

The Four Seasons, Kano Tan’yū (1668)
The Four Seasons, Kano Tan’yū (1668)
Woman Sitting Reading , Georges Lemmen (1905)
Woman Sitting Reading , Georges Lemmen (1905)
Portfolio I, Plate 34: The Blanket Weaver-Navaho, Edward S. Curtis (1904)
Portfolio I, Plate 34: The Blanket Weaver-Navaho, Edward S. Curtis (1904)

On campus or in the field

High Class Students and Teachers at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla (verso), Raja Deen Dayal (c. 1882–87)

Campuses

Nairobi
  • Facilities
  • Group brought together
  • Travel

For basic pathways.

Edge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, Pontoise, Camille Pissarro (1879)

Field

Sites and borders
  • Real cases
  • Contact with guardians
  • Heavy logistics

For applied modules.

Training in Nairobi

  1. Apply

    File.

  2. Travel

    Visa.

  3. Study

    Programme.

  4. Practise

    Field.

  5. Return

    Apply.

To plan for

A site guardian

Leaf from a Lectionary with St. Luke (1057–1063)
« I learned to document clandestine digs. Since then, my village has organised itself to watch over the site. »
Kofi Mensah, site guardian

Vocabulary of protection

Site guardian
Person watching over a site.
Living heritage
Living cultural practices.
Cross-border
Between several countries.
Management plan
Document organising a site.

Life on campus

The campus offers 90 rooms, a library, a restaurant and a workspace. It is in a quiet neighbourhood, with access to public transport. A welcome team helps with visas, transport and health.

Trainees have a reliable connection and access to the online platform.

To go further

The Academy's reception service answers practical questions Monday to Friday, in French, English and Spanish, and can direct each visitor to the programme, scholarship or free resource that fits their situation. A guidance counsellor also offers a thirty-minute individual meeting, by appointment, to build a realistic training pathway.

Trainees' feedback is valuable: each session gives rise to a questionnaire, and the most useful suggestions are examined each quarter by the teaching committee. Do not hesitate to write to report a difficulty, propose a subject or tell us what the training has changed in your practice.

Frequently asked questions

Which languages?

English and French.

Are there scholarships?

Yes.

Is the campus safe?

Yes.

Where to see Singapore?

Useful documents

Contacts

The Grotto of Posillipo, Hubert Robert (c. 1769)
The Grotto of Posillipo, Hubert Robert (c. 1769)
OIMAP AcademyParis — Head Office+33 1 00 00 05 00formation@oimap.exampleMonday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

See Singapore

Fragment of a belt (hizam) (1800s)

Asian campus.

Singapore
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