The 33rd Regional Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Eastern Cape Region of the South African Museums Association (Sama) is taking place this week (starting yesterday, Monday, and running till Thursday) at the Albany Museum.
The 33rd Regional Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Eastern Cape Region of the South African Museums Association (Sama) is taking place this week (starting yesterday, Monday, and running till Thursday) at the Albany Museum.
The theme is 'The relevance of Museums Today' and the programme includes a wide range of speakers and topics.
The event is sponsored by Albany Business Machines.
As the programme says:
"Museums were originally created as a means of recording the history of humanity throughout the centuries.
Today they house objects of both natural and cultural heritage.
Museums hold the cultural wealth of the nation in trust for future generations and act as a nation’s cultural consciousness.
Due to museums’ historical beginnings, many developing nations see them as little more than places where old and unwanted objects or materials are deposited. Some only see the material value of the items in museum collections.
Such negative interpretations of museum and museum collections have undermined their development in many countries – including South Africa.
For museums to ensure their relevance and become positive partners in the development of communities and in society in general, they must use their unique resources and potential to engage with the changes in modern society."
The Programme
Tuesday 24 May
09:40 Key-note Address: Dr Robert Gess: ‘Grahamstown’s Unique Devonian Heritage: A Cross Cultural Shared Asset’.
11:00 Celeste Booth, ‘Artefacts and Ruins’ 11:20 Discussion
11:30 Patricia Mafu, ‘Museums and their Cultural Landscapes’ 11:50 Discussion
12:00 Fleur Way-Jones, ‘Documenting heritage for future Development: the case of EC Hotels’ 12:20 Discussion
12:30 Boniswa Tana, ‘The Relevance of Museum Collections’ 12:50 Discussion
14:00 Gcobisa Sweetness Zomelele, ‘The Relevance of Museums Today’ 14:20 Discussion
14:30 Lindinxiwa Mahlasela, ‘The Relevance of Museums Today: Museums and Education’ 14:50 Discussion
15:00 Leon du Preez, ‘The refurbishment of the Den Deutschen Einwanderen Monument, East London’
Wednesday 25 May
09:00 Lyndall L. Pereira da Conceicoa and Helen M. Barber-James, ‘Natural History Museums, Adapting New Age Technology – A Look into the Future’
09:30 Mariss Stevens, ‘Caring for and about Collections’ 09:50 Discussion
10:00 Mark Wilby, ‘Heritage Sites as Assets to the Community: The Owl House Conundrum’ 10:20 Discussion
11:00 Mary Cole, ‘The Relevance of Natural History Collections Today with Reference to Research on Land Snails in the Eastern Cape’
11:30 Zongezile Matshoba, ‘Contemporary Issues are Challenges for Museums (Practices and Collections)’
12:00 Phumlani Viwe Cimi, ‘The Role of the Herbarium in Understanding and Conserving Biodiversity’
12:30 Tom Jeffery, ‘The Multitasking Museum: The Social Relevance of the National English Literary Museum’.
13:00 Entertainment during lunch: The National English Literary Museum celebrates Africa Day with Kuyasa Special School through marimba music and storytelling.
14:00 A walking tour of historical Grahamstown and the First City Regiment, led by Fleur Way-Jones. Time: Meet at 14:00 at the Albany Museum, Somerset Street, Grahamstown.
