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Activities /Accomplishments

Participation in conferences/workshops etc.. – Since its establishment, EMSA has participated and promoted its aims and goals at various local and international events and conferences. These include annual celebrations of the 'International Museum Day' (IMD) that are held on or around 18 May each year, cultural and heritage related workshops and various academic and professional discussions.

Organizing and assisting events: - EMSA has also participated and assisted the 2011 and 2012 IMD events that were organized by the Ethnological Museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, of the Addis Ababa University. The events included panel discussions and day trips to historical sites as well as publicizing the events through posters and banners.

Partnerships and networking:- EMSA has maintained close and strong contacts with external bodies that work in the heritage/museum sector. Since its establishment it has maintained (still does) with the Museums Association which is the main national association of museum professionals and institutions in the United Kingdom, ICOM UK, AFRICOM and Anglo-Ethiopian Society among others.

Donation of books and other resources - EMSA has also donated several books and publications to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies library of the Addis Ababa University to assist the teaching and learning of museum studies offered by the University. Hence a substantial number of books on museum studies, archaeology, cultural issues etc. that were secured from the University of Leicester (UK) , the Museums Association (UK) and others were donated to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) library in 2011/12. The books are intended as a resource for the teaching of museum studies at the IES postgraduate program. The British Council (UK) as well as the British Council Ethiopia offices have collaborated in the dispatch of the books from the UK to Ethiopia. EMSA greatly appreciates their joint assistance for such endeavour and looks forward to their continued co-operation in the future.

EMSA has also facilitated the distribution of the UK published 'Museums Journal' to several museums in Ethiopia including The National Museum, Ethnographic Museum (IES) of the AAU, Addis Ababa Museum, Zoological Museum of the AAU, Postal Museum, Holy Trinity Museum , St George Museum and the Geological Survey Museum.

Facilitating free subscription of on-line publications - EMSA has also enabled the National Museum, IES Ethnological Museum as well as the recently established Museum Professionals Association of Ethiopia (MPAE) and the Archaeological Society of Ethiopia to freely access the on-line publication of " Museum Practice " magazine . This magazine which is the leading professional journal for museum professionals is produced by the Museum Association of the United Kingdom and subscribed by museum professionals in the UK as well as world-wide.

Projects

In accordance with its strategic plan, EMSA has initiated and implemented different projects to fulfill its objectives. The following projects were envisaged, designed and partially executed so far:-

  • Ethiopian Museums Needs Assessment Project (EMNAP) : This was a project designed at the start of EMSA' work with the aim of conducting a baseline survey of the existing museums in the country to assess their needs and demands. The project was able to get feedback from eleven museums and has compiled the findings. EMSA still wishes to continue this work (funding available) and compile a comprehensive database of museums, cultural sites and tourist attractions in the country.

  • Local Heritage Awareness & Promotion Project (LHAPP): EMSA had undertaken this project with the small funding it secured from the Civil Society Fund of the World Bank in August 2008. This project strengthened the previous EMNAP project through such funding.

  • Museums Collection Digitisation Project (MCDP):- This was a pilot project grant application submitted to the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) administered by the British Library, as EAP 426 in 2011. Although the project was unsuccessful at the time, EMSA is still working on a re-submission of the proposal and hopes to secure funding in the future.

Other projects including the following are designed for future implementation and subject to availability of funding.

  • Ethiopian Museums for Tourism (EMTP): The aim of this project is to highlight the significance of museums in assisting tourism development in the country. Project proposal had been submitted earlier to various local domestic funding bodies but has not yet materialized yet due to lack of funding.

  • Museum Professionals Training Project (MPTP): This is another project aimed at assisting and training professionals in museum studies at intermediate, diploma and graduate levels. It aims to facilitate workshops and in-house training in collaboration with internal/external museum professionals.