United States pushes for digitisation of Nigerian museums

The Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General has begun moves for proper conservation of Nigeria’s cultural and historical heritage through digitisation of museums across the country.

At the opening of a three-day workshop on museum digitalisation in Ibadan, the Public Affairs Officer of the consulate, Russell Brooks, said the programme seeks to equip local museum workers with requisite skills to digitally record and preserve fragile artefacts while also updating them on current trends in museum management.

The workshop, whose Jos, Plateau State leg had held is facilitated by experts in cultural heritage and image preservation in the United States.

“The internet has brought extensive opportunities for Nigerian museums to collect and properly conserve their resources in the digital space,” Brooks noted.

The American observed that Nigerians take their histories and cultures seriously, hence the U.S. seeks to broaden access to museum resources and services as well as create an improved way of preserving the country’s cultural heritage.

Acting Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Edith Ekunke, expressed the hope that the training would open up frontiers for painstaking inventory of museums nationwide.