MUSEUMS, HERITAGE AND PEACE BUILDING IN KENYA
Too often museums and heritage are used as instruments to divide people. Heritage, history and identity are manipulated by those who seek to undermine democracy and erode conditions for peaceful coexistence based on respect and acceptance of others. This is especially true in countries where conflict has recently taken place,
such as Kenya. The image that is built is of a country that is divided and unsettled. Yet there is another history that is largely unknown – and that is the long tradition of peace building between peoples and respectful sharing of diverse heritage, landscape, artefacts and values.
Journeys of Peace is a project that reclaims this hidden history and empowers individuals and communities to rediscover old and build new ways of creating better lives. The project was a collaboration between the Kenyan Community Peace Museums Heritage Foundation and the Swedish based NGO Cultural Heritage without Borders. It was funded by the Swedish Institute.
JOURNEYS OF PEACE
The Journeys of Peace project makes traditional peace materials and cultures accessible to the people to whom they belong. The guiding vision of the project is to use both tangible and intangible cultural heritage to “empower and transform communities in the realization and respect of human rights, peaceful coexistence and sustainable human development.
Journeys of Peace has a strong bottom-up approach to conflict resolution and peacebuilding, with a focus on family and community. The objective of the traveling exhibition was to provide a safe forum for dialogue between generations, women and men and communities to “promote understanding, appreciation and use of cultural heritage.”
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
As part of the one-year project three workshops were held, two in Nairobi and one in Nyeri, at which curators and volunteers shared experiences and learning. For many it was the first time they had worked together in a structured way; for others it was the first time they had met their colleagues from other community peace museums. The workshops also resulted in curators collaborating to take the exhibition to more remote and troubled communities.
Furthermore the workshops were opportunities for training and capacity building in the use of IT and social media thereby strengthening the channels of communication within the network, and creating a platform for sustainable cooperation.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND CREATING STRENGTHS
The project was not without its challenges. Some areas visited were accessible only with 4-by-4 vehicles, and in others it took three days for the exhibition to reach its host community. Another challenge was creating conditions for dialogue between conflicting communities. Separation had increased feelings of suspicion and mistrust. Dates couldn’t be agreed; venues were contested. Despite these challenges communities were encouraged to come together and talk.
An estimated 4,000 people visited the exhibition at 8 venues – exceeding the original target of 3,000 visitors at 5 venues. Over 50 volunteers participated and in excess of 80 artefacts were donated to the museums.
Networking increased within and between communities, and people are beginning to take an active role in resolving conflict using traditional values and practices. Consequently the culture of violence that has long plagued communities is dying, and new partnerships are being formed. Some of the objects donated to the community peace museums .
These vessels were used to hold beer or milk, which was shared during the ritual of communal drinking.
EMPOWERING WOMEN
Kenyan women have a strong role within the family unit, but tradition means that they are more often than not excluded from wider community and peace-building processes. The traveling exhibition has brought about a fundamental change by actively encouraging women to sit with the men and elders and participate in dialogue.
The general feeling among the Journeys of Peace volunteers is that the inclusion of women will become more commonplace as traditional beliefs and discriminations continue to be challenged.
BRIDGING THE GENERATIONS
A central goal of the traveling exhibition was to encourage dialogue between the elders of a community and its young people so that peace values and stories can be kept alive.
The project has helped to revitalize Peace Clubs attached to several schools and colleges and to empower young people to be more active in building a safer future. School children visit the traveling exhibition and learn about some of the objects used in traditional conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
“MIRACLES DO HAPPEN”
The Pokot and Samburu are neighbouring pastoral communities with shared values and traditions, but they have been torn apart by conflict for the past four decades due to frequent drought, livestock diseases and disputed grazing rights. In the two communities’ guns are commonplace; between 2004 and 2011 around 380 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced. The primary aim of the traveling exhibition was to facilitate a peace and reconciliation dialogue between the two communities through identification of traditional practices and common values.
The results are staggering – perhaps the most symbolic being that each community arrived at the venue carrying sticks instead of guns. Agreement was reached to continue the dialogue, women were given a voice, and the communities asked how the outcome of the exhibition could be sustained.
Following on from the exhibition the two communities have started to trade livestock at market, conflict has ceased, and there are two examples of stolen livestock being returned to their rightful owners.