The Power of Culture

Illegal trade in archaeological and ethnographic objects sold and purchased as 'art' outside of their country of origin is thriving. The causes, solutions and treaties combating illegal trade in cultural heritage were recently discussed in the digital KIT special Heritage & Illicit Trade.

On 2 July 2005, the President of Zanzibar opened two new exhibitions at the House of Wonders, Zanzibar’s national museum. There’s something special about the whole endeavour, not just about the two exhibitions, which look at the history and culture of this Eastern African island, but also about the way they came about.

The Sangay National Park, Timbuktu and Butrint are no longer on the endangered world heritage list. Improvement of preservation has resulted in their removal from the list.

The national museum 'House of Wonders' in Stone Town, Zanzibar, was reopened on 2 July 2005. The opening was the conclusion of an international cooperative project for the protection and maintenance of cultural heritage. The Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT) played an important part in the project as advisor and initiator.

The old, rich history of Mongolia can be seen in the National Museum of Mongolian History in the country's capital. The museum is not only open to the local public, but also to tourists. The Prince Claus Fund supports the museum in actualising its visitor information.

Rotterdam’s Wereldmuseum recently gave a special collection of wajang shadow puppets to the Wajang Museum in Jakarta on long-term loan.

More than two months after the tsunami around the Indian Ocean, life in many places is still little more than trying to survive. Relief workers focus on saving lives. But how do these lives become meaningful again as soon as possible? Too often, culture is forgotten as an essential part of humanitarian emergency relief.

'Culture is the heritage of the people, indestructible and forever,' says Burmese poet Tin Moe.