Uganda has Thursday joined the rest of the world to mark the international museum day, an event which happens every year in May.
Since 1977, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has organized International Museum Day which represents a unique moment for the international museum community.
On this day, participating museums from all over the world plan creative events and activities with the aim of engaging with their public and highlighting the importance of museums as institutions that serve society and its development.
One of the vintage cars in the Uganda Museum
The Uganda Museum which is the oldest in East Africa dating from 1908, under this year’s theme “Museums and Contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in the museum” opened its gates for everyone to enter for free and dialogue on this theme.
People from all walks of life embraced the free pass and came in to give their ideas.
Jackson Odongo a programs manager for refugee Law project in Uganda one of the participants from northern Uganda had a presentation entitled road to reconciliation which rotated around how people who were affected by the LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony are copying up.
Jackson Odongo making his presentation
The event also comes in at a time when the populace is contesting whether the Uganda museum is up to standard.
Asked why the Museum is seemingly not up to standard, the commissioner museum and monuments from the ministry of tourism, wildlife and antiquities Rose Nkaale Mwanja said that they have a lot to showcase but some of the history is horrific and it cannot be displayed unless someone asks for it.
She added that the museum is meant to “heal and give hope to Ugandans and the next generation not to remind them of the horror which happened in the past” adding; “that’s why the museum is the way it is.”
Some of the ancient tools on display in the museum
