Press Conference on the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation

By: James F. Entwistle | Delivered: November 22, 2011, Mont Ngaliema

Good afternoon and thank you all for coming today.  It is my pleasure to announce the signing of a $24,500 award to the National Institute of Museums, for the renovation of their E Annex.  This award is part of an ongoing program by the U.S. Department of State, known as the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.  This program allows Ambassadors to seek out cultural treasures in their host countries, and to sponsor their protection and promotion, and it underlines the United States’ commitment to preserving this history and the culture of countries around the world.  The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has provided financial support to more than 640 cultural preservation projects in more than 100 countries.  This represents a contribution of nearly $26 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide.

I, personally, can think of few sites in the DRC that are more important to its sense of culture than the National Institute of Museums here at Mont Ngaliema.  In essence, this facility serves as the repository of much of this country’s history—both its moments of grandeur and of suffering.  It is an incredible collection of the photographs, statues, paintings and masks that document every important period in this nation’s history.

As you know, however, the Congo does not have a forgiving climate—the torrential rains and powerful winds that come every year take a toll on the buildings of this country, and the National Museum is no exception.  With that in mind, we are sponsoring the rehabilitation of Annex E, which house some 15,000 objects.  The museum will use this award to clean and restore the objects in Annex E, to ensure that this collection will be preserved and eventually exhibited in the museum and elsewhere.  The impressive pieces in Annex E are of great interest to historians and anthropologists, and also to the people of Congo as they deepen their understanding of their own unique history.

We are ecstatic to be support this project, but we know it is only one of many valuable cultural sites in this country.  With that in mind, I would like to announce that we are now accepting applications for next year’s competition.  I would encourage anyone with a project to preserve the culture of this country to reach out to our public affairs section, which can provide you with the application materials. These applications are due in less than one month, on December 15.

In closing, I would like to note that we have awarded three grants since 2002 to the National Museum. These grants have twice gone toward better security storage, and display for the collections of prehistoric stone artifacts and ethnographic artifacts, and once to support a digital and manual inventory of fragile photographs, negatives, and field notes.

By granting once again to the National Museum, we are demonstrating our commitment to helping Professor Ibongo and his staff realize this institution’s potential—so that, one day, it might take its rightful place as the centerpiece of this nation’s historical consciousness, as a site of pilgrimage for all Congolese who wish to pause and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.  Thank you.