The German Embassy has donated an amount of thirty-five thousand and six hundred Euros, (€35,600) to the Archaeology Museum at the University of Ghana’s Department of Archaeology & Heritage Studies for the museum’s extension.
A sod-cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, 17th May, 2023 to accept the donation from the Embassy.
The Museum of Archaeology, which was established in 1952 through the effort and initiative of Charles Thurstan Shaw provides the space for students and tourists to appreciate the diverse maternal cultural remains associated with various ethnic identities in Ghana.
At the ceremony, Ambassador for Germany in Ghana, His Excellency (H.E.) Daniel Krull also revealed that attempts to return Ghanaian cultural artifacts from German Museums has proven cumbersome due to divided opinions over the return of the relics to where they belong.
“I think in the change of paradigm in how German institutions are looking at approaching the question of returning to the African homeland of artifacts that are in university museums, there was a general attitude to use all energy possible for finding argument not to return artifacts to where they belong,…part of the people involved are convinced that the artifacts need to return to where they came from, ” he alluded.
Receiving the donation on behalf of the Department, the Dean of the School of Arts, Prof. Wazi Apoh thanked the ambassador.
He pledged that the project management team put in place, will work with the contractor to achieve set objectives in the project schedule.
Also in attendance at the ceremony was the Provost of the College of Humanities, Prof. Dan Ofori.
“The [German Embassy] are givng us this measure of support to not only expand our museum space but to provide opportunities to be able to train some more students and leverage on the value of museums…as we do not have adequate needed resources and facilities to be able to move with the speed at which we would have wished we would,” he noted.
The extension of the Museum is expected to be completed by 21st December, 2023.
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Story by | Fafa Melody Kportufe | univers.ug.edu.gh
