Sall opens Senegal’s Musée des Civilisations noires

Sall opens Senegal’s Musée des Civilisations noires

Senegal opened its long-awaited Musée des Civilisations noires (MCN) on Thursday, with President Macky Sall on hand to deliver the keynote address at inaugural ceremonies in Dakar. The museum realizes a pan-African vision that dates to the era of the country’s first president and was completed with more than USD$34…

UNESCO appoints Azoulay as new Director General

UNESCO on Friday announced the appointment of Audrey Azoulay as new Director-General of the United Nations educational and cultural organization. Azoulay, who was nominated in October, will take the place of outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria beginning November 15. General Conference President Zohour Alaoui congratulated Azoulay at the end…

Burundi: Cultural icon, traditional drummer Baranshakaje dies

Burundi has lost a cultural icon, and announces the death of Antime Baranshakaje, the 81-year-old guardian of the nation’s sacred Gishora drum tradition. Baranshakaje died on Sunday following a December accident and subsequent illness. President Pierre Nkurunziza hailed the drummer as a national treasure who left his mark on the history…

Eritrea: Dawit Isaak chosen for 2017 World Press Freedom Prize

A journalist who was arrested in Eritrea in 2001, and whose case has been championed for years by human rights organizations and international governments, will receive the 2017 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Dawit Isaak, a dual citizen of Eritrea and Sweden, was a co-founder of the first independent…

UN agencies advance protection of antiquities, cultural heritage

The United Nations Security Council has moved to strengthen protections against the destruction and trafficking of priceless antiquities and humanity’s shared cultural heritage. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO – the United Nations entity that helps to protect cultural sites across the globe – hailed the adoption of a new…

Mali dedicates restored UNESCO mosque at center of ICC case

The restored Sidi Yahia mosque in Timbuktu was unveiled this week in a ceremony attended by about 100 Mali political and religious leaders, the AFP reports. The 15th-century mosque, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998, was damaged by jihadists in 2012. UNESCO specialists spent five months this…

Emerging universities

The University of Cape Town has been ranked as the 4th top university in the Times Higher Education “BRICS and Emerging Economies” ranking for 2015. It comes after, Peking University, Tsinghua Univeristy, both in China, and the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. These universities are quickly becoming top competition…