WHAT TYPES OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES EXIST THROUGH COLLABORATIONS, PARTNERSHIPS AND MERGERS ?

DELWENDE HERMAN YANOGO

Senior Museum Technician

BURKINA FASO

INTRODUCTION

The field of museums remains underdeveloped in Burkina Faso. Museums appeared after colonization. We have around thirty museums throughout the country. We have a national museum, public museums (belonging to the State and collectivities), community based museums and private museums as well.

These museums in most cases face many kinds of difficulties including institutional and funding one. This situation reveals to be the same in African countries and more particularly in those of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Therefore, in front of this stream of problems which museums face in sub-Saharan Africa, is it not the appeal to alternatives collaboration, partnership and mergers the ideal way of releasing the development of these museums? But which types of opportunities do we have through collaborations, partnerships and mergers? What types of challenges do we have to recover for the future?

DEFINITIONSCOLLABORATION: the collaboration is the fact of working together,

of sharing useful and necessary information with the aim of reaching common gaols. Most of the time, it is a process of the non-formal time which allows the strengthening of the knowledge and the skills.

PARTNERSHIP: the partnership is a formal process associating partners who decides to undertake concerted and profitable actions to their institutions for more performance.

MERGER: merger is the fact of uniting by becoming a single entity for a better functioning in order to become stronger and more visible.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES Opportunity to confront the visions in the domain.

The direction of the promotion of museums in association with ICOM /Burkina Faso organizes regularly meetings of exchanges with the actors of the domain. So, for example during the International Museum Day, hundreds of professionals of museums meet in order to discuss and exchange around the questions which affect the sector. It is also thanks to the collaboration with ICOM that professionals were able to benefit of a seminary in 2014 on the theme « ICOM and the promotion of the code of ethics» led by Pr. Anne-Catherine Robert Hauglustaine, chief executive officer of ICOM.

To Allow the capacity building.

The professionals of museums of Burkina Faso through the collaboration with certain bodies of the sub-region and international as the WAMP, AFRICOM, EPA and ICOM benefit from training of short duration such as the seminaries and the workshops as well as grant. So, for example thanks to the stock exchanges of the EPA several professionals were able to benefit of new skills. Also thanks to the stock of exchanges of journeys of the ICOM several professionals were able to participate in conferences. A concrete example is my participation.

To benefit from the support and the advice of the collaborators to lead activities.

Thanks to the meetings of exchanges, professionals benefit from the support on behalf of other to lead activities. This is the way several people were able to obtain technical and financial supports to lead their projects such as the realization of exhibitions and festivals.

COLLABORATION CHALLENGESTo improve the platform of the committee and make it

more interactive.

To return the more dynamic collaboration, it recommended improving the platform of the national committee and making it more interactive. For example, we can adapt it in the style of social networks as FACEBOOK or the members can make publications or discuss online.

To manage to multiply the frames of meetings.For more collaboration between the various actors of the domain it is recommended to multiply the opportunities of meetings that will allow the professionals to be more operational. So, instead of being the international museum day that gathers people every year, it is necessary to introduce other frames as meetings for new strategies and innovations.

To identify and work to satisfy the expectations of the members.

Given that all the members have no same expectations, it is desirable that we can support the members who are needy. Thus, a committee of follow up can be organized to manage these cases.

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

To enter into international relationships.

Certain museums of Burkina Faso were able to develop partnerships at the international level what allow them to lead of some activities. For example, the National Museum of Ouagadougou in partnership with the Museum of Quay Branly (France) was able to benefit from a technical and financial support for a project of exhibition « A as Africa» and organized the French version following the example of the National Museum of Kenya which realized the English version.

To present a project and request a technical and financial support of the partners.

ICOM Burkina Faso was able to present a project to ICOM on the organization of a seminary sub-regional on the theme « the illicit traffic of cultural property» and has to benefit from a financial support which allowed having participants come from TOGO, from BENIN, from Ivory Coast etc.

To establish twinning’s between museums.

The museum of the music of Ouagadougou in twinning with the museum of the musical instruments of Brussels (MIM) was able to develop activities. By this twinning a training workshop was organized in Ouagadougou on the computerization of collections with professionals come from Belgium and from Congo Brazzaville. Also, two professionals get ready to make an internship in Brussels.

PARTNERSHIP CHALLENGES

To manage to create a fund to support partnerships.

It is recommended to create a bottom to support partnerships. So, this bottom could be used to lead the common activities of the various partners. Therefore, museums can pay the contribution and ask for a support of international bodies to feed the bottom.

To plan mechanisms of mediations in case of blocking of the partnership.

It is recommended to frame the partnership by texts to reach sustainable partnerships. Given that the partnership is a formal process it is possible that a part does not manage to meet its commitments what will bring a blocking thus the necessity of calling on to tierces people who are going to intervene to settle the situation.

To manage to promote partnerships between the most developed and least developed museums.

It is recommended to reach partnerships between the least developed museums and the developed museums. So, the museums which feel difficulties of functioning can acquire new skills and advice from others and be able to benefit from their expertise.

MERGER OPPORTUNITIES

The domain of merger between museums in Burkina Faso is up to there unexplored. It can be due to the complexity of the problems which are put as the legal statues of the merged entities, that the actors, the common management of the heritage etc.

Nevertheless we can suggest that merger would be the ideal tool to establish a new order. Through a merger we have opportunities

To developed an overall policy of the sector.

The underdevelopment of the sector of museums in Burkina Faso is particularly bound to the absence of an adequate policy of functioning of museums. Within the framework of a merger this insufficiency could be filled if we benefit from the implementation of an overall policy of development of museums. This overall policy will become a binding frame which will be considered as the road map of functioning of all the mergers museums.

To increase the diversification of the skills and the innovations.

Through the mergers, it is the opportunity to diversify the skills and the innovations and the stronger future while meeting the challenges which will appear. For example, manage to improve the preservation of our objects by innovations, by associating new skills.

MERGER CHALLENGES

To manage to overcome the egocentricity.

It is recommended to fight the egocentricity to reach sustainable merger. Thus, it is necessary to manage to accept the other one in spite of the differences and to work for the success of the union.

To manage to maintain the interest of the actors within the framework of the merger.

When the entities merge, it is important that the actors maintain their interest in the domain to mutualize their synergies to reach a certain development. This, because the non-implication of the actors can bring the failure of the merger.

CONCLUSION After this so summarized presentation, we think of having had the opportunity to share with the community of the professionals of museums the problems which the actors meet in certain countries and the solutions which can emerge through collaborations, partnerships or mergers. So, it emerges from our work as museums that in Africa and more particularly in Burkina Faso we need the collaborations and the partnerships for the merger being very complex. Besides, the relevance of this theme requires a continuation of the reflexion between actors, because it could be the key of releasing the development of museums in many countries.