By Catherine Leonard | Project Leader
Thank you so much for helping us reach our initial £2,500 goal to kick-start the 'Encourage African Youth to Embrace their Heritage' project! We couldn't have done it without you and we are so excited about making a start on educating and enthusing our 300 new heritage ambassadors.
Heritage is so often seen as something for an educated elite – or somehow connected to poverty – but the work of our amazing partners: the Sierra Leone Monuments Commission, the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda and the Zimbabwe National Trust shows that the opposite is true. Heritage is all around us and is an important part of who we are, but it is under threat from ever increasing globalisation and intolerance.
It’s more vital than ever to keep the stories and physical reminders of the past alive and safe for future generations – and the way to do that is through inspiring and involving young people. We've all been so moved by the stories of young people finding out about their heritage and backgrounds for the first time, like Harriet and Milly, who said:
"It is so important to preserve our culture because it shapes who we are."
At INTO, we work with partner organisations to deliver projects. Emily Drani and John de Coninck from the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda explain: “The idea behind the project is to ensure that young people from Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Uganda develop a better appreciation of the diverse heritage across the continent and become more effective in its preservation, through an electronic platform/ learning network related to heritage conservation and to strengthen the skills of our organisations in delivering more effective Heritage Education programmes for youth in a globalised, but diverse world."
They add: "Thank you so very much for all your effort and commitment towards our heritage project for youth in Africa. This is very exciting! And our young people are so encouraged that there are people out there who appreciate culture and want to support them."
So a huge thank you from all of us and we'll keep you updated on progress!
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