The Skills for Culture program was first conceptualized by African Digital Heritage (ADH) in 2019 as part of the British Council Cultural Heritage For Inclusive Growth program.
Skills for Culture is specially curated for present and future cultural heritage practitioners. It seeks to increase visibility, ownership, accessibility, inclusivity, and transmission of cultural heritage, by bolstering the status of cultural heritage and translating it for the next generation, through contemporary practice, participation and technology.
Skills for Culture – Phase I, 2019
In phase one of the program 2019, African Digital Heritage conducted research on the status of Skills Gaps in Kenya’s Cultural Heritage Industry at a national level. As a response to the research findings, a series of five in-person training units, designed to help cultural heritage practitioners become well versed in using technology to protect, promote and preserve cultural heritage, were developed. However, the training was delivered to a limited number of practitioners in Nairobi and Kisumu only, due to resource and time constraints.
2019 Report – Skills Gaps in Kenya’s Cultural Heritage Industry
Skills for Culture – Phase II, 2022
In phase two 2022, the program responded to skills gaps identified at county level. 10 years after the promulgation of the Kenyan Constitution and the implementation of the devolved system of governance, the research sought to investigate what programs are needed to support cultural heritage at a grassroots, community level. A co-created, publicly accessible toolkit was developed as a response to the findings of our research. This toolkit eliminates the constraints of having to deliver in person training and ensures that the targeted practitioners, more so those at county level, are self-taught at their own comfortable pace.
Read more on our research trip to Mombasa
2022 Report: Skills For Culture – Cultural Heritage in Kenyan Counties
A toolkit for community and county cultural practitioners
Skills for Culture – Phase III, 2023
Skills for Culture III was informed by learnings garnered during both Phase I and Phase II. In this phase, ADH tailored trainings to the contexts, collections and needs of specific community-based cultural heritage programs and organizations. African Digital Heritage worked with the experts that featured in the toolkit to deliver the trainings in person; giving both the experts and the attendees a chance to learn from each other, network and tackle everyday issues that they face during program implementation.
Designed for practitioners working at community-level, the training program convened organizations from different regions in Kenya working under different thematic areas.
They included:
- MasterMade Studios, Nairobi – Specialists in recording, production and archiving of Kenyan music.
- NAAM Festival, Kisumu – Cultural and social justice advocates behind #JusticeforLakeVictoria
- Kirinyaga Medicine Practitioner Association, Kirinyaga – Herbalists providing alternative curative solutions based off traditional herbal practices from the people of Kirinyaga.
- Akamba Cultural Centre & Museum, Makueni – Specialists in the preservation of the culture of the Kamba people.
- Samburu County Cultural Department, Samburu – County government body that engages in the promotion and preservation of Samburu culture.
- Malindi District Cultural Association (MADCA), Malindi – Practitioners working to preserve and promote of tangible and intangible culture of Kenya’s indigenous coastal communities.
Skills for Culture – Phase IV, 2025
Objective 1: In-depth Learning and Mentorship Program for Community Driven Cultural Heritage Programs.
In Phase IV of Skills for Culture, we will collaborate with community-led and community-driven cultural heritage organizations/programs to implement improvements or integrate insights gained during the training sessions conducted in Phase III. In this process, the ADH team will guide the identified community program teams on implementation efforts and assessing progress made during the mentorship period.
Additionally, given that Phase III focused on skill sets and emerging issues that would prepare practitioners before they embark on digitisation, this phase of the program will assist participants in laying the groundwork for adopting digital methods to promote their programs and preserve their cultural identities.
This will include delivering a Digitisation 101 Series of introductory sessions that touch on:
- Introduction to Heritage Digitization and Laying the Foundation
- Documenting History For The Future: Techniques and Approaches for Cultural Heritage preservation
- Audiences of the Future — Tailoring engaging Content for Online Audiences
Through this comprehensive approach, we aim to equip practitioners with the knowledge and
skills needed to effectively leverage digital tools in their cultural heritage initiatives.
Objective 2: Publish a Case Study Report based on Skills for Culture
After five years of designing and delivering Skills for Culture, delivered both online and in-person, spanning from the national to grassroots level, we believe our project provides a valuable case study for understanding the design and implementation of capacity-building programs in an ever-changing sector.
We will publish a comprehensive case study report, accompanied by multimedia series of success stories, that evaluate the program’s effectiveness and assess its impact on the cultural heritage landscape in Kenya. By analysing the contributions of the project, we aim to highlight its significance and advocate for policies and investments that prioritize the development of a skilled workforce in the cultural heritage and creative economy sectors. Hopefully, the learnings can be used a base study for capacity building cultural heritage programs in the region.
Through this report, we hope to influence stakeholders and decision-makers to recognise the importance of fostering and investing in a competent taskforce dedicated to advancing cultural heritage and promoting sustainable growth in the creative industries.
With thanks to the British Council.
