Heritance Calendar
Heritance BlogTestimonials
- Missisquoi Museum, Québec, Canada
- Maloka, Bogotá, Colombia
- Kigali Museum of Natural History, Kigali, Rwanda
- National Museums of Kenya, Palaeontology Section
- Hood Museum of Art, Hanover NH, USA
- The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
- Association des Musées Locaux d’Alsace (AMLA), France
Musée Missisquoi Museum
Stanbridge East, Québec, Canadawww.museemissisquoi.ca - see also the Heritance Project Profile
As a Curator of a small non-profit museum and a beneficiary of the expertise of Heritance this past year, I feel qualified to offer my sincerest recommendations concerning this organization.
The Missisquoi Museum located in the Eastern Townships of Québec, first encountered Heritance in late 2006. The Heritance team was described to us as "museologists without borders". As our museum has been struggling for years with falling attendance, a lack of focus and direction, and a decline in energy and enthusiasm it was felt that perhaps having wise council from an exterior point of view would be helpful.
Our first workshop with Heritance involved not only the staff and board of directors of the historical society but also museum professionals, similar non-profit organizations and key representatives from the community. Discussions were thought provoking and encouraging. The Heritance team guided the process with clarity, intelligence, humour and a strong understanding of how small museums and small communities work. The result from this first workshop was a renewed interest in the museum's future as a potential regional museum. Work began immediately on a strategic plan, a mission statement, thoughts on partnering with other organizations, an education programme and a clearer approach to how we want to see our museum in the community and in the future.
Continued guidance and encouragement through an on-line communication network as well as follow-up visits has seen the Missisquoi Museum complete a three-year strategic plan, create new partnerships with other mentoring groups such as the “Vermont Museums and Gallery Alliance”, develop an education programme, become the new “Carrefour Culturel” centre for the community of Stanbridge East and apply to the provincial “Ministère de la Culture et des Communications et de la Condition féminine” for a multilevel funding project that would permit the museum to expand to a provincially recognized historic 12-sided barn and renovate the interior of the main museum building.
For the staff and directors of the Missisquoi Museum, it has been quite a year! Through it all, Heritance has been keeping us motivated, has been encouraging our sense of enthusiasm and ownership of our projects. The efficient, knowledgeable and personable staff has been the life-line this museum required so urgently.
I have no reservations in recommending Heritance to you and support the highly professional work they attempt to do on a global level.
Heather A. Darch B.A. M.A.
Curator/conservatrice
Musée Missisquoi Museum
Maloka
Bogotá, Colombiawww.maloka.org - see also the Heritance Project Profile
My name is Camilo Sanchez and until February [2008] I was chief of exhibition design at Maloka, a science centre in Bogotá, Colombia. After 9 years of operation, Maloka is working at the moment on the construction of a second phase. Although the original plans for that new development were drawn 5 years ago, the needs of the organization have changed over the years and that old plan is not exactly what Maloka is looking for nowadays. In June 2007 we asked Heritance to give Maloka a hand in the construction of a program for the musicological development of the second phase. In November 2007 Heritance visited Maloka for 10 days in Bogotá. As a result of an inspiring workshop, a team devoted to the definition of the program and the concepts that will be the basis of the new science centre was created. Heritance made Maloka rethink and reformulate the basic ideas behind the communication of scientific knowledge to the visitors and gave Maloka lights and new ideas on how to approach the design of the new phase. Have not been for Heritance, Maloka would still be working on the ideas of the old project. They made Maloka stop and THINK, and that is just priceless!!
Usually you hear about organizations from the so called first world, that go to developing countries to give a hand... they go, they say something, and most of the times you never hear from them again. This was not the case. After the workshop, the communication and feedback has been permanent, and the Maloka team fells that Heritance is now part of the project.
On a personal level, the impact of Heritance has been even deeper. I have been working in museums in Colombia for the past ten years. As in any other country, culture is a tough business. You are always struggling to get a decent job, and when you do, there is no money to do what you wanted in the first place... and so on. So, two years ago my personal goal was to get a stable job in a museum that will pay enough to live a normal life. Last summer I visited Heritance in Strasbourg and something changed inside of me. I started thinking about working not for a big museum that would be able to afford my salary but for the museums that really need help, the small museums that have no staff, no money, no support from anybody, just a passion for heritage.
After Heritance visited Maloka in November [2007], I took the decision of joining them and became a participating professional. I quit my job at Maloka with the condition that I would keep on advising them in the project that Heritance started, and today I just want to help small museums in my country and in any other part of the world that needs a helping hand.
Heritance changes people and organizations wherever they go. They give the assistance that no government or company can provide, they give museums around the world hope and inspiration, and that is something money can’t buy....
Camilo Sanchez
Former Chief of Exhibition Design at Maloka
Kigali Museum of Natural History
Kigali, Rwandawww.museum.gov.rw/2_museums/kigali - see also the Heritance Project Profile
It is through my work with the Natural History Museum in Kigali, that I had the privilege to meet Heritance and witness their work. It did not take me long to realize the value-added Heritance brings to this field of work, which is why I was compelled to do all I could to support their work.
I have been involved for the last decade, academically and professionally, in the fields of politics and culture: I spent some time in Pakistan with the NGO SPACH working on the Preservation of Afghan Cultural heritage; I worked at Sothebys at the Paintings Department in Geneva; I have several years experience as a teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science at the University of Geneva, focusing on the study of nationalism; and I have done field research on the use of heritage and the past in Afghanistan, with the support of two research grants. I am currently working on a PhD thesis with the University of Geneva, Switzerland, entitled ‘Afghanistan: Re-imaging the nation. Heritage and the Politics of Memory’. I moved a year ago with my family to Rwanda, where I have begun working for the Natural History Museum in Kigali, while concluding my thesis.
I was first exposed to the work of Heritance in Kigali where, under the guidance of Jeff Doyle, they led a four-day seminar in Kigali on the Mountain Gorilla Skeletal recovery associated with the Natural History Museum. Heritance’s management perspective and results-oriented approach truly shaped the discussions and outcomes of the workshop. Their expertise in strategic planning for museums in the developing world, a thorough understanding of what constitutes a museum, together with the ability to share and adapt a wealth of innovative ideas and proven good practices has helped strengthen the future outlook of the Natural History Museum in Kigali.
Heritance’s approach, as I witnessed it, truly emphasized local ownership and leadership. They demonstrated a real awareness of ‘on-the-ground’ challenges that cultural institutions face in the developing world, such as the severe budget constraints. They also showed strong cultural sensitivity, not only in their approach, but also on how they emphasized the need to maintain cultural diversity in the community. Their problem-solving approach helped local actors tackle some of their daily constraints and find local solutions that could best serve the local community.
I was impressed by the level of professionalism, dedication and commitment demonstrated by the staff of Heritance during their stay in Rwanda. I wish Heritance full success in their continued efforts to bridge cultural differences and strengthen cross-cultural ties and diversity through the museum.
Sophia Milosevic Bijleveld
National Museums of Kenya
Palaeontology Sectionwww.museums.or.ke - see also the Heritance Project Profile
My name is Fredrick Kyalo Manthi (PhD), a Senior Research Scientist at the National Museums of Kenya’s (NMK) Palaeontology Section, as well as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Stony Brook University in New York. My research focuses on the Plio-Pleistocene micromammalian fossils (largely rodents and shrews) and their importance in reconstructing the environmental contexts in which early humans evolved. Aside from my research, I am also involved in the education of the Kenyan public particularly the youth about the country’s rich and unique prehistoric heritage. Towards this end, I have collaborated with individuals and organizations in Kenya and overseas (particularly in the US), and through the Prehistory Club of Kenya which I founded in the year 2000, we have reached thousands of students from over 100 high schools across Kenya. It is of note that one of the overseas organizations that I am currently working with is HERITANCE based in Vermont, USA. HERITANCE and the kinds of programmes they are involved in, was introduced to me by one of their collaborators from The Neanderthal Museum in Germany. It is noteworthy that last year, HERITANCE together with the Wenner-Gren Foundation, supported a Teachers’ workshop I hosted in Kenya during which over 120 high school teachers discussed, among other things, the challenges they face when teaching prehistory.
National museums across the world are faced with many challenges, the most ubiquitous one being lack of funds to run very important programs such as public education and awareness. It is significant that HERITANCE, under the prudent leadership of Maureen Doyle, has successfully taken up a leading role in assisting museums world-over in the development and execution of programs aimed at educating the public about the natural and cultural heritage in their respective countries. It is with this in mind that I will continue to encourage and support future collaboration between HERITANCE and different departments at the NMK, and strongly endorse all funding requests made by HERITANCE to potential donors.
Dr. Fredrick Kyalo Manthi, E.B.S
Senior Research Scientist and Head of Palaeontology
National Museums of Kenya
Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire, USAI first learned of Heritance in the spring of 2007 when Maureen Doyle, Executive Director, contacted me to request a meeting. When Maureen introduced the idea by email I was intrigued. As we talked, it became apparent this idea could be turned into something great. I thought it generous, public-spirited and inspirational to share the technical expertise and wealth of the world's wealthiest museums with communities worldwide. Moreover, I was struck by this bold effort to change large and small museum culture, by eroding the walls between museums.
Maureen demonstrated a keen grasp of the issues at play in the museum world, as well as an indomitable enthusiasm and determination to learn how to make her ideas work in practice. Given the growth of the organization from a simple idea into a global network of partnerships and museum professionals, she clearly has a talent for social entrepreneurship.
I agreed to serve as an informal advisor to Heritance and accepted Maureen's invitation to attend the first annual Upper Valley Heritance luncheon. At the luncheon, I reiterated my belief in the essential idea behind Heritance and invited everyone in the room to offer their support for its realization. I also offered the assistance of the Hood Museum. The mission needed honing, which Maureen was the first to admit, so I invited her and Jean Bermon, the Technical Director of Heritance, to present their ideas to the Hood staff who responded with support for the notion of museum aid and offered feedback. A lively and constructive discussion ensued. The staff took away a very favorable impression of the intentions which had sponsored the idea of Heritance. The next iteration of the Heritance mission reflected many of the Hood critiques. I have come to realize that Heritance actively seeks feedback, listens carefully and responds thoughtfully and methodically -- the sign of a healthy organization.
Throughout the year, members of the Hood staff, myself included, have continued to work with Maureen to hone the mission, and to discuss the strategic plan, brainstorm funding sources, and explore ways in which to collaborate. Kathy Hart, Associate Director, volunteered to serve as the Hood liaison. The collaboration culminated in the creation of the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth (ILEAD) course, "Who Owns the Past", coordinated by Maureen but team-taught by a series of guest speakers, including Kathy and myself. I participated in the final session of the course, a spirited debate among class members on the question "Should the British Museum send the Parthenon Frieze to Greece?" which took place in the Hood Museum conference room. Judging by the quality of the arguments and depth of knowledge, it was clear that the course had been a big success on all accounts -- pertinence of material, organization, leadership. It also offered a timely opportunity to engage the public about the challenges facing museums today.
It has been a remarkable experience to see Heritance grow from an idea into a global reality. I look forward to participating in the next round of development as an advisor, a collaborator and a colleague in the museum profession.
Brian Kennedy
Director
Hood Museum of Art
The George Washington University
Department of Anthropology
Washington, D.C.See the Heritance Project Profile for this project
As the Project Coordinator for a collaborative effort with l’Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux, which aims to conserve existing skeletal collections derived from Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas at a recently-opened museum of natural history in Kigali, I have been working with Heritance since September of 2007. It is with pleasure that I write to offer my strong recommendations for this organization.
Mountain gorillas are an integral part of the national pride and heritage of Rwanda. As the densest populated country in all of continental Africa, however, Rwanda’s mountain gorillas and other natural resources face a number of significant conservation threats. Participants from l’Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN), l’Musée d’Histoire Naturelle Maison Kandt (KMNH), non-governmental organizations in Rwanda (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project), and US-based university and museum institutions (The George Washington University, New York University College of Dentistry, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History) have come together in a collaborative effort whose main goal is to help Rwanda’s ORTPN recover existing skeletons of endangered mountain gorillas (obtained post-mortem from the national park), and provide training and help build local capacity for the curation, long-term conservation and management of these and other natural history collections at the KMNH in Kigali. The museum’s participation is key for disseminating knowledge and enhancing public understanding of the diverse wildlife, ecological landscapes, and geology of Rwanda.
The KMNH is a branch of the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, located in the nation’s capital, which opened its doors in 2005. It currently maintains a small collection of vertebrate zoology, geology, and paleontology specimens on exhibit, and is planning construction of a three-building annex to house offices, laboratories, a lecture hall, and collections storage space. We contacted Heritance with the hope that they would provide their expertise and assistance to the KMNH, in parallel with the collections efforts described above, and help the KMNH develop a strategic plan to realize its full purpose as a major center for education, research and preservation of Rwandan natural history.
Heritance partnered with the KMNH to organize a workshop in Kigali, which took place in late March of 2008. The workshop involved the participation not only of major project personnel, but a representative from another regional east African museum of natural history, meetings with representatives from the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda and other stakeholders in the museum. The outcomes of this workshop included a draft strategic plan for the KMNH (including ideas for community-oriented and outreach programs, and a plan to build scientific collections to support research and higher education initiatives), and the enthusiastic support of workshop participants, as well as an endorsement from the director of the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda. The workshop also served as a venue for bringing together a multidisciplinary team of both scientists and museum associates, to develop a detailed plan for the skeletal collections efforts.
The expertise and guidance that Heritance provided in preparation for and during the course of this workshop was invaluable, and has helped the KMNH clarify its mission and a renewed interest in enriching its capacity to serve both the local and scientific communities. Jeff Doyle (working with Maureen from afar) did a superb job at the workshop as a facilitator among participants with sometimes-conflicting interests, helping the museum to create a draft strategic plan that everyone could easily agree upon, and he showed sensitivity to the cultural and political complexities associated with working in another country. Heritance has also shown both flexibility and diligence, in the face of changing circumstances ‘on the ground’ and technical difficulties limiting access to communications in Rwanda at times. Throughout our work with Heritance, I have been impressed with their strong advocacy on behalf of the museum, and their willingness to represent the interests of the museum to higher authorities in pursuit of support for its continued development. This included arranging a last-minute meeting with USAID in Rwanda following the workshop, to discuss support for infrastructural development at the KMNH.
Now that the workshop is over, I look forward to future collaboration with Heritance. I am sure that the KMNH will benefit greatly from a continued partnership with this organization, as it moves forward to realize its full educational and scientific potential.
Shannon C. McFarlin, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Association des Musées Locaux d’Alsace (AMLA)
Alsace, Francewww.musees-alsace.org - see also the Heritance Project Profile
Je tenais par la présente à vous redire combien j’ai eu du plaisir à travailler avec vous, depuis notre rencontre du 2 juillet 2007, date de votre première venue à Riquewihr avec Maureen DOYLE dans le cadre de la visite de votre organisme HERITANCE à quelques petits musées d’Alsace.
Votre facilité de contact, votre analyse de notre situation particulière, votre prise en compte et votre position par rapport au projet que nous avions déjà élaboré, la pertinence de vos propositions complémentaires devant rendre notre projet plus lisible et plus cohérent pour l’ensemble des deux sites, votre encouragement à mettre en oeuvre la restructuration prévue, puis votre accompagnement et vos propositions d’intervenir aux différentes phases d’exécution envisagées, et finalement le projet visuel concrétisé par la réalisation d’une maquette pour le 1er niveau du musée du Dolder, tout cela, nous l’avons fort apprécié !
Et pour tout cela, je tenais - au nom de la Société d’Archéologie de Riquewihr - vous redire notre reconnaissance. J’y associe évidemment l’organisme HERITANCE que vous représentez, ainsi que Maureen DOYLE qui le préside.
Avec mes meilleurs sentiments et mes salutations cordiales.
Robert LEHMANN
Société d’Archéologie de Riquewihr,
Musées du Dolder et de la Tour des Voleurs