GLAM/Newsletter/April 2025/Contents/Nigeria report
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Strengthening Cultural Heritage through Partnerships and Knowledge Sharing: Insights from World Heritage Day in Nigeria
Heritage Institutional Partnerships
In celebration of World Heritage Day, Nigeria made remarkable strides in heritage preservation and open knowledge dissemination through collaborative efforts with key cultural institutions. These partnerships, carefully curated and strategically developed, underscore the nation's growing commitment to preserving its tangible and intangible cultural assets. The World Heritage Day event in Nigeria served not only as a commemorative platform but also as a nexus for intellectual exchange, fostering synergy between digital initiatives, academic contributions, and practical heritage management.
At the core of this initiative were partnerships with leading institutions that brought diverse expertise into the spotlight. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS Nigeria), a pivotal player in heritage conservation, played a central role in mobilizing professionals, scholars, and cultural advocates. Alongside ICOMOS, Legacy 1995, an organization renowned for its custodianship of key railway heritage sites, including the Jaekel House and Ilukwe House, lent historical depth to the event. These sites are not only architectural landmarks but also repositories of colonial and post-colonial Nigerian railway history.
Further support came from The Architects' Resourcery, an institution that integrates architecture, heritage advocacy, and sustainability through interdisciplinary storytelling. Known for pioneering the concept of "archimentaries"—documentary narratives rooted in architectural and cultural heritage—the organization enhanced the interpretive power of the event.
Digitization efforts were spearheaded by TECRES Technologies, a digital heritage firm dedicated to preserving Nigeria's archives through technology. Their collaboration ensured that discussions around cultural preservation were not merely theoretical but backed by scalable, tech-driven approaches for digital continuity. Adding a visual and brand storytelling layer to the initiative was JEFHEX Studios. Responsible for crafting the brand identity of the celebration, JEFHEX Studios contributed compelling visual representations and graphic design elements that enriched public engagement and representation of Nigeria’s heritage narratives in accessible formats.
These collaborations underscored a broader movement toward inclusive, participatory knowledge-sharing in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) community in Nigeria. By pooling resources from diverse sectors—academic, technological, architectural, and cultural—the initiative made heritage more visible and understandable to the public. The celebration of World Heritage Day transformed from a ceremonial gathering into a digitally enriched, interdisciplinary learning experience.
The webinar, which lasted two hours and fifteen minutes, convened professionals, scholars, and enthusiasts from across the nation. Attendees included members of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), representatives of ICOMOS Nigeria, and a vibrant mix of heritage stakeholders in the built environment. Together, they explored the intersections between law, conflict, disaster resilience, and cultural preservation, reinforcing a culture of collective learning and policy dialogue.
The success of the event highlights the critical role institutional partnerships play in advancing open access to heritage knowledge. Beyond just celebration, the event exemplified how Nigerian institutions can collaborate to provide practical solutions and education, addressing long-standing gaps in heritage policy, conflict mitigation, legal protection, and digital documentation.
Legalities, Conflict, and Disaster-Resilient Heritage
The second major thrust of the World Heritage Day webinar focused on thematic knowledge-sharing under three essential tracks that align with ICOMOS’s international framework: legal protection of cultural heritage, conflict-resilient heritage, and disaster-resilient heritage. These sessions, delivered by subject matter experts, brought fresh insights into some of the most pressing challenges facing Nigeria's heritage sector today.
Dr. Afolasade Adewumi, a seasoned heritage legal expert, anchored the session on legal aspects of cultural heritage. Her presentation laid bare the regulatory frameworks governing heritage preservation in Nigeria. She delved into the complexities of existing laws, highlighting areas where legal ambiguities have hindered effective protection of heritage sites. Dr. Adewumi explained the intricacies of the National Heritage Laws and provided practical interpretations of statutes concerning ownership, conservation rights, and the role of federal and state institutions. Participants engaged actively with her talk, raising questions around enforcement gaps, heritage site designation processes, and community inclusion in legal discourse. Dr. Adewumi responded with clarity, suggesting reforms that prioritize local stakeholder engagement and align Nigeria's laws with international treaties.
Meanwhile, Professor Wariebi Brisibe delivered a deeply reflective session on conflict-resilient heritage, drawing from both his academic expertise and field-based heritage work in the Niger Delta. His presentation, titled "Battle Scars: Heritage Sites in Zones of Conflict," emphasized the role of wartime architecture and conflict-associated structures as potent carriers of collective memory. He explored case studies including the Opobo war houses, fortified structures that played a strategic role during historic conflicts in the Niger Delta region. These buildings, rich in symbolic and historical relevance, have witnessed armed resistance, trade diplomacy, and social evolution.
Another highlight from his presentation focused on structures operated by women during World War II, shedding light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in wartime logistics and civil society infrastructure. These sites, frequently unlisted and lacking official recognition, stand today as quiet witnesses to eras of turmoil and resilience.
Professor Brisibe emphasized that "these war heritage structures may be nameless, but they are not faceless." Their anonymity in official records does not diminish their cultural weight. They hold profound legacy value, reflecting the lived experiences, struggles, and triumphs of the communities that built, used, and preserved them. His call to action was clear: Nigeria must begin to identify, document, and protect these intangible traces of historical conflict, especially as many such sites exist quietly across towns, villages, and cityscapes.
This nuanced view of conflict-resilient heritage as inclusive of unmarked, community-held structures broadens the heritage discourse and invites GLAM stakeholders to expand the scope of what is recognized and preserved. Professor Brisibe’s contributions struck a powerful chord, especially among practitioners working in grassroots heritage contexts where official maps and inventories often exclude vital local narratives.
The third thematic focus, disaster-resilient heritage, was led by Dr. Adetunji Olufemi, who presented a data-driven analysis of natural and human-induced disasters affecting heritage sites in Nigeria. His talk explored floods, fire outbreaks, and urban encroachment, all of which pose serious threats to built heritage and archaeological sites. He highlighted recent incidents, presenting data from satellite imagery and field surveys to show the extent of loss. Dr. Olufemi introduced participants to global frameworks like the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and proposed integrating these principles into national heritage protection strategies. He emphasized preventive measures, such as risk mapping, community disaster education, and climate-resilient architectural designs for restoration.
Each of these presentations not only provided high-level insights but also filled important knowledge gaps in the Nigerian GLAM and heritage community. The Q&A sessions proved particularly impactful, offering real-time problem-solving and clarifying long-standing confusions in policy and practice. For example, questions around jurisdictional overlaps between local and federal heritage bodies were addressed with legal precision by Dr. Adewumi. Meanwhile, Professor Brisibe tackled the complexities of post-conflict reconstruction of cultural landmarks, and Dr. Olufemi fielded questions on integrating disaster risk data into preservation planning.
Collectively, these expert contributions forged a bridge between theoretical heritage protection and its real-world application. The result was a well-rounded, practical, and forward-thinking conversation that energized the heritage community in Nigeria. It reinforced the idea that the future of heritage conservation lies in a multi-pronged approach: one that considers legal integrity, resilience to conflict, and readiness for disaster, while also being grounded in technological innovation and open knowledge dissemination.
Charting the Future of Collaborative Heritage Knowledge
The World Heritage Day webinar in Nigeria was more than a commemorative event—it was a convergence of vision, scholarship, and collaborative action. By uniting heritage professionals, government bodies, technology partners, legal experts, and visual storytellers, the celebration became a powerful template for what an inclusive, interdisciplinary approach to cultural preservation can achieve.
The partnerships forged—with organizations like ICOMOS Nigeria, Legacy 1995, The Architects Resourcery, TECRES Technologies, and JEFHEX Studios—are proof that the GLAM ecosystem in Nigeria is evolving into a more cohesive and impact-driven network. These collaborations are already bearing fruit in the form of digitized archives, engaging heritage visuals, legally informed preservation strategies, and enriched educational dialogues.
The thematic tracks—legalities, conflict, and disaster resilience—addressed some of the most critical yet under-discussed aspects of heritage management. Dr. Afolasade Adewumi’s legal insights provided clarity and direction on heritage governance; Professor Wariebi Brisibe’s exploration of hidden war heritage emphasized memory, identity, and recognition; and Dr. Adetunji Olufemi’s disaster analysis presented a strategic path for risk-informed heritage protection.
Together, these contributions filled notable knowledge gaps within the Nigerian GLAM community, fostering open access to ideas and tools that can guide future policy, research, and practice. Participants left with not just information but inspiration—empowered to implement change within their own contexts, whether in museums, archives, cultural NGOs, or architectural firms.
In an age when cultural heritage faces increasing threats from urbanization, environmental change, conflict, and neglect, the 2025 World Heritage Day celebration in Nigeria stood out as a beacon of proactive engagement. It modeled how heritage professionals can move from passive custodianship to active advocacy—building systems that are legally sound, conflict-aware, disaster-ready, and technologically supported.
As the GLAM community continues to expand in Nigeria, these partnerships and dialogues will be essential to ensuring that cultural heritage is not only preserved but made accessible, understood, and appreciated across generations.
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