International Day of Older Persons: Focus on Kabale Museum, Uganda
Today, 1 October, marks the annual International Day of Older Persons, as observed by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.
The number of older people worldwide is increasing, and museums have a responsibility towards this growing segment of the population to play their part in contributing to later-life health and wellbeing.
What percentage of people in your country will be 60+ years old in 2050?
On the 2018 ITP summer programme, we were happy to welcome Laura Bedford to deliver a subject specialist session on Museums, health and wellbeing.
Laura is the former Project Coordinator for the UK’s National Alliance for Museums, Health & Wellbeing, now part of the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance. Through these sites, you can find many resources on the role of museums in ensuring health and wellbeing for both their workforce and visitors.
Is your museum an age-friendly environment? Do you provide social facilities for the wellbeing of older people? Does your programming work to increase intergenerational understanding?
On this International Day of Older Persons, ITP 2018 fellow Solomy Nansubuga Nabukalu, Conservator at Kabale Regional Museum in Uganda, tells us how her museum works to engage older people:
‘There are a variety of sites across Uganda showcasing unique elements of our culture, including the new Kabale Regional Museum. This museum focuses particulary on Kigezi communities, with the aim of protecting the Banyakigezi culture. It features exhibits on archaeological findings and ethnography of the Kigezi people. Here, older people help with running education sessions, as well as the documentation and collection of museum objects. A space on the museum’s notice board is reserved for elders to share information on Kigezi culture. Since older people know the history of our sites, they also offer tours and walks around villages and nearby sites.’