This international workshop – taking place at the Nairobi National Museum in October 2025 – will bring together museum professionals from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Germany to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk management in museums. The primary topic of discussion will be critical threats to cultural heritage, such as flooding, fire, and theft. In light of increasing climate-related risks and infrastructure vulnerabilities, participants will explore how museums can adapt and react to these changing conditions despite challenges like limited resources.

The workshop will prepare museum professionals for dealing with emergencies and address context- and collection-specific solutions. By working together, East African and German museum professionals will co-develop strategies for prevention, response, and recovery, with a focus on practical tools, adaptable frameworks, and real-world case studies. This approach aims to equip participants not only with technical skills but also with the capacity to support one another across institutional and national boundaries. Beyond skill-building, the workshop will help lay the groundwork for lasting networks of cooperation between trained heritage professionals both regionally, through Pan-African collaboration, and internationally, through German–East African exchange.

The workshop is supported through our programme Engage in dialogues. This initiative facilitates exchange among museum professionals, enabling them to jointly address the many contemporary challenges in cross-border cultural work.

Partners: National Museums of Kenya, ICOM Africa, and ICOM International Committee for Museum Security

​Participating institutions: 

• Arts Council England, London, United Kingdom
• Copperbelt Museum, Ndola, Zambia
• Fort Jesus World Heritage Site, Mombasa, Kenya
• Fort Ternan Prehistoric Site, Fort Ternan, Kenya
• Ghent Police Department, Ghent, Belgium
• Hyrax Hill Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Nakuru, Kenya
• Karen Blixen Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
• Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Germany
• Livingstone Museum, Livingstone, Zambia
• Malindi Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Malindi, Kenya
• Meru Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Meru, Kenya
• Mnarani Ruins, Kilifi County, Kenya
• Nairobi Gallery, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
• Nairobi National Museums, Nairobi, Kenya
• National Library Service of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
• National Museum of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Nyeri Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Nyeri, Kenya
• Rathgen Research Laboratory, Berlin State Museums, Berlin, Germany
• Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim, Germany
• Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy, Huye District, Rwanda
• Dresden State Art Collections, Dresden, Germany
• Tambach Museum, National Museums of Kenya, Tambach Town, Kenya
• Uganda Museums, Kampala, Uganda