The National Museums of Kenya-NMK in Lamu has launched a youth-oriented cultural hub meant to excite them with traditional crafts and how they can be interpolated into the 21st Century.
This took place as the world marked the International Day for Monuments and Sites in Lamu Island on Tuesday.
The NMK Curator in charge of Lamu Museums and World Heritage Site, Mohammed Mwenje stated that this year’s celebrations were meant to incorporate the local youth in activities aimed to familiarize them with the various sites and monuments.
The move according to Mwenje, will in turn foster growth, preservation, and protection of the available sites and monuments by future generations.
The International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day is an international observance held on April 18 each year around the world with different types of activities, including visits to monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables, and newspaper articles.
Lamu town is a historical old town that was listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2001 due to its well-preserved culture, heritage and architecture that fuses African, Arabic, Indian, and Persian styles to reflect its past role as an important trading centre.
This year, the NMK in partnership with other partners including the Go-Blue project has initiated a cultural hub which is entirely youth-driven and a plan meant to introduce the youth to raising awareness on the sites and monuments and raising awareness of how to care for the same.
Mwenje observed that the youths are the future users of the Lamu heritage sites and decision-makers altogether and that as such, they must be equipped and well-informed on how well to make use of their positions.
“This year, we are choosing to do it differently by engaging the youth extensively on matters of culture, traditions, and heritage since these are the future users of such. The objective is to equip them with the necessary know-how on how these sites must be cared for so they can be passed onto coming generations,” said Mwenje.
He said the focus is on key elements of the Lamu heritage including the dress code and local dialects which risk being watered down by modernization.
“The traditional regalia must be protected so its stays on. The local dialect of Ki-Amu, Ki-Pate and Ki-Siyu which possess a slight variation from your normal Swahili must be kept alive. It's only the youth who can drive that agenda to the future,” said Mwenje.
He said the NMK was working tirelessly to integrate the old town’s management and preservation as part of the larger urban area in the region despite years of perceived isolation.
During this year’s celebrations, the NMK introduced the youngsters to one of the town’s neighbourhoods with a rich historical background in a bid to illustrate its interconnectivity to the urban landscape.
He said the move is also aimed to create awareness of the symbiotic relationship that exists between the historical and outlying areas.
Mwenje stated that people ought to understand that the outlying areas as people call them new settlements are nothing but a new addition to the Old Town which should not be ignored or isolated.
“This year we chose the historical town and its neighbourhoods. This is part of appreciating the old town in its current urban context. The outlying areas, for instance, continue to accommodate the town's own expanding population as well as people who are thrilled or enthusiastic about the town and willing to continue to live here,” he said.
As part of the celebrations, the NMK mobilized the community to undertake general cleaning of the sites and monuments in the town.
Of all the 47 counties in Kenya, Lamu has the highest number of historical monuments compared to any other county with Lamu island alone playing host to over ten historical mosques within archaeological sites.
Lamu old town is a major tourist attraction site along the coastal strip.