The Partnership Program Monument Protection
Downtown Dar es Salaam is home to unique, historic buildings. The land on which they stand is highly sought after and it is not uncommon for historic buildings to be demolished overnight to make way for modern skyscrapers (often for banks).
Since 2014, Hamburg and Tanzanian experts have been working together to protect and preserve historical monuments, thus documenting and preserving irreplaceable buildings worthy of protection for the future.
The main actors of the partnership in the preservation of monuments are in Dar es Salaam the Department of Antiques and the Dar es Salaam Center of Architectural Heritage (DARCH) and in Hamburg the circle of friends Dar es Salaam-Hamburg e.V. .
In addition, many other institutions and individuals participate in joint efforts to protect historic monuments. In addition to the preservation and maintenance of unique buildings, the modern computer-assisted documentation of buildings worthy of protection is an essential component of cooperation.
The following activities provide an overview of the partnership work:
Under the direction of the circle of friends, in 2014 and 2016, curators from the Department of Antiquities had an intensive professional exchange on current topics of monument work, with the monument office in Hamburg. Specifically, topics related to the inventory and documentation of monuments were discussed, as well as the use of digitization techniques.
In addition, there were working visits on the subject of monument protection with the Maritime Museum Hamburg, the Archaeological Museum Hamburg-Helmsmuseum, the Jugendbauhütte Hamburg, and the Stiftung Denkmalpflege.
At a science exchange with HafenCity University, curators from Dar es Salaam the importance of historic preservation work in their city in an extensive presentation. The opportunity was used to discuss possibilities and tasks for joint practical fieldwork in Dar es Salaam.
As part of her master’s thesis, HCU student Marianne Haapala, was in Dar es Salaam in the summer of 2016, for joint monument mapping work.
The possibilities of joint youth activities and vocational training in Dar es Salaam and Hamburg were discussed with the head of the Jugendbauhütte Hamburg.
A lot has happened since 2018. Various organizations are working together in Dar es Salaam, from the civil society DARCH, to Ahrdi University, to the Ministry of Antiquities.
Here, the networking and cooperation of Hamburg institutions with Ardhi University plays an important role. Ardhi University is assisting DARCH in the creation of a computerized monument catalog. The system of the monument cadastre for Dar es Salaam was technically supervised by Dr. Kleineschulte(Denkmalamt Hamburg). Today, the DARCH has a computerized system at its disposal to perform professional monument documentation and make it publicly available. In addition to documentation, DARCH also conducts public relations work on the subject of monument preservation. In cooperation with schools and civil society groups, knowledge is communicated to the general population.
We will continue to accompany and support this cooperation in the future. Further exchange programs are planned with the Department of Monuments, the HCU and Ardhi construction universities in Dar es Salaam, and other civil society groups.
Participation
If you are interested in the topic please contact the circle of friends
