Background

The effect of globalization pose challenges for the preservation and maintenance of cultural heritage and identities worldwide.  The pressure on Africa and its cultural heritage, tangible and intangible alike, in this context are particularly severe and demand effective and concrete responses to ensure the preservation of black culture at large and related cultural expressions – in Africa, in the diaspora and in countries on other continents – for future generations and its appropriate systematization, research, presentation to and accessibility for a large audience.  This builds also on the growing recognition of the need for national policies to give greater recognition to cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue for cohesion of a pluralistic society like Nigeria.  It also needs to anchor firmly the role of culture in sustainable development policies and activities at the national level and to provide appropriate and coherent linkages with relevant initiatives at the sub-regional and regional levels in Africa as well as inter-regional exchanges.  This will promote cultural diversity as well as possibilities for intercultural, inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue.

In pursuit of the lofty and laudable objectives of preserving the rich cultural heritage of the back race all over the world, Osun State Government is establishing a Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, the Capital of Osun State. The Centre will operate as Category II establishment under a cooperative agreement with UNESCO.  The Centre has therefore been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with registration number 885866.  The Archives and Collections of Professor Ulli and Geogina Beier will form the nucleus of the Centre.  Ulli and Georgina Beier are world renowned cultural exponents and were founders and teachers of the Osogbo School of Arts.  Their archives and collections include 10,000 items of books, articles, photographs, negatives and albums, films, videos, audio-cassettes, records and CDs, printed ephemera about concert and exhibitions and other cultural items and materials pertaining to the Beier’s activities beginning in the early 1950s in Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Australia and other countries.  The sum of six hundred and eighty thousand United-States  dollars has been paid by the Osun State Government for the Archive and collections and efforts are on to transfer them to the Centre in Osun State.