Dr Kana Miyamoto, our staff member and Specially-appointed researcher, participated in the convening of the international project 'Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow' (https://todaytomorrow.iqoqo.org/) in Cape Town, South Africa.

The convening took place from 13-15 February 2024 in a district called District Six, which tells the history of forced evictions during the apartheid era. This district and the adjacent streets are lined with various museums that mainly tell the story of the period (Photo 1).

Photo 1: District-Six Museum (photo provided by Kana).

Ms Rooksana Omar, the former CEO of the Iziko Museum, which comprises 11 museums, and Prof. Dr Shahid Vawda (University of Cape Town), who was our centre's invited researcher for the autumn semester of 2023, invited Kana to attend the event on 13 February (Photo 2). They introduced various people to her, including researchers, artists, museum staff and French Embassy officials, providing an opportunity to expand her network.

Photo 2: Event held at the Iziko South African Museum (photo providedby Kana).

The Ovaherero people in Namibia, whom Kana researches, have been actively discussing the return of land, remains and artefacts stolen during the colonial period (see 79th ASC Seminar). This event allowed her to think about how the people living today can discuss the issue to move forward, comparing the situation in Namibia.

For those interested, the organiser of this event summarised on various social networking sites (Instagram, X, Youtube, Facebook) and the website above.

During her stay in Cape Town, she also met with Prof Dr Horman Chitonge (University of Cape Town), who was also our centre's invited researcher for the spring semester of 2023, and his family, who also came to Japan (see Primary school visit). In addition, she also met and exchanged views with Prof. Dr Francis B Nyamnjoh, who is Kana's mentor, and Dr Henrietta Nyamnjoh of the University of Cape Town.