School of African Heritage

The School of African Heritage (École du Patrimoine Africain, EPA) is a graduate-level institution dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage. It was established on November 11, 1998 by professionals from the University of Abomey-Calavi and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Located in Porto-Novo, Benin, it caters to professionals already working in the cultural heritage sector.

Activities
To address the need for conservation, EPA has developed several types of activities: training (both diploma and non-diploma), consulting, mediation, information, and rehabilitation. It covers all types of heritage: museum collections, libraries and archives, built heritage, and intangible heritage.


 * More than 700 African heritage professionals from 38 countries have participated in EPA's activities (training, seminars, workshops, etc.)
 * Over 220 activities organized in 13 years in training, mediation, rehabilitation, and performing arts.
 * More than 40 partners worldwide have supported its activities and/or operations.

Activity area
EPA's regional school activities benefit 26 countries in Francophone, Lusophone, and Hispanic Sub-Saharan Africa.

20 Francophone countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Niger, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Chad, Togo.

6 Lusophone and Hispanic countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe.

EPA has a branch in Libreville, Gabon, which supports the implementation of EPA's activities in Central Africa.

The Center for Heritage Development in Africa (CHDA), a sister institution to EPA established in 2000 and based in Mombasa, Kenya, develops activities for Anglophone countries.

Vision
Since its inception in 1998, EPA has aimed to become a reference center and a cultural awakening for institutions, heritage professionals, communities, and cultural actors on the continent. EPA regularly adapts its vision and mission to meet the evolving needs expressed on the ground, with a view to sustainable development. Over 13 years, EPA has become a true platform for consultation and reference for cultural practitioners and African communities.

Given the numerous growth challenges faced by the African continent, reflected in socio-political, identity, and economic crises, EPA is more convinced than ever of the key role cultural heritage plays in economic and social development. Beyond its role as a catalyst for new economic sectors in Africa, cultural heritage, in its material and intangible components, is also a reliable source of creativity, mutual discovery, identity affirmation, pride, national cohesion, and brand image. By preserving and enhancing all heritage components, EPA contributes to improving communities' living conditions and fostering fruitful dialogue among peoples.

In the coming years, EPA's major challenge will be to integrate cultural heritage and its conservation as a priority for African countries, including incorporating it into school curricula and demonstrating its vital role in developing policies.

Objectives
EPA has four main objectives:
 * Strengthen the network of African professionals capable of ensuring the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage.
 * Implement programs that enable the discovery and reappropriation of cultural heritage for African audiences.
 * Promote socio-economic development projects that integrate the safeguarding and enhancement of cultural heritage.
 * Contribute to the publication and dissemination of specialized works on African cultural heritage.

Funding
EPA is one of the few cultural institutions that meet the challenge of self-financing. Not being directly supported by any country or institution, it must find funding sources each year to cover its operating budget.

EPA has established two means to cover its operating budget, approximately 150,000 euros per year: percentages taken from the budgets of activities organized by EPA (66%) and interest produced by the EPA Fund (34%).