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Ivan Zhakata-Arts Correspondent

The third International Conference of African Cultures (ICAC) will run from November 23 to 25 at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare. 

The conference will be held under the theme “Africa Speaks: Confronting Restitution and Repatriation of Artefacts, Human Remains, Objects and Archives from an African Perspective”, with a panel of speakers from the country and abroad. 

The conference is expected to be exciting, with the advent of the repatriation debate entering an engrossing stage after French President Emmanuel Macron announced the repatriation of cultural objects to Africa and other former colonies of the French Republic around the world. 

There have been commitments made by other institutions ranging from museums to universities, to some private collections in multinational corporations and estates of individuals. 

That being so, there has been discourse on the crucial matter in numerous workshops and conferences discussing why repatriation is key in the post colonial dispensation, how these repatriation projects should be initiated and most importantly, when repatriation should be exercised. 

The point of departure for the 2021 edition of the International Conference of African Cultures: Africa Speaking will thrive to establish frameworks in which the restitution of objects must be repatriated to their cultures of origin. 

The theme for this year’s ICAC resonates with the African Union as Africa celebrates 2021 under the theme “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”. 

The declaration of the theme will enable the African Union and member states to reflect on the role of culture in the continent’s development and position the sector in its rightful place.