Monrovia – Liberians are celebrating this week as a high-powered government delegation arrives in Rwanda and South Africa.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
The mission is to gather lessons for a proposed national museum aimed at transforming the country’s civil war legacy into a monument of peace and unity.
The mission, backed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, seeks a “world-class blueprint” for the planned Liberia Peace, Reconciliation, and Memorial Museum. If constructed, the project will elevate Liberian heritage, arts, and culture while serving as a tool for conflict prevention and national healing.
“This is not just about erecting a building,” said Liberia’s Arts and Culture Ambassador Kekura M. Kamara, alias Malawala Balawala.
“Culture is not merely the clothes we wear, the songs we sing, or the drums we beat. It is our identity. A nation that respects its culture will never lose its soul. When we tell our story through music, art, and film, we celebrate who we are and invite the world to know us better,”Kamara furthers.
A ‘Dream Team’ On the Ground
Led by Minister of State without Portfolio Hadja Mamaka Bility, the delegation includes Assistant Minister Varfin Vamuen Donzo, Peace and Security Advisor Emmanuel Bawoh, Audio/Visual Supervisor Varney Shakeh Kamara, and Arts and Culture Ambassador Kamara.
They are joined by key development partners including UNDP Liberia Resident Representative Ambassador Aliou Mamadou Dia and UNDP Governance Team Lead Stanley Kamara.
Learning from Rwanda and South Africa
With support from UNDP, the team is touring sites that have turned painful histories into platforms for reconciliation.
In Rwanda, the delegation is visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial to study how the country converted national memory into community reconciliation and atrocity prevention programs.
In South Africa, the team will tour Freedom Park, Constitution Hill, the Apartheid Museum, and Robben Island to learn how oral histories were preserved and how educational programs were built in the post-apartheid era.
A major focus of the trip is also digital preservation.
The team is also gathering modern strategies to digitize Liberia’s stories, community narratives, and historical records before they are lost to time.
Why the Excitement
The proposed museum will be integrated with the National Museum of Liberia and designed as a living institution for research, digital innovation, and historical education, according to the delegation.
For many citizens across Bomi, Monrovia, and beyond, the mission represents long-awaited recognition of Liberia’s music, storytelling, arts, and traditional history.
“By investing in this mission, the government isn’t just preserving memory,” the statement indicates.
“It is investing in conflict prevention, national pride, and a dynamic cultural renaissance that proves Liberia is indeed rich beyond measure.”
Meanwhile, no timeline has yet been announced for construction of the museum.
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