Posted on November 10, 2009
By now it is widely known that the FIFA World Cup will kick off in South Africa in June 2010 and that this is the first time that the prestigious tournament will be hosted on African soil. If the publicity in the build up towards the event is anything to go by, the organizers have positioned it as capturing and eliciting the 'spirit of Africa'. I particularly liked the advert in which the stadia are shown as built on and filled with the 'spirit' of the continent collected from every corner of Africa.
As I think about this though, I wonder to what extent heritage institutions in South Africa and indeed throughout the continent have recognized and taken up the opportunity to showcase the 'spirit of Africa' during the world cup. Looking through the websites of SAHRA, Department of Arts and Culture South Africa, AFRICOM, CHDA, EPA and many individual museums and heritage management institutions, there is little evidence that these institutions are even aware that the greatest soccer spectacle in the world and is coming to Africa! Reference to it is limited to statements in speeches by ministers and other dignitaries at events organized by or touching on heritage matters. If there are any initiatives to attract and cater for the large number of visitors expected in heritage institutions, then very little information has been released about it - unless of course this is an indication of the fact that there are no specific projects aimed at preparing the museums and heritage sites for large numbers of visitors. If the former is the case then the heritage sectors has a long way to go in implementing marketing strategies; if the latter is the case then the opportunity cost for Africa's heritage is massive!
Do I see die hard defensive heritage management proponents cringe? Do I see some head shaking at the thought that I could even suggest the 'commoditization of heritage' at the behest of a sports spectacle? Consider this: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 2005) estimated the global market value of industries with strong creative and cultural components at US$ 1.3 trillion. Between 2000 and 2005, the industry grew at an annual compound rate of over 7%. Globally, these industries are estimated to account for more than 7% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (World Bank, 2003) and are forecast to grow roughly at the same pace over the next three years reaching US$ 1.7 trillion (PWC, 2005). Yet while cultural industry contributes so immensely to both global and country economies, we in the heritage sector in Africa either do not recognise or refuse to acknowledge it.
A significant part of the cultural industry that contributes greatly to the global cultural economy is heritage tourism. The demand for cultural destination has increased tremendously over the last decade or so, making heritage a contemporary commodity purposefully created to satisfy contemporary consumption. In the process of convergence between cultural heritage and tourism, the multiple and complex human motives and the resulting segmentation of demand, has created a trend in which the typical tourist moved away from the sun and sea holiday, towards more sophisticated types of vacations where exclusivity, differentiation, and unique personal experiences are the norms of the day. Cultural heritage resources such as world heritage sites can gradually develop into niche products in the industry.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, heritage tourism is a multi billion-dollar business globally. Part of the mandate for any heritage institution is to provide access to and disseminate its heritage message to the public. How about we make some money for the institutions while we are at it? The whole world will be coming to Africa in June 2010, literally and metaphorically! In effect we shall have close to a billion potential visits -millions as actual visitors and the rest on electronic media and heritage institutions MUST serve them. To do this, heritage managers have to realise that potential consumers have become increasingly discerning and incomes now allow for greater demand for cultural destinations and as a result marketing becomes an imperative rather than a choice. Heritage institutions must move away from the traditional supply-driven approach to cultural heritage management and conservation in which the heritage is deemed as an inherently 'good' product requiring no marketing to one with greater focus on the social and economic value of heritage.
In practice and with particular reference to the world cup, this shift in focus means that if there are programmes in the making for 2010 at any heritage institutions, we should be shouting about them from the rooftops otherwise in the loud noise that will accompany the football festival, we risk being drowned out. If there are no initiatives yet, all is not lost. Through initiatives coordinated by such institutions as AFRICOM, CHDA, EPA, SADDCAM and partnership between museums in different parts of the continent, the world may still encounter the 'spirit of Africa' through media and methods only limited by our imagination and the fact that we may be entering the fundraising at the tail end of the 2010 related, funds disbursement that has been going on for a while.
So will we yet see the spirits of the Pharaohs in the Iziko; the Dogon in the Albert Luthili and the Sanye in the eThekwini Museums? Will the museums and heritage sites become profit centres as the governments in the region seek to maximise expenditure from all visitors - will the message of Africa vibrancy, awakening and rich heritage reach every viewer of the world cup next year? It is up to us I guess.
Photo attribution: www.makaraba.co.za