The project SAIMP – Strengthening Africa – Italian Museum Partnerships, coordinated by the University of Turin and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), promotes collaboration between museums, cultural institutions and universities in Italy and East and Central Africa with the aim of strengthening knowledge, protection and enhancement of cultural heritage.
Through dialogue between institutions and the exchange of expertise between professionals in the sector, SAIMP intends to develop a model of international cooperation based on equal partnerships and lasting collaboration between institutions. In this perspective, cultural heritage becomes a privileged tool to build bridges between different cultures and to encourage comparison between researchers, conservators, students and communities.Museums are thus configured as places of encounter, research and exchange, capable of stimulating greater awareness of history and shared cultural values, involving not only specialists but also the public and the younger generations.
The Restoration Conservation Centre ‘La Venaria Reale’ participates in the project as a partner, contributing with its expertise in the field of conservation and management of cultural heritage. SAIMP aims to build a solid network between museums and cultural institutions, encouraging discussion and exchange on crucial issues for the future of ethnographic collections:
- the search for provenance, to reconstruct the history of the objects preserved in the museums;
- the management and conservation of collections, through the sharing of standards and methods of restoration;
- the digitisation of heritage, to make collections accessible even remotely and to strengthen dialogue with the communities of origin.
In March 2026 the project came to life with a series of workshops organized in Italy.
From 2 to 6 March, the MUCIV – Museo delle Civiltà di Roma hosts the workshop Cataloguing Practices, Digitalization, Provenance and Participatory Research, dedicated to inventorying and cataloguing practices and research methodologies on the provenance of objects. The meeting facilitates the exchange of tools, standards and case studies between the Italian and African museums involved in the project.
The JRC participates in the workshop in Rome, sharing the activities undertaken and future developments relating to the conservation and cataloguing of cultural and historical heritage, with particular reference to the heritage of the University of Addis Ababa. These activities are part of a synergy with another international cooperation project of which the JRC is a partner, led by the Politecnico di Torino, dedicated to the renovation and enhancement of Palazzo Genette Leul and its Ethnographic Museum.
From 8 to 14 March, the JRC School of Higher Education will host the workshop in Venaria Conservation Management of Ethnographic Collections: Tools and Practices for Cultural Heritage, dedicated to the technical and management aspects of ethnographic collections. The programme also involves some important institutions in Turin, including the Egyptian Museum, the Royal Museums and the Royal Residences of Savoy, and includes a focus on Ethiopian art at the Luigi Einaudi Campus of the University of Turin.
One of the tangible results of SAIMP is the creation of shared work tools, such as the Workbook for African-Italian Museum Exchange, designed to transform the confrontation between institutions into shared operational practices for curators and conservators from both continents.
SAIMP Strengthening African – Italian Museum Partnership
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, University of Turin
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Partners:
Restoration Conservation Centre ‘La Venaria Reale’
MUCIV,
Ethnological Museum of the Addis Ababa University
Musée National de Lubumbashi
National Museum of Ethiopia
Uganda Museum
University of Milan
Stakeholders
Addis Ababa University
Ethiopian Heritage Authority
Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) of Addis Ababa University
Makerere University
the Royal Museums of Turin
Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography – University of Turin
Royal Residences Sabaude
CCR and accessibility
