President William Ruto has called for reimagining of global heritage standards so as to reflect African realities better at the close of the International Conference on Cultural Heritage and Authenticity in Africa.
Speaking at the United Nations Office in Nairobi on Friday, President Ruto said the current international heritage management frameworks are often misaligned with African cultural contexts.He argued that the frameworks often fail to account for Africa’s “dynamic, spiritually infused, and living cultural landscapes.”
“Although Africa is home to 147 World Heritage elements, representing just 12% of the global total, it also has the highest number of sites listed as World Heritage in Danger. These disparities expose deep-rooted systemic and conceptual inequities shaped by longstanding imbalances in how heritage is defined, whose stories are told, and which cultural values are deemed globally significant,” he said.
“The time has come to revisit and reimagine these concepts; to strengthen their meaning, and to deepen and diversify them. We must ground them in Africa’s philosophical, spiritual, and cultural realities
Ruto was addressing an audience of diplomats, scholars, community leaders, and global heritage experts.
The President emphasised that prevailing interpretations of “authenticity” and “integrity” are the core criteria for UNESCO World Heritage inscription and are largely shaped by Western academic traditions that prioritise material preservation and its original form.
He noted that the four-day conference was framed by UNESCO documents, including the Venice Charter (1964), the 1976 Nairobi Recommendation, and the 1994 Nara Document on Authenticity.
The head of state further highlighted the importance of African-led heritage conversations dating back to meetings in Tiwi (1999), Great Zimbabwe (2000), and the adoption of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance in 2006.
He linked the historical milestones to the AU’s Agenda of 2063, which he said envisions a culturally confident and sovereign continent.
The President also showcased Kenya’s own contributions to world heritage, citing the eight UNESCO-listed sites, including Lamu Old Town, Fort Jesus, Mount Kenya Natural Forest, and the recently inscribed Gedi National Monument.
While pointing to the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the 1.6-million-year-old Turkana Boy fossil, the president said, “Kenya is globally recognised as the ‘Home of Human Origins,’ a distinction rooted in the remarkable fossil discoveries of early humans found right here in our country.”
Consequently, Ruto also appreciated Japan and France governments and the African World Heritage Fund for their support in convening the event.
