Academia
African Voices Archive
Mohamad W. Fareed
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Mohamed (Ezz) Ahmed
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Dr. Elvis Ngome Nkome
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Prof. Abdelouahed Ben-Ncer is a professor of Prehistoric Archaeology and a recipient of the Royal Order of Merit "Al Kafaa Al Fikria". He holds a PhD in Paleoanthropology from the University of Bordeaux, and Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) from Mohammed V University's Faculty of Sciences, Rabat-Agdal. As both a Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine / National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage (INSAP), he directs and/or co-directs several national and international research programs, with a focus on rebalancing Morocco-Franco research relationships, prioritising Moroccan stewarship of knowledge production, and infusing both cultural and scientific dimension into this work. As the Director of INSAP, he was responsible for receiving a large collection of human ancestors from the University of Bordeaux, France that were excavated from the Rouazi-Skhirat necropolis in the 1980s, and is currently overseeing their integration into the institute's Osteotheque.
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Joudia Hassar-Benslimane (1943 – 22 May 2018) was a Moroccan historian and archeologist who specialized in Islamic archaeology, history and architecture. She was one of the first Moroccan female experts in archaeology, and made important contributions to advancing archeological research in Morocco, over her 30 years of career. She is generally considered as one of the most important figures in Moroccan archaeology. Hassar-Benslimane invested much effort in training the next generation of Moroccan archeologists, and in preserving the cultural heritage of the country. She was a professor of archeology and art history at Mohammed V University in Rabat, from 1978 to 1983; and was instrumental in founding the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage (INSAP), and became its first director in 1986. The role of the institute includes the education and training of archeology students and research and excavation of sites in Morocco, in collaboration with the international community. Hassar-Benslimane played a critical role in emancipating Moroccan archaeology from colonialist hypotheses and interpretations which dominated during the French and Spanish protectorates, and led to the creation of a ""Moroccan school of archeology"". Furthermore, the number of archeological programs in Morocco went from 4 in 1975, to around 40 when she retired from her position as director of INSAP in 2005, overseeing the training of more than 200 young specialists in various areas of archeology up to that point.
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Louis-Georges Tin is a Martinican-French academic, gay rights campaigner, and anti-racist activist. Tin is noted for initiating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia [now marked in over 130 countries across the world] and co-founding the Representative Council of Black Associations (CRAN). In 2014, Tin was mandated by the former president of the African Union, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, to bring structure to the African Diaspora.The State of African Diaspora (SOAD) was established following the African Union's recognition of the diaspora as the continent's ""sixth region,"" and it collaborates with the Pan-African Parliament to foster development and unity. Tin serves as SOAD's Prime Minister. Under Tin's leadership SOAD has supported restitution efforts in Benin, Congo and Kenya.
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Peter Adewale Jegede is a museum curator and cultural heritage researcher based in Nigeria. He currently serves as a consultant curator to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL). He is also pursuing a doctoral degree in Geoarchaeology at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria; focusing on the environmental and geochemical assessment of ancient human activities in selected archaeological sites in southwest Nigeria. Over the past thirteen years, he has worked extensively across Nigeria’s arts, culture and heritage sectors as a permanent curator, museum consultant and international research collaborator. Most notably, he was part of the curatorial team at the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Lagos, where he assisted in preserving and interpreting Yoruba material culture through its exhibition commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022. His restitution work at Open Restitution Africa (ORA) is deeply informed by his curatorial background and current research interests and aligns closely with his commitment to Nigeria’s cultural patrimony. His goal is to contribute meaningfully to the understanding of how communities engage with their displaced heritage and to support responsible and ethical approaches to cultural restitution.
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Mohamad W. Fareed is an Egyptian heritage professional with a background in architecture and a Master’s degree in World Heritage Studies from Brandenburg University in Germany. His work focuses on cultural heritage, decolonisation, and restitution, with a deep commitment to restoring Egypt’s looted belongings. He is an active member of various working groups and scientific committees in the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
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Dr. Omar Idtnaine is a museum curator and heritage specialist, currently Director at Agadir Museum of Reconstruction and Conservator at Agadir Art Museum. He was previously at Marrakech’s Museum of Confluences and the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets. He focuses on colonial collections, Amazigh heritage, preventive conservation, and digital mediation in museums, and his publications explore Gnaoua representation, photographic archives, multilingual inclusion, and sustainable exhibitions. He also teaches heritage at Ibn Zohr University, and professional practice in the arts, culture, and creative industries at the National Institute of Fine Arts. Dr. Idtnaine is a board member of ICOM Morocco.
Affiliation(s): Museum of Agadir Reconstruction Agadir Art Museum Ibn Zohr University National Institute of Fine Arts (Morocco)
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Published Work: La photographie comme mémoire visuelle : L’archive photographique de Said Oubraim au Musée d’Art d’Agadir au service de la préservation du patrimoine culturel amazighe
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Mohamed Ahmed (Ezz) is a researcher, student-activist and scholar of African Studies and International Relations, focusing on Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. He holds a BA in Sociology from University of Alexandria and is currently completing his MA through the African Studies Institute at the University of Leipzig. His work involves illuminating specific historical (dis)junctures to inform contemporary political discourse on accountability and transparency. He does this by reading histor(ies) through a critical and interdisciplinary perspective shaped by his engagement with human rights, injustices, and accountability. Ahmed has served as a policy researcher and communications coordinator for several Egytpian and international non-profit and development organizations. He currently leads the Critical African Studies Forum (CASF), collaboratively working with the faculty and Leipzig University to strengthen student participation.
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Dr. Ngome Elvis Nkome is a lecturer in the Department of History and African Studies at the University of Buea in Cameroon and holds a PhD in Economic and Socio-Cultural History. His research interests cut across culture, history, colonial and post-colonial Africa, ethnographic research, museum studies and conflicts, security and peace studies. Besides teaching and academic research, he has also served as field consultant and research scientist for the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon under the project The “Blue Rider Post” and the Max von Stetten Collections from Cameroon during the German colonial era. He was also part of Open Restitution Africa's third cohort of case study researchers. His existing knowledge of history and heritage issues in post-colonial Africa, his engagement with the contemporary restitution landscape in Cameroon, as well as the networks he forged in Cameroon and Germany through the provenance research project, aided him in capturing the restitution journey of the Tangué in relation to the myriad contextualising circumstances that influenced its progression.
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Dr. Mary Mbewe is a historian, academic and lecturer at Mulungushi University in Kabwe, Zambia. Prior to joining the university she served as the Keeper of History at the Moto Moto Museum in Mbala, Zambia for 10 years. Shortly after joining Open Restitution Africa's third cohort of case study researcher in 2023, Mbewe obtained her Doctorate of Philosophy in History from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her thesis titled “From Chisungu to the Museum: A Historical Ethnography of the Images, Objects and Anthropological Texts of the Chisungu Female Initiation Ceremony in the Moto Moto Museum in Zambia, 1931 to 2016” critically reflected on the disjuncture between sacred cultural practices and Westernised collection and display standards and practices in colonial and postcolonial museums. She recenty took up a visiting professortship at the University of Cologne, where she will introduce students to critical museum and heritage studies, postcolonial studies, and archival methods in research on colonial collections.
Affiliation(s): Moto Moto Museum Mulungishi University University of Cologne
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Published Work: Problematic Museum Heritage in a Postcolonial Context: The Case of the Moto Moto Museum Chisungu Collection
