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Abba Isa Tijani is a Nigerian Professor of Museology and Anthropology and Director of the SDG Graduate School Performing Sustainability at the University of Maiduguri since February 2025. After an education in Creative Arts, Museum Studies and Anthropology he concluded with a PhD Thesis on Tradition and Modernity – The Gamergu (Malgwa) of North-Eastern Nigeria. Tijani directed the Centre for the Study and Promotion of Cultural Sustainability at the University of Maiduguri from 2016 to 2020, before being appointed Director General/CEO of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Abuja, Nigeria (NCMM). During his tenure at NCMM [2020 - 2024] Tijani spearheaded a strategic, non-litigious and diplomatic approach to restitution, which resulted in the repatriation and return of numerous Nigerian belongings from institutions in North America and Europe.
Affiliation(s): National Commission for Museums and Monuments University of Maiduguri University of Hildesheim
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Prof Morongwa N Mosothwane is a Forensic Anthropologist and Archaeologist who received her PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand (2010) and completed a post-doc at the University of Pretoria (2011). She has worked in Southern Africa, North America and Europe and is interested in the ethics and management of human remains and sacred objects in institutional collections and in related international legislation. She is a member of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists, Pan African Archaeology, World Archaeology Congress, and ICOM. She is a member of the editorial board of Museum International, a member of the IZIKO Human Remains Advisory Board and a member of the Commonwealth Association of Museums.
Affiliation(s): University of Botswana IZIKO Human Remains Advisory Board Commonwealth Association of Museums
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Published Work: Who were they? Repatriation and the rehumanisation of human remains in museums in southern Africa (In Museums and Communities: Diversity, Dialogue and Collaboration in an Age of Migrations; Human Remains Management in Southern Africa, a regional attempt at addressing unethical collections made in the colonial period.
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Valerie Viban is a Cameroonian policy advisor and expert in international relations, currently residing in Germany. He has a passion for advocating for human rights, intrafaith tolerance, and cohesion, and has worked on several projects in community based organisations in his home country and at the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms. In Germany, he has had experiences working and volunteering with Bread for the World, German African Partnership Foundation, and Solidarity Service International where he is part of a film making project called ‘Draufsicht’. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations with a special focus on Communication and Public Policy, and a second Master’s in International Economics from the Berlin School of Economics and Law. He has been an active diasporic member in the campaigns to #BringBackNgonnso [Queen Mother of the Nso people]. In June 2022, he accompanied Sylvie Vernyuy Njobati, to witness the public handover of a letter from Mr Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), which authorised him to enter into a restitution agreement with the Cameroonian government and the Nso community, regarding Ngonnso.
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Godfrey B. Tangwa was born in Nso, North West Region of Cameroon, and remains deeply tied to this identity and the matters that affect Nsoland, despite his global career. He had his academic formation at the Universities of Nigeria in Nsukka, Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo) in Ile-Ife, and Ibadan in Ibadan. He lectured at the University of Ife from 1978-1986 and moved to the University of Yaounde in 1987. With doctoral specialization in epistemology and metaphysics and focal interest in Bioethics and African philosophy, he has taught courses in practically all branches of philosophy and risen steadily through the academic ranks from Assistant Lecturer (1979), Lecturer (1982), Senior Lecturer (1987), Associate Professor (1999) and Professor (2005). He is a member of numerous professional associations in many of which he has played a considerable leadership role. He is a member of the International Association of Bioethics (IAB), served on its Board of Directors from 1997-2003 and was its Vice-President from 1999-2001. He is a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences (CAS); the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) on whose Biospecimen and Data Governance Committee he serves as a member; Vice-Chairperson of the Cameroon Bioethics Initiative (CAMBIN) which he founded in 2005; an executive committee member of the Pan-African Bioethics Initiative (PABIN); Advisory Board Member and Chairpersonofthe Cultural, Anthropological, Social and Economic (CASE) work group of the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET). Professor Tangwa has over 100 publications to his credit, including 10 books, 25 book chapters and over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is recognized globally as an expert in Bioethics and African philosophy and has contributed significantly in the domain of bioethics especially to research ethics, research regulation and governance, international guidelines, ethics committee work and capacity-building in science and research on the African continent. He is currently a Senior Fellow in Governance & Ethics at the Nkafu Policy Institute, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Yaounde I, Cameroon, where he was Head of the Department of Philosophy from 2004-2009.
Affiliation(s): University of Yaoundé I Nkafu Policy Institute Cameroon Bioethics Initiative
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Published Work: In Defence of Theft?: On the Theft and Restitution of Ngonnso’ and Punitive Exhibitions (In Fifteen Colonial Thefts: A Guide to Looted African Heritage in Museums)
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Pierre Ismaël Bidoung Kpwatt is a Cameroonian academic, educator and social worker. He served as the Director of the National Institute of Youth and Sport (INJS) before becoming a minister. In 2015 he was appointed as the The Minister of Arts and Culture in Cameroon. In 2022, he was charged with putting together the Interministerial Committee for the Repatriation of Cultural Property Illegally Exported Abroad, to coordinate and facilitate restitution activities between Cameroon and Germany for ongoing grassroots demands.
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Ambassador Robert M. Masozera was appointed the Director General of Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy Inteko y'Umuco) in 2020. The mission of this academy is to preserve national heritage and safeguard the national language (KINYARWANDA), the culture and its values as a foundation of national unity and dignity. In this capacity, he is responsible for Rwanda's museums and historical sites, national archives and library services, cultural creative industries and cultural tourism. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Rwandan National Commission for UNESCO, which provides expert analysis and policy advice to the Rwandan government on UNESCO-related issues, and at the same time serves as the focal point for the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Rwanda. Prior to this appointment, he was the Director General of the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda (INMR) since October 2016. Previously, he was Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Kingdom of Belgium and Permanent Representative to the European Union (2011-2015) and Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Rwanda in Germany (2000-2007). This gave him extensive experience in diplomacy and foreign affairs in his country, Rwanda. Masozera holds a Master's degree in Political Science, International Relations and Journalism and Communication Sciences from the University of Vienna, Austria, obtained in 1999. His expertise is wide-ranging and covers fields as diverse as culture and heritage, diplomacy, international cooperation, communication and public relations, mass mobilization, foreign affairs, security, economic and trade issues. - Director General of National Museums of Rwanda [Institut National du Musées Rwandaise] (INMR) participated in the ‘Sharing Past and Future : Strengthening African-European connections' conference where he raised issues surrounding Belgium's possession of Rwandese archives, and demanded access. Later become DG of Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy.
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Mostafa Waziry is an Egyptian archaeologist and Egyptologist who served as the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities from September 2017 to March 2024. In this prominent role within Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, he directed the oversight of nationwide excavations, artifact preservation, and the promotion of archaeological research, contributing significantly to the global appreciation of ancient Egyptian civilization. Waziry managed the approval processes for archaeological missions across Egypt, ensuring compliance with preservation standards while facilitating over 50 active Egyptian-led excavations that contributed to major site developments in areas like Saqqara and Luxor. Under his leadership, the SCA strengthened international collaborations, forging agreements with entities like the Republic of Kazakhstan for the restoration of historical mosques, such as Al-Zahir Baybars in Cairo, and with South Korea for the preservation of Ramses II's temple at Abu Simbel.These partnerships not only provided technical expertise and funding but also promoted cross-cultural exchanges in antiquities management. Additionally, Waziry prioritized the repatriation of looted belongings, successfully recovering over 114 items smuggled to France in 2021 and three artifacts from the United Kingdom in the same year, actions that bolstered Egypt's efforts against illicit trafficking amid ongoing global challenges to cultural heritage security.
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Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. He is a research fellow at the Economic Research Forum for Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF) as well as at Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) in Poland. He works as a consultant to several international and national organizations including the World Bank, WTO, UNCTAD, UNDP, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and his special interests in research include mainly trade policy, trade in services, regional trade integration, the multilateral trading system, the World Trade Organization, the economics of Intellectual Property Rights, institutional economics, law and economics, and political economy in which he has published widely. Following a global career in trade policy, he returned to Egypt, as a Professor of Economics and Cairo University and In August, 2020 he was appointed as the Head of the Economic Authority of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). He serves as a board member for a number of institutions including NMEC, Grand Egyptian Museum, Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Fund for Tourism and Antiquities. He also served as an advisor to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development on trade policy issues. In October 2024, he was appointed as the CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
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Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist and public official, whose magnetic personality and forceful advocacy helped raise awareness of the excavation and preservation efforts he oversaw as head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Following a one-year postgraduate course in Egyptology at Cairo University, Hawass won a Fulbright fellowship and enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1987. He then returned to Egypt, where he was named general director of antiquities for the Giza pyramids complex as well as for the historical sites at Ṣaqqārah and Al-Wāḥāt al-Baḥriyyah (Bahariya Oasis). At Giza in 1990, Hawass discovered a necropolis that housed the tombs of the pyramid builders, which proved, contrary to then-popular fringe theories, that the pyramids were indeed erected by Egyptians. By the time he was appointed secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in 2002, Hawass was lauded for reclaiming Egyptology—for decades the province of Western scholars—for Egyptians. His zealous promotional efforts were seen to have engendered national pride and to have helped attract tourism. As head of the SCA, Hawass directed several other excavation projects that led to significant findings, including the discovery in 2008 of an Old Kingdom pyramid at Ṣaqqārah that was determined to belong to a queen of Teti. He also initiated the Egyptian Mummy Project, which used modern forensic techniques such as CAT scans to study both royal and nonroyal mummies. In 2009, facing mandatory retirement, Hawass was appointed Egypt’s Vice Minister of Culture, with responsibility for the SCA. Among his ongoing endeavours was the repatriation of several notable Egyptian artifacts from foreign museums, including the Rosetta Stone and the bust of Nefertiti. In July 2011 Hawass was one of more than a dozen government ministers removed from their posts in a cabinet reorganization meant to defuse widespread popular protests against the Egyptian interim government. In 2022, Hawass launched a renewed international campaign and online petition aimed at repatriating key ancient Egyptian artifacts from European museums. The campaign specifically focuses on three major items: the bust of Nefertiti, the Rosetta Stone, and the Dendera Zodiac.
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