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The Exhibition "Lucy
Legacy: Hidden Treasures of
Ethiopia" The Ministry of
Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia and the Houston
Museum of Natural Science of Texas, USA on October
24/2006 signed an agreement to mount an exhibition
entitled "Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of
Ethiopia" The agreement was
signed by the Ethiopian Minister of Culture and
Tourism, Ambassador Mohammed Drir and the President
of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Mr. Joel
A. Bartsch. Following the
signing of the agreement, Ambassador Mohammed Dirir
said the centerpiece of this Ethiopian Exhibition
in the United States will be Lucy, but nearly 190
other Ethiopian Heritages items from various
regions of the country will be included. These
range form humankinds' earliest stone tools to
contemporary articles representing the legacy of
our forebears and of our own time. The Ambassador
further said that millions of Americans-school
children and adults- will view in some eleven major
museums across the United States these fabulous
collections from the cradle of human kind,
Ethiopia. He went on to say that they will have the
opportunity to somberly reflect on human origins,
they will have a chance to know about an ancient
millennia-old civilization in Africa, and a chance
to acquaint themselves with contemporary Ethiopia
through a realistic image. According to
Ambassador Mohammed Drir, the gains for Ethiopia
comprise primarily: positive image building;
renewed interest in Ethiopia's tourist attractions
and consequent increase in tourist flow from
America to Ethiopia, and funds for capacity
building at Ethiopian museums for heritage
conservation. The touring exhibition will have its
premier opening in Houston, Texas in September
2007, coinciding with the beginning of Ethiopia's
Millennium Year, and travel to other metropolises,
with home coming to Addis Ababa scheduled for may
2013. In conclusion
Ambassador Mohammed said, "Our partners in this
exhibition project, the Houston Museum of Natural
Science, are a world class-museum with a highly
deserved reputation for staging great exhibitions
involving priceless objects from China, the
Vatican, Russia and other countries." The President of
the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences of Texas,
USA, Mr. Joel A. Bartsch said "On behalf of the
staff and trustees of the museum, I truly want to
say what I am honored is to be here with you this
morning, primarily, in the spirit of partnership.
It is easy, as some people say that today is
signing of this historic exhibition agreement, is
the culmination or the ending of something. And, in
many ways, it is the culmination of a lot of years
of effort." He further said
"Over the past several years, we have been working
with our partners with people of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, distinguished members of
National Coordinating Committee and our many
colleagues throughout the Ethiopian museum
community to make today's signing a reality.
"However, while this a very important milestone,
what today is really is, it is the formal
acknowledgement of a partnership among friends." He
went to say that it is a partnership that has
developed over several years and one that we
believe will last for many decades to
come. Mr. Bartsch said
that, the Houston Museum has, in recent years
worked with partners around the world on a wide
variety of exhibitions including with the forbidden
city of the Imperial Palace in Beijing, China, with
Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition with the Israeli
Antiquities Authority, and churches of the Vatican
from Vatican City. Mr. Bartsch pointed
out that "none of these exhibitions is more
important than the Lucy Legacy Exhibition that we
are talking about today." He gave further
explanations to his argument in the following
words: "In a way, that is because, whether you are
looking at the pre-historic period partly by Lucy
and now Selam, stretching back millions of years.
But from the historic period of Ethiopia, that
stretches back thousands of years. Ethiopia's rich
cultural heritage and the vibrant country that it
is today, is one of the best kept secrets in the
world. And it is a story that needs to be told much
more broadly." As Bartsch put it,
Ethiopia truly has a great deal to share with the
world. It has a great deal that it can learn from
Ethiopia. We believe that this exhibition, in
partnership with Ethiopian people, will go a very
long way towards making that goal a reality, he
added. these objects.
These are beyond cash value. In the west, we are in
the mindset of thinking of putting tags on
anything. But we are more concerned on the
historic, spiritual, and the partnership part of
it. But the agreement stipulates that there is an
insurance which is appropriate and full. And the
Houston Museum of Natural Science is a museum that
has an experience of 30 years in dealing with
highly valuable objects. Gezahgen Kebede President, Ethio-American Trade & Investment Council Honorary Consul General of Ethiopia www.eatic.org - One World. Many Cultures. Endless Possibilities.
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