Commission adopts technology to boost museum industry

ACTING Director-General of National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr Emeka Onuegbu, has said that the Commission was poised to adopt technology in its operations so as to create a boost in the sub-sector of Nigeria’s economy.

He made this known as Nigeria joined other Museums the world over, to commemorate the 2018 International Museum Day, recently in Abuja.

The day has been set aside by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), to create and raise public awareness about the important roles and place of the Museum in the society.

The theme of the 2018 celebration is “Hyper-connected Museums: New Approaches, New Publics” and focuses on advancement in technology, communication and internet connections with one another as an approach to making the audience  view of museum products more enticing, exciting and fulfilling.

Onuegbu said: “In line with current cultural global trends, Nigerian museums are poised to embrace digital tools and technologies to make deeper and more personalised connections with their many audiences and redefining success, as related to increase in the number of visitors.

“Thanks to technology, museums can now reach many beyond their core audience and find new publics, when approaching their collections in different ways, such as digitisation of their collections, access to virtual museum, adding multi-media elements to the exhibition or other innovations that allow visitors to share experiences on social media,” he said.

He, however, called for more funding for the Commission to make the exciting job of preservation and promotion of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage more rewarding.