DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE NATIONAL MUSEUMS CONCEPT NOTE

NATIONAL MUSEUMS WEBINAR “SAFEGUARDING THE SEYCHELLES BIODIVERSITY AND ITS CONSERVATION WORK’’

BACKGROUND

The Seychelles were the first country in the world to include conservation efforts in their constitution and, with around 60% of the Seychelles land mass being protected, they have the highest proportion of protected space in the world.

Two different sites in the Seychelles have been entered into the UNESCO World Heritage: the Vallée de Mai on Praslin and the Aldabra Atoll, while the country's own protection efforts cover a total of twenty distinct areas that require special care. All of the country's rare plant and animal species also fall under this same protection. The fact that such measures are required is due, in part, to the history of the archipelago. The first settlers were not aware of the importance of maintaining the natural environment of the islands if you want to inhabit the islands permanently, nor were they particularly interested in the latter at the time; as soon as an island was no longer useful, they simply would find a different island. Meanwhile, the native animals were killed and large sections of forest were cut down.

In the 1960s, people finally woke up to this reality when the British Government attempted to gain clearance to build a military base on the Aldabra Atoll. Environmental activists and scientists were able to defeat this project, contributing to a wider policy of sustainability. Since then, individual

islands we declared protected domains, former coconut plantations were dismantled, and native 1

Page flora was planted in their place in the 1970s. Private investors who owned other Seychelles islands followed this good example, and the Seychellois realised that this was not only good for themselves and for the environment, but also for the most important economic factor in the country, tourism.

The Environmental sustainability & resilience pillar seeks to protect our natural environment, human and ecological health, while driving innovation and enhancing our quality of life. In this regard, Seychelles has long been a champion. However, it must be ensured that we stay the course, ensuring conservation, preservation and protection of our natural and marine environment, while also seeking to further our development agenda. Increasing our energy and food security is also paramount to maintaining our resilience as we are currently almost entirely reliant on imported fossil fuels for electricity and imported food to feed our nation.

For school children, Environmental Education has been regarded as a compulsory subject until the senior level. Even Environmental Education is a subject of Graduation. But it is doubtful whether the students are really learning to protect the environment and work for its preservation or just learning it by heart to score in their exams. So, theoretical learning is not at all fruitful until supplemented by use of all five senses. In the context of globalization and rapid advancement of technological arena, Museums should take the challenge of preserving the environment. Creating Environmental awareness will not only be beneficial for the society, but at the same time museum will too be benefited. For environmental degradation in form of pollution is harmful for museum buildings and objects. Environmental education seeks to empower individuals with an understanding of environmental problems and the skills to solve them. Besides the traditional role of documenting and displaying, educational programmes, the Natural History Museum can take up challenges of implementing and inculcating the environment awareness to all target groups.

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PARTICIPANTS

The webinar is targeting maximum public so that they can acquire additional Knowledge about the preservation and conservation of our national biodiversity

DATE AND VENUE

Date: 30th June 2020 at 14h00 Seychelles time

Venue: Online

PARTNERS

Seychelles National Park Authority (SNPA), Seychelles Island Foundation (SIF)

ICOM Seychelles

OBJECTIVES

The objectives are:

To bring awareness in the protection and conservation of the Seychelles biodiversity.

To join forces with the NHM partners to use any forms to combat in reducing the threat to the Seychelles ecosystem.

To invite the public to use the Natural History Museum to help them in passing conservation messages.

To connect with our audiences during this pandemic

OUTCOME

The participants will have a better knowledge about the Seychelles biodiversity and the work that is being done by different partners in their respectful field. The museum will have attracted an audience that it will continue passing on the conservation messages.

CONTACT OF ORGANISER

Mrs. Nicole Barreau

Seychelles Natural History Museum

P.O Box 720, Victoria

Tel: 248 2822326 or 248 2514606

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Email [email protected] Page

PROGRAMME

TIME DETAIL 14:00- 14:05 Welcoming remarks Mrs. Beryl MN Ondiek Director of the Seychelles National Museums

14:05-14:15 Introduction of the webinar themes Ms. Karalyn Monteil, UNESCO, Regional Advisor for Culture in the Eastern Africa Region. 14:15- 14-25 Keynote Speech by Mr. Terry Nyambe Executive Board Member of the International Council of Museum (ICOM)

14:25- 14:35 Presentation by Dr. Elvina Henriette . The restoration work being done by Terrestrial Restoration Action Group (TRASS) to restore degraded sites in the Seychelles. 14:35 – 14:45 Presentation by Ms. Isabelle Ravinia . The work being done by Seychelles National Park Authority (SNPA), responsible for all of the marine and terrestrial national parks of Seychelles. 14:45-14:55 Presentation by Mr. Craig Francourt . Impact of Marine Debris on the Aldabra Atolls. Communication Consultant 14:55-15:10 Presentation by Ms. Nicole Barreau . The different activities held by the Seychelles Natural History Museum Club which goes towards the conservation of Seychelles biodiversity. 15:10-15:40 Presentation by Aurelie Hector . Work being done in the Seychelles World heritage site (Vallee De Mai) regarding the flora.

Presentation by Constance Tragett . Baiting event to control the level of Yellow Crazy Ant in the (Vallee de Mai) World Heritage site.

Presentation by Monica Griffitch . The work to preserve the Black Parrot in the Vallee de Mai (Vallee de Mai) 15:40 -15:50 Closing remarks by Ms. Cecile Kalebi Director of Seychelles Department of Culture

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BIOGRAPHIES OF PANELIST AND MODERATORS

MS. BERYL MN ONDIEK, Director of Seychelles National Museums, is an experience Museum Curator with a demonstrated history of working in the Museums and cultural Institutions. She is a skilled professional in Museums, Museum Education, Gallery Administration, and Cultural Heritage. Ms. Ondiek earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) focused in World Heritage and Cultural Projects for Development at the ITC-ILO University of Turin, United Nations Campus.

MS. KARALYN MONTEIL, Regional Advisor for Culture at the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. Karalyn joined UNESCO in 2001 and was previously based at the Organization’s Headquarters in Paris, France where she worked for the World Heritage and Museum programmes. She is now responsible for implementing UNESCO’s Culture Programme in Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Prior to joining UNESCO, Karalyn worked for the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) in Paris and the Department for Cultural Affairs in Chicago (USA). She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from the University of Dayton (USA) and earned a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester (UK).

MR. TERRY SIMIOTI NYAMBE, has been an Executive Board member of ICOM since July 2016. He has been a member of several committees in ICOM before joining the Executive Board. He has been a member of the Ethics Committee (ETHICOM) from 2011 to 2016. He has been a member of the ICOM Strategic Planning committee from 2014 to date. He was also a board member of the International Committee on Documentation (CIDOC) from 2013 to 2016. In Zambia, he served as chair for the ICOM national committee from 2010 to 2016. He works as Curator of Ichthyology at the Livingstone Museum in Livingstone, Zambia. He is a holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology, Masters in Natural Resources Management and Masters in Business administration (MBA). He has had an opportunity to study short courses in museology in Osaka, Japan.

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Dr. ELVINA HENRIETTE is a Conservation Biologist with a passion for nature. She is a biodiversity Consultant at the biodiversity Consultancy. Former Senior Project officer at the Ministry of Environment. Funding member of the Terrestrial Restoration Action Society of Seychelles (TRASS.) she has helped TRASS Seychelles to maintain its standards of work and achieve all its targets of the year. Her main interest is research and conservation of the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems. Elvina secondary interest is Conservation Education with the aim of finding ways to communicate science to the people and engaging them in environmental issues to build ecological awareness and an appreciation of their local environment. She also has a general interest in natural history.

MS. ISABELLE RAVINIA was a secondary teacher who is now working with the Seychelles National Park Authority. She is passionate about marine education; she teaches kids to snorkel. She organizes beach clean ups and tree planting, give talks and presentations on marine related topics. She uses social media a lot since it is a very effective means to raise awareness. Currently working with the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) managing the marine parks. Served as secretary on local NGO Sea Turtle Friends Seychelles, Isabelle is very vocal about the protection of the endangered sea turtle.

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MR. CRAIG FRANCOURT is an independent consultant specializing in Environmental Communications and Equity and Inclusion. He holds a BA in Politics from the University of Durham (UK). He runs CTF Consultancy, a Seychelles-based consulting firm that works with multi-sectoral stakeholders to deliver services in PR and Communications, Workforce Training, Youth Civic Engagement and Social Impact Monitoring and Evaluation. Craig has worked across a range of educational settings, conveying messages to diverse and underrepresented groups on key issues, including: Climate Adaptation, Conservation and Democratic Engagement. He has combined his experience in Project Management, Communications and Human-Centered Design to innovate Leadership and Democratic Engagement programmes for young people. He has also designed and coordinated messaging strategies in the media for national charities, both in Europe and Africa. Democratic Engagement. He has combined his experience in Project Management, Communications and Human-Centered Design to innovate Leadership and Democratic Engagement programmes for young people. He has also designed and coordinated messaging strategies in the media for national charities, both in Europe and Africa. Craig moved permanently to the Seychelles in 2016 to pursue his ambition of empowering under-served and marginalized communities in his home country. He co-founded SeyIT.tv, a free edutainment video platform that provides diverse faces in Seychelles with voices on the issues that matter to them. As a participant of the pioneering Aldabra Clean-Up Project, Craig and 10 other volunteers from Seychelles and the University of Oxford cleared the remote Aldabra Atoll – a UNESCO World Heritage Site once described by Sir David Attenborough as ‘one of the world’s greatest surviving natural treasures’ – of over 25 tons of marine debris during a five-week expedition. Craig is a Global Shaper who has served most notably as the Curator of the Victoria Hub (2018-19). He recently launched a Global Shapers Ambassadors initiative, which links talented teenagers from underrepresented backgrounds to capacity-building opportunities within civil society in Seychelles. He is currently developing an Environmental Leadership Programme for talented teenagers, to equip them with the knowledge and skills to effectively champion Climate Action causes in the country and wider region.

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MRS NICOLE SABRINA BARREAU, Assistant Museum Curator of Seychelles Natural History Museum. Has been working with the Seychelles Natural History Museum for fourteen years. Obtained a Certificate in General Management at the University of Seychelles. In 2015 she participated in JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program on Museums and Community Development organize by National Museum of Ethnology and the Lake Biwa Museum in Japan . In 2017 Nicole successfully attend the training by of the Centre My Museum: Your Museum: Developing meaning Experience for visitors of all Ages held in Beijing China. Over the years Nicole has a vast experience in Museum education, museum display and the outreach programme.

MS AURELIE HECTOR is a conservation biologist from Mauritius. She worked with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) for almost five years and worked on an island restoration project as the Round Island Senior Warden. Her role was to ensure that the island biosecurity was maintained, to remove emergent threats caused by invasive species introductions, to manage island infrastructure, and to train and supervise new staff, students, and volunteers. Aurelie also worked on the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) of Existence Project to protect a very unique species of snake. Aurelie’s love for nature has helped her to travel around the world and build her knowledge of wildlife conservation. She moved from Mauritius to Madagascar to England and now to the Seychelles where she has been working with SIF as the Vallée de Mai Science Coordinator

MS CONSTANCE TRAGETT obtained her BSc in Natural Sciences and her MSc in Conservation Sciences from Imperial College London where she first developed a dubious habit of working with dead invertebrates (entomology). Since then she has gained experience in a wide variety of fields including fund raising, wildlife rehabilitation, field techniques and project management but has a penchant for herpetology. Constance has worked for several organisations including the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Durrell and the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. Constance joined Seychelles Island Foundation in November 2019 where she has been working on the intense yellow crazy ant project. The yellow crazy ant project includes five monitoring surveys as well as large scale baiting

8 events in the world heritage site of the Vallée de Mai, Praslin, Seychelles.

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MS MONICA GRIFFITH has a BSc in Biology and English Literature and a Post Graduate Diploma in Endangered Species recovery. She spent two years in Australia learning to conduct a wide range of surveys and to use a variety of field skills. After nearly four years working with feral cats and wildcats she has turned her attention to parrots and spent a year in Mauritius where she worked on the Echo Parakeet recovery project (and developed a habit of climbing trees). Monica joined the Seychelles Islands Foundation in December 2018 when she took on the position of Black Parrot Project Officer: catching and ringing parrots, collecting movement and behaviour data by refighting ringed individuals and monitoring their breeding success (occasionally climbing trees to do so).

MS CECILE KALEBI is the Principal Secretary for the Department of Culture. She has held this portfolio since July 2017. Ms. Kalebi stated his path in the Art and Culture Field in 2004 when she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Archeology from the University of York, UK. She has 13 years’ experience in this filed. She holds a master’s degree in Public administration. She served on different art related committee such as Fetafrik, Kreole festivals etc. She is also a member of SACS

MEETING PLATFORM Use this link to connect: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3334165824?pwd=R3ZlNXRCQVRESzJvLzYwVjMxZWtHdz09

Meeting ID: 333 416 5824 Password: 7Wn1xZ

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