Uganda joined the rest of the world in celebrating the 2026 International Museum Day (IMD), on Monday 18th May, emphasising the role of museums in promoting cultural heritage, unity, and sustainable development.
The celebrations featured a number of activities including exhibitions, public dialogues, storytelling sessions, youth innovation activities, and community engagements designed to promote empathy, shared identity, and collective responsibility for heritage preservation. On the main day, a procession moved from the Uganda Railway Museum to the Rugby Grounds, where officials showcased artefacts.
The event was held under the international theme, “Museums Uniting a Divided World,” and Uganda’s national theme, “Museums as Bridges of Unity and Shared Heritage,” reflected on the transformative role of museums in society as being the dynamic centres of education, dialogue, innovation, reconciliation, and community engagement.
Speaking at the event, Tom Butime, the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, highlighted that Uganda, endowed with rich cultural diversity and a vibrant historical legacy, is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how heritage can be harnessed to strengthen national unity and peaceful coexistence.
“Our museums and heritage sites embody the stories, values, struggles, achievements, and aspirations that connect us as one people despite our cultural diversity,” he said.
In addition, Butime emphasized the role of Museums in bridging generations by connecting young people with the wisdom, knowledge, and experiences of their ancestors, communities by creating safe and inclusive spaces where different cultures can encounter one another with respect and understanding, the past and the future by ensuring that modernization and development do not erase identity, memory, and heritage as well as nations by fostering intercultural cooperation and promoting global solidarity.
“This is why the Government of Uganda continues to prioritise cultural heritage within national development frameworks, including Vision 2040 and the National Development Plan,” he said. The Minister added that the preservation and promotion of heritage are not merely cultural obligations, but they are strategic investments in tourism development, social cohesion, patriotism, peace building, and economic transformation.
Butime also commended the department of museums and monuments, museum professionals, curators, conservators, researchers, educators, and community custodians across the country for their tireless work in preserving Uganda’s cultural and natural heritage, saying, “Your dedication ensures that future generations inherit not only artefacts and monuments, but also the stories, values, and knowledge systems that shape our national identity.”
Doreen Katusiime, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities explained that besides the ongoing renovations of the Uganda museum, the Ministry has also refurbished the Mugaba Palace Heritage Site in Mbarara City, preserving its original architectural identity; advanced the construction of the Karamoja Regional Museum in Moroto; and undertaken preservation works at the Mwanga-Kabalega heritage site at Kangai in Dokolo District.
“These investments reflect the government’s recognition that museums are not merely custodians of the past, but strategic institutions for education, tourism development, innovation, and national unity,” she added.
Katusiime also noted that the Ministry has further gazetted several historic buildings and heritage sites, including the Parliament of Uganda, the National Theatre, Namirembe Cathedral, Rubaga Cathedral, and Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Luba Thurstone heritage site; several historical buildings in Jinja City and local government; among others, to strengthen legal protection and heritage conservation across the country.
She therefore emphasised that this year’s celebrations in Jinja City were particularly significant because it represents an important intersection of Uganda’s cultural, industrial, and tourism heritage.
“Hosting IMD 2026 here provides an opportunity to showcase the rich heritage of the Busoga sub-region while strengthening local participation in cultural tourism and heritage conservation,” PS Katusiime remarked.
Other dignitaries who graced the ceremony included; Mirjam Blaak Sow, the Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Belgium, Ambassador Anne Katusiime, Salim Komakekech, the Jinja Resident City Commissioner, Jinja City Mayor, Abdulhafidh Nagaya, the Director of Tourism Dr Basil Ajer, Commissioner Docus Rukundo, and Jacqueline Nyiracyiza Besigye, the Ag Commissioner for Museums and Monuments among others.
In a world increasingly challenged by divisions of culture, ideology, geography, and generations, museums remain bridges that bring people together through shared stories, through collective memory and mutual understanding, museums do preserve the identity of our people, they do safeguard our heritage and inspire the future generations to appreciate the richness and diversity of humanity.
Museums remind us that despite our differences, we are connected through nature, through culture, through creativity, and through history in Uganda, and across the world. They continue to evolve from being silent storehouses of artefacts into vibrant centres of education, innovation, tourism, research, and community engagement. Museums are now spaces where conversations are sparked, traditions are celebrated, and societies are strengthened.
The Jinja celebrations underscored how museums can serve as bridges for dialogue, reconciliation, and community pride.
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