BABU’S FIREPLACE was started on YOUTUBE ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW3bCTFYxyaAcF1EZontxyA) in September 2019 to give elders a platform to share with the young especially on various aspects of African cultural heritage while mentoring and sharing with them with a vision of creating tomorrow's leaders. The effort is led by Prof. Francis X. Gichuru, a parent, grandfather/‘Babu’ (in Kiswahili language is widely spoken in Kenya/East Africa), educationist, linguist, teacher, creative, Founder – African Cultural Regeneration Institute (ACRI), Accredited UNESCO NGO in Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
PAST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES - 6th -8th September, 2011, Kolkata, West Bengal- INDIA - International Seminar on Art for Livelihood – Heritage in Development, organised by Banglanatak dot com. Building on the experience of banglanatak dot com and its Art for Livelihood project, the Seminar aimed at exploring and advocating the case of investing in culture as an alternative means to carve a new path for the development of rural India. Easter Ciombaine (ACRI), sharing experiences of Kenya on the same subject. Key seminar highlight: Traditional cultural and artistic practice of rural communities should be acknowledged and nurtured as full-fledged professional skill and integrated as part of national skill development policy. There is need to give same priority, support and focus to development of such skill as done for livelihood skills.
CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS- ACRI sent two (2) participants in 2013 & 2014; Caleb Wandera (2013) and Jesee Muriuki (2014) for the Cultural Partnership Initiative (CPI), 'Joint Research for Project Officers in the field of Cultural Heritage', hosted by Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation. Great cultural end learning experiences with comments such as, ''the tours reminded me of the importance of safeguarding not only Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) but also the Tangible culture." This is important in engaging the current generations to fully understand their cultural history, heritage and origins. Thank you for the invite and great hosting Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation.
(PICTURE: 2013 CPI participants outside the Manjanggul Lava Tube- the largest tube in the world)
PAST CONFERENCES

ACRI participated in the Arterial Networks' African Creative Economy Conference in Dakar (2012) and Cape Town (2013). African Creative Economy Conference (ACEC) is a means to reflect on the state and growth of the African creative economy and its contribution to development in Africa.
Capacity Building Workshop For Cultural Heritage Stakeholders, 22nd – 23rd April 2014, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi - Kenya.
THEME: Harnessing Culture for Sustainable Development.
Organized by: Cultural Heritage Department, National Museums of Kenya (NMK) & African Cultural Regeneration Institute (ACRI).
This workshop was held in support of devolution with the newly devolved counties in charge of cultural functions to demonstrate the huge untapped cultural resource that can propel the country to economic, social and environmental stability, as it has been the case in many other countries of the world. International case studies of country experiences were presented by country representatives of South Korea, Nigeria and Mexico.
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Research assistant Lydia being served food in a private museum in Teso, Busia county.
In the project implemented in 2011-2012, ‘Unearthing the Gems of Culture, Mapping exercise for Kenya’s Creative Cultural Industries’, funded USD 100,000 by UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity with technical assistance from UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), Montreal/Canada >> https://en.unesco.org/creativity/ifcd/projects/mapping- cultural-industries.
(Prof. Francis X. Gichuru, Founder/Chair (ACRI) attending the 14.COM, UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of ICH, Bogota, Columbia in December 2019)

ACRI is actively involved in the 2003 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention which celebrates and promotes the living heritage of mankind. ACRI forms part of the Accredited NGOs to the ICH Convention since 2010 and the ICH NGO FORUM, www.ichngoforum.org. It was a member of Consultative Body UNESCO/ICH for 2 years, 2010-2012.

https://ich.unesco.org/en/intangible-heritage-domains-00052
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COLLABORATION ACRI partnered with Design Power Consultants (DEPCONS) in project fundraising and hosting the initial 2011 African Stones Talk (AST) International Stone Sculpture Symposium in Kisii-Kenya. This symposium was made possible by the sponsorship of USD 25,000 from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) of the 2005 UNESCO's Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and many other local partners. http://globalarts.atwebpages.com/AST/index.php. The symposium has had several editions, hosted many experienced artists of international stature and the future of the event is promising. More information on the event: ttps://www.facebook.com/astsymposium/ (PICTURE: 2011, Tzvetanka Koykova, a Bulgarian/Belgium sculptor with a local apprentice artist.)

BABU’S FIREPLACE

#BabusFireplace platform is giving elders an opportunity to share with the young various aspects of African cultural heritage that is fast disappearing with the various forces of globalization, modernization and is largely undocumented threatening its transmission. The ways of passing on African culture traditionally was done aurally/via narration and memory.
This idea has become more interesting during this #COVID19 period as children have not been going to school until January next year (In Kenya). The role of our elders in providing informal education as it was in the past would be most useful at this time.
Creative methods of content delivery and interaction will be used to keep the initiative entertaining, always a learning experience and relevant to the child of today's world.

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