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On 27 January 2025, UNESCO will host a regional dialogue in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on return and restitution in Africa. The major gathering will examine the new forms of agreements and partnerships regarding requests for return and restitution of cultural property, as well as scientific or cultural cooperation established in this context. 

Bringing together a wide range of stakeholders from the African continent, a number of recent resolved cases of return and restitution will be presented. Innovative examples of effective partnerships as well as evolving forms of international cooperation will also be introduced. The event will bring together technical experts from Africa, as well as selected international experts, thereby strengthening ties between professionals and institutions in charge of these issues and providing concrete elements for decision-makers in their approach on the requests for the return and restitution of cultural property. 

This event will provide UNESCO Member States with an overview of new types of inter-institutional and inter-state agreements, as well as diverse initiatives including the creation of national committees responsible for the return and restitution. It will also be an opportunity to take stock of recent developments in museums and cultural institutions regarding the evolution of return and restitution and to discuss specific challenges. 

The presentations of resolved restitution cases may address specific issues, such as the question of cultural property from a colonial context, the role of the art market and in particular illicit online sales, and the impact of these illicit activities on communities and indigenous peoples. The discussions will also touch upon aspects related to living heritage () and sites inscribed on the World Heritage List ().

At least one representative of each sub-region in Africa will be invited, including museum institutions, public and private collectors, civil society and the youth. Experts from the two countries directly involved in the return and restitution cases will co-present, to demonstrate the joint collaborative nature of these new forms of return and restitution agreements.

This regional dialogue is in line with the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration unanimously adopted by 150 States at the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development - MONDIACULT 2022 - in Mexico, calling for “an open and inclusive international dialogue on the return and restitution of cultural property.” This marks the third event of the dialogue series, following the first roundtable on “New forms of partnerships and cooperation in the field of the return and restitution of cultural property” held on 27 June 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters, and the subregional Dialogue that was held in Guatemala on 9-10 December 2024.

UNESCO supports its Member States in requests for the return and restitution of cultural property through technical assistance and, as part of the fight against illicit trafficking, capacity-building activities for professionals, support for the development of museums and raising public awareness. Supporting museums and museum professionals with regard to requests for the return and restitution of cultural property is one of the main thrusts of UNESCO's Global Priority Africa "Fostering cultural heritage and capacity development".