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UNESCO completes Post Cyclone Freddy Assessment on Culture Sector in Malawi
UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa engaged three experts in heritage, culture and the creative industries to collaborate with the Malawian Government in carrying out a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) on Tropical Cyclone Freddy’s impact on the culture and heritage sectors in Malawi which was completed over 20 days with the final report expected to be shared end of July, 2023.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy fell in March causing torrential rains, flooding, and catastrophic mudslides across the southern part of Malawi affecting 2,267,458 people and multiple sectors of the economy, the culture and heritage sector included. A Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and proposed response and recovery plan will be supported by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund.
“Three important observations from the recently concluded field component of the Malawi culture Post Disaster Needs Assessment exercise are related the expanded thinking by individuals beyond impacts to historical structures, revenue and human resources, and ways of looking at how intangible heritage or traditional community governance is impacted; opportunities provided for ‘smaller’ often excluded voices; and how individuals and communities are keen to see cultural heritage being made more resilient”
During the 20-day mission, the assessors visited ten cities and towns and engaged over 50 key stakeholders, including government and non-governmental entities; creative, cultural and heritage institutions and centers; artisan and artist collectives; as well as individual creative and cultural practitioners. They also held workshops to capacitate local authorities, site managers and tour guides, caretakers of collections, and creative practitioners on conducting post disaster need assessments in their areas of work.
Local communities were actively involved in data collection during the assessment, learning and sharing their experiences with the lead experts.
"The PDNA workshop was very good for me as a site manager; I feel well-equipped to respond to a disaster of a similar nature as the one we experienced”
The three experts gathered more insights as they conducted workshops across the cities and towns they visited.
Matthews Mfune from Dungani Zakwathu Cultural Heritage Association expressed how the assessment made him aware of the need to build institutional resilience.
“We really need to document and list Institutional, Culture and Heritage bearers, practitioners and materials in areas that are disaster-prone, often affected by cyclones and often impacted by relocation or displacement”
The first of its kind in Malawi, the Culture Sector needs assessment includes details from the data collection process, such as the physical impacts of the disaster, the economic value of the damage and losses, the human impact as experienced by the affected population and the related recovery needs and priorities. Desk research will complement the consolidated report to comprehensively address the impact of the cyclone and the recovery needs and priorities for research institutions, built heritage and archaeological sites, moveable heritage, collections, depositories, living heritage and culture and creative industries.
The finalized PDNA report will be presented to the Malawian government, as well as heritage, creative and culture sector stakeholders in July 2023.
