January 20th: Foundation wants to transform Amílcar Cabral Museum into a true documentation center

In an interview with Inforpress regarding the 20th of January, National Heroes Day and which commemorates Cabral's death, Pedro Pires revealed that they are currently working towards its expansion and modernization to see if they can obtain more means to achieve it.

“Let's see if we can find the means and collaborations to expand the museum, improve what it can offer and here one of the challenges is the installation of a technological platform that allows all documentation to be consulted, because we are also working on Aristides Pereira's documentation.

The idea, he realized, is to make this Museum a true documentation center about the figure of Amílcar Cabral, but also about the liberation struggle.

“We will see how to connect it with other museums or other documentation centers, whether in Africa or in the United States, in Portugal, make this our documentation center, and join the network of large international documentation centers”, he said.

To this end, commander Pedro Pires argued that the Foundation, the site that houses the Amílcar Cabral Museum, in the City of Praia, should have access to more resources, arguing that it should have more generous people to support in this sense, aiming to improve its capacity and the issue of promotion for visits.

“Before Covid-19 we received a lot of visitors, then we got the impression of a reduction, but demand is starting again and I am convinced that with the activities commemorating Cabral's centenary the movement will grow much more”, he suggested.

Likewise, the president of the Amílcar Cabral Foundation asked for more partnerships to finance and install some busts of Amílcar Cabral that could be installed in certain locations in the capital and across the archipelago, as a way of remembering this figure that he considers “exceptional and remarkable” in history of Cape Verde, Africa and recognized worldwide.

This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Amílcar Cabral on the 12th of September, with activities beginning on the 20th of January, National Heroes Day, with the now traditional laying of a wreath at the Amílcar Cabral Memorial, in Cidade da Praia, at 09:00.

On the same day, the Marcha Cabral is also notable, with a gathering at 8:30 am, from the 1º de Maio da Fazenda roundabout, towards the central event that takes place at the Memorial presided over by the President of the Republic, José Maria Neves.

In addition to Cape Verde, several other initiatives are being planned abroad to commemorate the centenary, namely in European countries, the United States of America and other African countries.

Amílcar Lopes Cabral, founder of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), died after an armed struggle that began in 1962 against Portuguese colonialism and remains a central figure in the history of Africa, especially that of Cape Verde and from Guinea-Bissau.