hello and welcome to the travel show with me, rajan datar. now, it s widely believed that the first ever museum was built more than 2,500 years ago in babylon, or modern day iraq. and now unesco reckons there are 100,000 of them throughout the world. but today, many museums are putting a lot of time and effort into thinking about how they can make their collections more engaging and more in tune with modern audiences. and that is what we re looking at in this week s show, starting here in belgium. the african museum in tervuren, just outside of brussels, is marking its 125th anniversary. and along with a range of events associated with that, the museum s taken the opportunity to reflect on its colonial past. five years ago, the museum underwent a massive renovation, removing problematic statues, changing the labelling around objects, anything that created a negative stereotype about africa. though some things couldn t be changed, like the enduring presence of the monarch who
on the travel show: i m in belgium, where past, present and future meet. now, it s widely believed that the first ever museum was built more than 2,500 years ago in babylon, or modern day iraq. and now unesco reckons there are 100,000 of them throughout the world. but today, many museums are putting a lot of time and effort into thinking about how they can make their collections more engaging and more in tune with modern audiences. and that is what we re looking at in this week s show, starting here in belgium. the african museum in tervuren, just outside of brussels, is marking its 125th anniversary. and along with a range of events associated with that, the museum s taken the opportunity to reflect on its colonial past. five years ago, the museum underwent a massive renovation, removing problematic statues, changing the labelling around objects, anything that created a negative stereotype about africa. though some things couldn t be changed, like the enduring presence of th
about how they can make their collections more engaging and more in tune with modern audiences. and that is what we re looking at in this week s show, starting here in belgium. the african museum in tervuren, just outside of brussels, is marking its 125th anniversary. and along with a range of events associated with that, the museum s taken the opportunity to reflect on its colonial past. five years ago, the museum underwent a massive renovation, removing problematic statues, changing the labelling around objects, anything that created a negative stereotype about africa. though some things couldn t be changed, like the enduring presence of the monarch who established this place. so here, this hall represents really the two discourses that are taking place in the museum. and you can see, if you lift your head, the name of the late king leopold ii encrypted in everyone s hall. but also, here you actually have an inscription that says in french, la belgique apportant la civilis
objects, anything that created a negative stereotype about africa. though some things couldn t be changed, like the enduring presence of the monarch who established this place. so here, this hall represents really the two discourses that are taking place in the museum. and you can see, if you lift your head, the name of the late king leopold ii encrypted in everyone s hall. but also, here you actually have an inscription that says in french, la belgique apportant la civilisation au congo. belgium brought civilisation to congo? exactly, exactly. it s a very problematic one. how come these are still here, that plaque and that statue? that s a question that every visitors ask us. it s because the building is protected, it s part of the flanders cultural heritage. so we cannot touch anything from the walls of the building. right.