ABSTRACT
The following conversation with George Abungu aimed to profit from Abungu's rich knowledge of the African museum landscape. Abungu is a Cambridge-trained archaeologist and Emeritus Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya. He is a leading expert in museology, questions of restitution, and heritage management with prominent executive and advisory positions in international organization like the International Council of Museums (ICOM), UNESCO World Heritage, the Global Heritage Fund and many others. He has been a guest scholar and visiting lecturer at numerous institutions, including the Getty Conservation Institute and Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, and is a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies in South Africa. His scholarly and advocacy work has earned him multiple awards like the Ife Prize in Museology (2007) and the Chevalier de l'Ordre de Arts et des Lettres by the Government of the Republic of France (2016). In 2018 he was awarded with the honor of Ordre National Du Lion Chevalier, by the president of Senegal for his contribution in the creation of the Musée des Civilisations Noires in Dakar, Senegal.
