we speak different languages we fight for different things that's fine but we all stick up for freedom freedom of speech and freedom of press. giving freedom of choice global news that matters w made for minds. hello and welcome tots twenty one. but lin has a new landmark humbled forum is set to open in late summer in a replica oppression palace and it's long been one of germany's most hotly debated and ambitious cultural projects. it's a symbol of place that will welcome the world. in terms of investigation into the provenance of the artifacts the humbled form has lost ten years if i. may quote say

this with. the whole book for one of two things just to see. in the future. the genesis of the humboldt forum and the challenge is our focus this week on twenty one but let's go back to the beginning. on september seventh one thousand nine hundred fifty the government of the german democratic republic blew up the berlin city palace. it didn't fit with the ideology of the new socialist state. dominating the district of berlin mitta it had been the residence of prussian kings in the german kaiser for over two centuries now it was history. the palast daily public was built in its place the seat of the east german parliament the foxconn and a venue for key events. german reunification heralded the end of the people's

palace in one nine hundred ninety the building was closed due to as best as the discussion regarding the new image of berlin mr had begun. fans of the building fought to keep the palace to republic others advocated for the reconstruction of the prussian palace even erecting a huge mark beside in the summer of one nine hundred ninety three. a third option a modern new building seemed to have no chance. on july fourth two thousand and two the german bundestag voted with a clear majority to reconstruct the old historic city palace. down to the tiniest detail a computer simulation was created. a lot of work. but nothing compared to the reality of executing the project. the pilaster of the

public and to be demolished then international architects were invited to tender their ideas italian architect frank costo won the tender his design is based on the baroque original just the eastern facade is modern. but what are the new palace be used for there it's an issue that sparked a lot of debate the idea that one in the end is to create a forum for a world culture is housing berlin's extensive non european collections in tandem with the european art on the neighboring museum island. the on board forum is named after the famous researcher and universal scholar alexander one hundred. construction began in june two thousand and twelve the government is for writing five hundred ninety million euros funding an extra one hundred million euros have been collected in donations to reconstruct the baroque for side.

aside from the building itself the current focus is on the objects displayed inside restitution of colonial era art. facts is a matter of heated debate and one the new make him use the i'm confident. a gruesome murder carved in stone and discovered by chance in guatemala in the nineteenth century. incredible boats from oceania fit for the high seas but without a single nail. and a cave from china where buddhist monks prayed over one hundred thousand years ago. treasures from berlin's enormous collection. prussian rulers started these collections over two hundred years ago today they belong to the pression cultural heritage foundation the key player in the new book form. around five

hundred thousand exhibits will be on display from all continents mostly acquired in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. known busty here competitions to be the provenance all the history of the exhibits there biographies how they were made what their original function was how they were acquired and how they made their way into various german collections that's a part of the research on these objects which has become a key focus in recent years. and it's now an emotion and in focus could. the times when cultural artifacts could simply be put on display in european museums are over. the flagship project at their home board forum is raising questions about the provenance and history of objects shedding light on german colonialism a chapter of german history which was long surprised in the public consciousness. were these items stolen looted. or acquired by illegal means.

the humble forum has announced that it will host twenty thousand exhibits from berlin's ethnological collection. over one thousand of them are from africa. from the late nineteenth century until one nine hundred eighteen the german i had for african colonies the native population was not only exploited brutally and slaved robbed and killed. during this period the german kaiser received a valuable gift the lavish throne of the king of bomb in northwestern cameroon at the time a german colony. what is the significance of such a gift when it is not among equals the sculptures and basques where they purchased or are they the spoils of war. oftentimes i think we have to deal with this issue

openly and transparently and face up to our past but for them it's a unique opportunity for the humble foreign we can only find a new way into the future by working together jointly with the countries and peoples of origin and by reappraising our past together begin to confront. the pression cultural heritage foundation has been carrying out provenance research for over ten years but recently it's been more intensive and rigorous no doubt as a reaction to the public debate and protests from organizations representing the victims of the restitution of certain objects that were proven to have been acquired by illegal means has taken place in the glare of the media is ham on parting or afraid that his cultural collections good slowly diminish. his answer is diplomatic. there is no museum director in the world who can singlehandedly decide which objects should be rested to take from their museum

it's a decision of the state boards and organizations have to make these decisions and so i think it's important to create a national or as i prefer to see. hey a european international consensus on how the restitution should take place to have some kind of ground rules on how to proceed. this could take a while in the meantime exhibits have been on the move to their own board for at full speed the estelle logical museum in berlin data where the collection was housed up to now has been closed for some time the last visitors came here in january twenty seventh team since then things have been packed. restored. and dusted off. the famous south seas boat said to be put in a disinfestation covered to prevent any harmful insects from moving with them.

transporting larger objects is a challenge in daraa a wall was broken through and a gap was left in the facade of the on board farm which was closed up after the exhibits were put in and. none of these objects can be moved again easily we'll soon have pride of place in this exciting contemporary exhibition. was in the museums are no longer temples of contemplation they're more like social libertarius that's why it's so fascinating to work in that the humble foreign will be an extremely attractive place to visit. within the next five years from its plans to set the framework for returning cultural artifacts taken from the african countries of origin. two of the experts advising president emanuel mccraw on the issue you took time out to talk to us twenty one. sar forty six years old is an economist from senegal. going to serve or you also

forty six is a professor for art history in berlin and paris both are advisors to french president manuel my call. in a speech in brooklyn a fuss over nov twenty seventh teen mark karr nonstate france would be arrested today looted art and artifacts from its former colonies. i'm sorry written a feasibility study on this issue with some politically explosive content. and if you do have a there are around ninety thousand objects in the french national museums and we were able to prove that two thirds of them entered the collections during the colonial era either spoils of war or through scientific expeditions purchased as gifts or bequests. if appropriation of the property occurred against the will of the people we researched whether there are restitution claims in the countries of its origin in this particular. sort of situation to begin the fun always does that

in most cases there was no permission to take the objects plenty of reports confirm this also whether with scientific expeditions in fear of your vessel we recommend that if there is a restitution claim the objects should be returned without any great difficulty. as an immediate in the media we read about a fear that museum showcases will be empty in five years. is that realistic the us and is this a list of those that already thought that no it's not the object paintings of the collections over centuries and they won't all be returned within five years. and soon there is evidence of mt hood a few key pieces which are very important for the history or identity of the country of origin we're talking about a few hundred most you know tens of thousands of objects the same thousand and four how were the reactions to president micron's idea for us to choosing artifacts

or looted art with us to have had to him via the reactions we heard were varied we traveled through four african francophone countries to talk to ak ali. in the republic of beneath the memory of the destruction of the kingdom by the french the memory of french colonial history is still very strong. as they ought to do is to everybody remembers that there was a king there he was sent into exile and that a palace was burned down. perhaps not everyone knows that two thousand objects then found their way to paris but once you know that objects came to paris then as a result of this plunder well even a school child can put two and two together those who can't take notes. and along with that african curators have thought about how to fill the empty spaces left in european museums off to the restitution for me this means important

consideration of the relationship the exchange between africa and europe we have a book off in your book of return which has now been published in german you describe how africa is always described from outside as a continent in decline dying and riddled with catastrophes. what does the current debate about restitution say about the way europe perceives africa today of africa it's interesting lea we are now hearing arguments which reveal a deep seated come dissension towards africa that there are no museums there or that africans are incapable of taking care of their own works of art or cultural heritage not everyone is saying it how loud but many people are convinced that the objects would be much safer in europe and it would even be for the good of africa if they were kept in europe. it means we have a lot of work ahead to decolonized the european perception of africa they couldn't even regard the poor and yet it's provenance research has only really just got

going yet the humble foreign member lynn is about to open in twenty nineteen how can that work that's giving them as what this thing was in my recommendation would be that the museum is accomplished. inventor a is this would basically mean that we see museums in the same way as libraries a library without a catalogue is just a pile of books that look under museum without an inventor e which is available to the public is simply a pile of objects that no one really knows what to do with. advice on fun come what good is it what does this debate mean to you personally but to the sort of as with the result that they mean it's important to show the dark side of museums that normally only show us their best science as a consequence of the transparency of the provenance of the stories of where the objects actually come from that's very important to me it's vis now we have this debate we've been everyone knows that the background of these collections is a difficult one. for me and that's a big step. daughter by me thanks for talking to us and.

the multi-disciplinary humboldt lab tanzania project explores preston's of cultural heritage with reference to the tanzania and aunty facts appropriated during the years of german colonial rule. a plate with mysterious inscriptions brought to berlin in eighteen ninety six as a cheap wardrobe. for years it was mistaken for a gong. after one hundred twenty years it's true purpose has finally come to light . the photos and we showed pictures of it to scribes near the city of kill workers who want to wear this object had originally been expropriated and they were able to decipher the writing presence of heart and. it turned out to be a story from the qur'an. which clearly showed that this object was a protective thomas. protection perhaps in the

battle against german colonial rule. for three years the humble tanzania examined objects that had found their way to the ethnological collections as war trophies and spoils objects that the german occupiers in east africa had often taken with brute force. and it was that was a comment like that in a way you could say it was a sort of collective morning with these colleagues it brought up so many emotions. about seven thousand kilometers further south in darkness a lot more tanzania's government sits. tucked away between modern skyscrapers are witnesses to the country's colonial past the germans created these botanical gardens nearby the national museum partner of their home both tanzania.

there are over ten thousand artifacts from former germany east africa still stored in berlin alone. it was a shock knowing that they have a lot of connections that belong to the company or the former chairman calling your question but. these connections were not on display they were close by this storage so no one knew where that the company i knew or the german knew. the university of dar es salaam also helped to determine the origins and meanings of what was found a difficult process. the fact is that most of these objects if they were planned and they looked to mean that it is a very of it's working for their ship about the biography. oh.

it's. lies an hour and a half north of doris alone it was the capital of former german east africa between eighteen eighty five and nineteen eighteen the dream of the german empire of being a colonial power finally came true. for tanzania it was a nightmare. this is where they hang those who dared to rebel against forced labor inflated taxes corporal punishment between one thousand nine hundred five and one thousand nine hundred seven some three hundred thousand tons of new young people died in what became known as the rebellion a scorched earth policy. today the buildings are rented by the invaders are crumbling germany is willing to support restorations but there is no talk of restitute ing their massive theft of cultural assets. back at the museum in dar es salaam the historical section hardly shows any african exhibits of german colonial

rule an empty space that could be filled with plates like this inscribed with us from the qur'an. if they were inspired in scripture and we. inspired the five at the end of the day they would have made you the. money. so that. because. we had. you know the. system against. what would returning these objects mean for historians and museums. i think it took me a milestone. fights because now they will have all of the. hairy. things to

look on and to reflect on into the research on and again this is the time because that's right on history. the first small step has been made. the findings and interpretations made by the african partners of that. will be incorporated into the tanzania collection in the form. that. i would have just said tough he's to. for there would be present and that's it would be extremely disturbed when all of that is nothing about it but you're a sentry interpretation. that's the humbled foreignness completion curators at thinking about how to best showcase the many exhibits we met direct our hearts much for a tour of what's still very much

a work in progress. germany's most prominent construction site is approaching the finish line for six and a half years workers have been busy here day and night one hundred thousand square meters and six hundred million euros of pure construction costs all according to plan they say. it's still hard to believe that by the end of twenty nineteen berlin will finally be rid of the scaffolding. to burrow for side is almost completely reconstructed just like the modern east wing. the famous true giove courtyard is still surrounded by scott building and it looks like a building site on the inside to. here in the main entrance hall. plans to receive the first guests to the forum later this year. they offered in yes and built as a border security guard with a symbolic just. maybe a private tour they could share salt and bread

a tradition in many cultures or they could blow out alexander from home both birthday candles two hundred fifty of that isn't about find out from facebook. but xander from homework the impressive scholar and explorer predicted human induced climate change back in one thousand nine hundred known centuries later experts from all fields will come together here under his name to discuss further challenges of our age globalization colonialism digitalisation. this is even though it's not just a museum an exhibition space it's also a conference center and event location with a theater and dancing and food you can go up to the roof or a view of berlin scene it's got a lot to offer that's why they call it a forum it's got a permanent program and a changing program. and fix and program. a program that will fill these grandiose rumors the building has been a challenge for construction workers and exhibition organizers

a line. at first all that will open is a berlin show to see world cultures the audience will have to wait until twenty twenty and still are to imagine our masks flint axes and bronze plates will look year but i'm bald forum they're optimistic that if the eyes of the architecture helps the interior it won't just be plain identical exhibition halls the rooms differ greatly and that opens up all sorts of possibilities of how to set the scene for each exhibition and with each new temporary exhibition we'll see a different signature design of. in one showroom a wooden wall this is where several of the controversial bening bronzes are to be displayed that were stolen from africa one hundred twenty years ago france will return the ones it took but berlin has yet to make up its mind so for now the. busts stay. but they'll be moved to the humbled forum and displayed with video

recordings that will include critical voices from their place of origin today's nigeria. i'm one can see he principle is to offer a space for other voices it isn't only the curators who tell us about their view of things but we are ask other researchers and people from the societies of our region what it means to them today. we also ask critics of the exhibitions of at the nautical museums this will give our form many different voices was refused to make the top. dog at all promises that not only should the story of the original significance of an object be told in the home board forum but also the story of its acquisition but also goes where on jacks from former german colonies yet the current discussion regarding african cultural heritage is causing tension dealing with it responsibly remains a challenge yes country it's important to me that we don't lead this discussion the

europeans shouldn't decide on restitution alone it should be a joint decision with the countries of origin of the humble forum should be a place where this discussion can take place and where we present something that tells a story. like these objects from tanzania. a special exhibition will focus on the joint german african provenance research. and of honesty allston don't use the exhibition on tanzania is a result of this research it will later moved to dar es salaam and the prussian cultural heritage foundation who wants some of these exhibits which was suppose of war to stay in tanzania oftentimes on. the turns or near exhibition will be shown in their home board forming a second out of twenty twenty after the opening phase which will last for a whole year alexander for almost two hundred fiftieth. earth day will be celebrated on september fourteenth in an almost empty building. the old forum

construction site will be around for some time a work in progress. that's it from the one today by quite a re. and a fetus in. goal

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this is news live from and as each air raid in sri lanka leaves over a dozen dead including children after a shootout at the home of an alleged terrorists linked to easter sunday stephanie bombings authorities seize explosives islamic state uniforms and flags we'll hear from our correspondent in the sri lankan captain also coming out.