Senegalese Radio and Television (RTS, public broadcaster) will soon build a museum on its premises with a view to "giving soul to the archives," announced its director general, Racine Talla, on Tuesday.
"We are going to rebuild the memory of RTS by giving soul to our archives. The images and voices are there, and we are going to build a museum, the RTS museum,
" he said at the ceremony commemorating the first edition of Heritage Day by RTS.
He specified that this important project will be carried out in collaboration with the famous painter Kalidou Kassé, who is celebrating 40 years of professional life devoted to art this year.
Kassé will be responsible for carrying out the project called "Triangle des arts" (Triangle of Arts), which consists of enhancing the main roads leading to RTS with paintings and other artistic expressions, in order to make it a place of attraction for tourists and other art lovers, he added.
The aim of creating this museum is to preserve the RTS archives, which are a living testimony to our collective memory, with a view to passing them on to future generations so that they can serve as a reference point, according to Racine Talla.
He also praised the wonderful work accomplished by former RTS employees, who attended the ceremony in large numbers. At the same time, he invited the younger generation to draw inspiration from these illustrious and emblematic figures, who all contributed greatly to the influence of RTS.
The day also provided an opportunity for journalist Majib Sène to present his book Les chevauchées du Xalam (The Rides of Xalam) to the general public. In it, he recounts the story of the eponymous high-rated program he hosted each week on Radio Senegal.
This book, with a preface by Professor Racine Senghor, administrator of the Renaissance Monument, takes us back to the cultural history of Senegal as told by great griots such as Assane Marokhaya, Demba Lamine Diouf, Kani Samb, Mor Dior Seck, Ali Bata Mboup, Samba Diabaré Samb, Ablaye Nar Samb,
and Amadou Ndiaye Samb, with whom the author hosted this cult program.
With this book, we celebrate a living treasure of an old story that dates back fifty-four years, with sound archives transformed into writing," said Professor Racine Senghor, presenting the book and its author, whom he described as "a financier, a sports and cultural journalist, and a very pious man of God and faithful friend.
"Recognizing the importance of audiovisual media and the importance of preserving it with a view to making it accessible is a goal for which we must all mobilize," said Demba Faye, chief of staff to the Minister of Culture and Communication.
He emphasized that the digitization of audiovisual media is a powerful tool whose various advantages are underutilized, arguing for their preservation in order to "promote our image and cultural identity throughout the world."
Source: Senegalese Press Agency