Culture and Heritage

The preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, diversification of tourism and support to cultural and creative industries are key drivers of economic development and job creation. They contribute to social cohesion and the attractiveness of territories. Culture is a vehicle for peace and reconciliation. It plays a role in the inter-community dialogue at the local and global levels and in the mutual understanding of societies.

As the French public international technical cooperation agency, Expertise France works closely with the French Ministry of Culture and its partners to mobilise France’s internationally recognised expertise and know-how. The agency implements a wide-ranging portfolio of activities in various fields: feasibility studies for the restoration and development of heritage sites, assistance to the contracting authority on restoration sites, support for public policies and the upgrading and governance of cultural institutions.

Our fields of action

• Heritage conservation and restoration: heritage inventory, technical diagnostic of the built heritage, supervision of works sites, support for the creation of heritage sectors    

• Enhancement of art and heritage: museology, museography, cultural policy, support to project initiators in cultural and creative industries and to civil society

• Management and governance of cultural sites and institutions: support for the creation of statutes, revision of organisation charts and job descriptions, staff training, communication

Our support methods

• Consultancy missions: mobilisation of sectoral expertise (architecture, archaeology, cultural mediation…) and organisation of missions  

• Assistance to contracting authorities: drafting specifications, support for procurement processes, supervision of works sites

• Capacity building: training, networking (foreign study visits)

• Communication: implementation of visibility actions

Our strengths

• Support from A to Z and solutions tailored to needs

• A network of French, European and local public and private partners

• A strong mechanism for the operational, administrative and financial monitoring of projects

Cultural cooperation: a few projects

Tunisia: supporting cultural heritage development

2019-2023 – EUR 16,4M (EUROPEAN UNION)

As a component of the Tounes Wijhetouna (“Tunisia: our destination”) programme to support the diversification of tourism in Tunisia, this “Heritage 3000” project to assist cultural heritage development has several components:

1. Implementation of tools to help build the inventory and develop museum experiences;

2. Creation of an institutional arrangement for concessions for historic buildings;

3. Modernisation of Carthage National Museum and its surroundings.

This project is implemented by Expertise France with the French Ministry of Culture. It is developing public-private partnership mechanisms in the field of heritage management by focusing on the implementation of institutional arrangements, regulatory frameworks and economic models. The objective is to ensure the support is sustainable.

Check out the project's webpage 

Heritage: a focus area in Franco-Ethiopian cooperation

Heritage is central to Franco-Ethiopian cooperation, following the commitments made by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, in 2018 and 2019.

With financing from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and in partnership with the French Ministry of Culture, Expertise France is conducting feasibility studies for the restoration of major heritage sites:

• The National Palace in Addis Ababa (2020-2022; EUR 20m): the study delivered in March 2020 has led to the development of an ambitious project based on the restoration of the palace and gardens and the governance of the future site which will be open to the public. Expertise France is assisting the contracting authority at the Ethiopia Palace Administration.

• Churches in Lalibela: a study will be delivered in 2021.

National Museum of Yaoundé modernisation project

2020-2022 – EUR 1M (AFD)

This project aims to contribute to the modernisation of the National Museum of Yaoundé, in partnership with the Cameroonian authorities. The objective is to give the institution a central place in the main cultural heritage in West Africa.

This project is deploying consultancy missions by experts from the French Ministry of Culture and its operators, training and study visits. It also includes a technical assistance programme based on four areas of action: governance, collections and reserves, the scientific and cultural policy and the development of spaces.

Check out the project's webpage 

Find out more about...

• The cooperation agreement between the French Ministry of Culture and Expertise France, on culture.gouv.fr

• The fields of action for France's cultural diplomacy, on diplomatie.gouv.fr