30 July. Fallo Baba Keita, former Manager of the AFRICA 2009 Programme at ICCROM, officially took up his new duties as Director of the Ecole du Patrimoine Africain (EPA) in a ceremony held on 28 July 2010 in Porto Novo, Benin.

During the transfer ceremony, the outgoing Director, Alain Comlan Godonou (currently Director of Cultural Objects and Intangible Heritage at UNESCO) handed over to Mr Keita the symbolic key of EPA.

Present at the ceremony were His Majesty, King Toffa IX of Porto Novo; Emmanuel Dossou, representing the Ministry of Culture, Literacy and National Languages of Benin; Océna Moukaram, Mayor of the City of Porto Novo; Gaël de Guichen, Representative of the Director-General of ICCROM; Alain Richard, Representative of the Ambassador of France in Benin; Christine Guétin, Representative of the Musée du Quai Branly in France; Catherine Goret, Representative of the Director of the Centre for Heritage Development in Africa (CHDA); Christian Epouma, Secretary General of the African Federation of Parent-Teacher Associations; Nicolas Ago, Director of Cultural Heritage in Benin, as well as many persons active in the culture sector in Benin.

On this occasion, EPA's new building was also inaugurated. This building, which includes a conference room for over 100 persons, will allow EPA to double its workspace and its capacity to host events and activities. The Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes français, the Regional Fund for Culture at the UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and the Fund for African World Heritage (FAWH) generously funded the new headquarters.

updated on: 1 September, 2010