Paper short abstract:

The paper will suggest that restitution is a necessary process to building new relationships between Africans and Europeans and to addressing damages colonial encounters caused Africans and Europeans alike. Thus, the return of colonial objects to Africa is only part of the restitution process.

Paper long abstract:

The collection and transfer of African cultural materials to European museums in colonial times have deprived Africans of information relevant to their production and sharing knowledge about their past and present life ways. Popular European-centred information persons who have had access to some of these materials present have influenced to a large extent how Africans know and understand themselves and how they live. It has also influenced how some Europeans perceive Africans and position themselves in relation to them. The situation has engendered misconceptions among African and Europeans about each other, and has placed Africans at a disadvantage in their bid to define themselves and build on their heritages to make their world a better place to live. My paper will discuss restitution as a process that will engender the building of new relationships between Africans and Europeans and the production of new knowledge that will help to address damages colonial encounters caused Africans and Europeans alike. It will define aspects of the damages caused and suggest that the return of colonial cultural materials to Africa from Europe is only part of the restitution process. While African must embrace the process to restitute themselves and their world, the process also offers Europeans the opportunity to deal with some of the detrimental effects the expropriation of African objects have had on them. The paper will ultimately conceptualize restitution as a necessary vehicle for promoting appreciations of cultural diversity, social cohesion and relative peace among peoples of the world.