Capacity-Building Training | 23rd–24th July 2026

The Uganda Community Museums Association (UCOMA), with support from UNESCO and the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), successfully organised a two-day capacity-building training aimed at strengthening the digital storytelling and communication skills of cultural heritage practitioners and stakeholders.

Held from 23rd to 24th July 2026, the training focused on the use of social media and digital platforms to document, promote, preserve, and share Uganda’s rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage.

The training provided an important space for participants to learn, exchange experiences, and explore innovative approaches to ensuring that Uganda’s living traditions remain visible and relevant in an increasingly digital world.

Turning Cultural Knowledge into Digital Stories

Uganda is home to a remarkable diversity of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional knowledge, oral traditions, folklore, music, dance, languages, rituals, ceremonies, indigenous food practices, craftsmanship, and other forms of cultural expression passed from one generation to another.

During the training, participants explored how digital platforms can be used to capture these cultural expressions and transform them into compelling stories for wider audiences.

The sessions introduced practical approaches to creating engaging digital content using photography, video, social media, websites, interviews, written storytelling, and other multimedia formats.

Particular emphasis was placed on authentic and responsible storytelling—ensuring that cultural communities and knowledge holders are respected and appropriately represented when their traditions are documented and shared online.

A Practical Learning Experience at Ewaffe Cultural Home

To complement the classroom sessions, participants undertook a study visit to Ewaffe Cultural Home, providing an opportunity to experience first-hand how cultural heritage can be transformed into meaningful tourism and livelihood opportunities.

The visit offered valuable practical lessons on how cultural knowledge and traditions can be packaged into interactive experiences for visitors while creating opportunities for income generation.

Participants were able to engage in a range of cultural activities, including traditional banana juice making, Luwombo cooking and preparation, and traditional food experiences, among other activities offered at the cultural village.

These hands-on experiences demonstrated the power of culture as both a tool for identity and a potential driver of sustainable community livelihoods.

Learning from Culture-Based Enterprise

One of the key lessons from the study visit was the importance of creating economic value around cultural heritage without compromising its authenticity and meaning.

Through cultural experiences, demonstrations, traditional cuisine, storytelling, and visitor engagement, Ewaffe Cultural Home provides an example of how cultural heritage can support tourism while creating income-generating opportunities.

The experience encouraged participants to reflect on how community museums, cultural centres, heritage sites, and cultural practitioners across Uganda can explore innovative ways of generating sustainable livelihoods from cultural resources while ensuring that communities remain at the centre of the process.

Connecting Heritage, Technology and Communities

The training and study visit reinforced the growing connection between culture, technology, tourism, and community development.

Digital platforms provide cultural institutions and communities with an opportunity to reach audiences far beyond their immediate geographical locations. A traditional recipe, cultural ceremony, oral story, indigenous practice, or community tradition can now be documented and shared with audiences across Uganda and internationally.

However, with this opportunity comes a responsibility to ensure that digital storytelling remains ethical, accurate, respectful, and community-centred.

Investing in the Next Generation of Cultural Storytellers

The training also highlighted the important role of young people in safeguarding Uganda’s intangible cultural heritage.

As active users of digital technologies and social media, young people have the creativity and reach needed to tell cultural stories in formats that resonate with contemporary audiences.

Building their skills in digital storytelling can help bridge the gap between traditional knowledge holders and younger generations, ensuring that cultural heritage continues to be appreciated, practised, and transmitted.

A Shared Commitment to Safeguarding Uganda’s Heritage

For UCOMA, the training represents another important step towards strengthening the capacity of community museums and cultural heritage practitioners to document and promote Uganda’s diverse cultural heritage.

The support from UNESCO and CCFU has contributed to creating a valuable learning platform where participants could develop practical digital communication skills while gaining a deeper understanding of how culture can contribute to education, tourism, identity, and community livelihoods.

The experience reminded us that safeguarding intangible cultural heritage is not only about preserving the past. It is about keeping culture alive, supporting the people who practise it, creating opportunities for communities, and ensuring that future generations can inherit, understand, and proudly tell their own stories.

Culture Is Alive. Our Stories Matter.

As UCOMA continues to work with communities, museums, cultural practitioners, and partners, we remain committed to strengthening the visibility and sustainability of Uganda’s community-based heritage initiatives.

Through digital storytelling, community participation, cultural tourism, knowledge sharing, and strategic partnerships, we can ensure that Uganda’s rich cultural heritage continues to inspire, educate, connect, and create opportunities for generations to come.

UCOMA — Connecting Communities, Museums and Culture for a Sustainable Heritage Future.

Organised by the Uganda Community Museums Association (UCOMA), with support from UNESCO and the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU).