Adama Ayikoué is director of Cultural Heritage at the Togolese Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
Togo has cultural assets in France and especially in Germany. To date, more than 10,000 objects in public and private collections in Germany have been identified thanks to on-site research. These are works of art, cultural and religious objects, as well as archives (documents, sound recordings, photos and films) as well as human bones and animals.
The Togolese government has adopted a law on the protection and promotion of national cultural heritage on 25 February 2026. In view of the importance of these artefacts for national memory and the enhancement of cultural heritage, the Council of Ministers has decided to set up a National Committee for the Restitution of Cultural Property, whose task will be to coordinate the process of return.
The government will soon appoint the members of the restitution committee, which is to be composed of the fields of science, traditional authorities, religious communities, the legal system and diplomacy.
Essentially, the aim of the committee is:
- to research and inform about possible restitution cases,
- to compile appropriate lists, to prepare the public for restitution
- and to accompany the return to the communities of origin.
The government and artists from Togo have been intensively involved in the preparatory work for the exhibition “Making New Connections” about their own country, which the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin will open at the Humboldt Forum at the end of November.
This is linked to the hope that this compilation of contemporary art and colonially appropriated cultural assets will subsequently be transferred to Togo.
The Togolese government is also making plans for a modern national museum as well as regional museums and memorials, as well as the training of specialists in African museum management.
