NAIROBI (AFP) — The UN said Friday it will help train Kenya's indigenous Maasai tribe to preserve its cultural heritage threatened by poor documenting and archiving.
The UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is to sponsor two Maasais and an expert from the National Museums of Kenya to go the United States for intensive training in documentary techniques and archival skills at the American Folklife Center and the Center for Documentary Studies.
"Our goal is to empower tradition-bearers to preserve and pass on their own traditional cultures if they wish to do so while safeguarding their intellectual property rights and interests," WIPO deputy director general Francis Gurry said in a statement on Friday.
The agency pledged to provide the Maasai people with a basic kit of field equipment, computers and software for their own use when they return to Kenya.
The Maasai tribe has clung to its traditions, wearing its red cloaks, scarves, headdresses and earrings as well as upholding practices that have long been abandoned by other communities.
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