The UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition is proud to announce the formal recognition of ‘Onandjokwe Medical Museum (Namibia) and its local community: past, present and future’ as an outstanding initiative in humanities-anchored, transdisciplinary sustainability science.
BRIDGES Recognition Programme: The Mission in Practice
The Recognition Programme was established to advance the BRIDGES mission: encouraging transdisciplinary research that is inclusive of the humanities and co-produced with communities.
The BRIDGES recognised initiatives exemplify our mission to foster transdisciplinary, humanities-inclusive solutions, offering innovative approaches to building socio-ecological resilience in real-world contexts where transformation is most critical.
Each project demonstrates that we cannot solve sustainability issues without understanding the social and cultural contexts that drive them.
UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES recognition follows a rigorous evaluative process assessing alignment with UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES’ principles and UNESCO’s sustainability science approach, with particular emphasis on transdisciplinary, socially responsible, ethical and transformative practice.
Influencing Global Policy
BRIDGES recognition provides a mechanism for these initiatives to inform international policy. By highlighting these projects as exemplary models, the actionable knowledge they generate will:
By integrating Cultural Heritage Management, Medical History, and Museology, the initiative fosters collaboration between the Onandjokwe Hospital and the local community to promote Indigenous medical knowledge systems.
Background
Founded in 2012, the Onandjokwe Medical Museum holds the distinction of being the first and only medical museum in Namibia. The museum is housed in a historic building constructed between 1908 and 1911 by Selma Rainio, a Finnish doctor. This structure originally served as the first hospital in north-central Namibia, making the site a cornerstone of the region’s clinical history.
While the museum was established to showcase the medical evolution of Onandjokwe and the broader country, it currently faces challenges in maintaining relevance to the local community. To address this, the University of Namibia (UNAM) has initiated a project to revitalize the museum through community-led co-design and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Aims and Objectives
The overarching goal of this initiative is to foster collaboration between the Onandjokwe Hospital and the local community while promoting Indigenous medical knowledge systems.
Key objectives include
Value and Expected Impact
There is currently a significant research gap regarding the impact of museums on Namibian society. This initiative seeks to fill that gap by documenting how community involvement in co-designing exhibits and educational content can increase a museum's social value.
Expected outcomes include:
Restoration and Visualisation: A clear roadmap for the physical restoration of the historic building and updated visual displays.
Educational Content: Co-designed layouts for the museum and herb garden that reflect the community's contribution.
Sustainable Partnerships: Ongoing collaboration between the museum, local schools, cultural institutions, and healthcare providers.
Cultural Awareness: Increased awareness of traditional medicines and the safeguarding of local Indigenous Knowledge.
The work of 'Onandjokwe Medical Museum (Namibia) and its local community: past, present and future' strengthens the global UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES network and contributes meaningfully to transformative, humanities-anchored community-led initiatives.
Note: The initiative is currently in a developmental stage. Realising these goals, including the improvement of the exhibition and the expansion of the medicinal herb garden, requires further funding for logistics and implementation.
Partnership and Methodology
Organisation Lead: University of Namibia (UNAM)
Project Leads: Dr. Emma Haitengi and Professor Napandulwe Shiweda.
Dr. Emma Haitengi brings expertise in cultural heritage management, history, and archaeology, while Professor Napandulwe Shiweda specialises in public and visual history, tourism, and museum studies.
The project follows a collaborative, phased approach:
Phase One: Team Formation: The creation of a team comprising academics, local herbalists, community leaders, museum staff, and medical practitioners.
Phase Two: Documentation: Data collection through interviews and research into the medical properties and cultural significance of local herbs.
Community Engagement
The project utilises focus groups and interviews with stakeholders, including traditional authorities, to ensure academic thinking is influenced by local knowledge and vice versa.
Sustainable Development Goals
BRIDGES recognises the importance of championing transdisciplinary initiatives that address complex, multi-faceted societal challenges in innovative ways to stimulate transformative change for the benefit of societies, people and planet.
A criteria of the BRIDGES Recognition Programme is the initiative addresses specific global, regional or local challenges encompassed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ‘ONANDJOKWE MEDICAL MUSEUM (NAMIBIA) AND ITS LOCAL COMMUNITY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE’ initiative serves as an exemplary case of how bridging diverse knowledge bases can provide innovative solutions to the SDG’s.
The project aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identifying two specific SDGs as central to its mission: SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - specifically 11.4 Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage; and SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.
These SDGs are addressed by co-designing the museum’s future with the local community. This ensures that the safeguarding of history (SDG 11.4) directly supports the community's contemporary health and knowledge systems (SDG 3).
Other SDG’s addressed by the initiative include: SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
In detail -
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
This initiative identifies SDG 3 as central to its mission and advances this SDG through:
• Indigenous Knowledge: Documenting the medical properties and cultural significance of local herbs.
• Collaboration: Partnering Onandjokwe Hospital and medical professionals with traditional practitioners (herbalists).
• Awareness & Education: Promoting traditional medicine and partnering with healthcare providers and local schools to improve community well-being.
SDG4: Quality Education
The initiative explicitly identifies the museum’s role in "education." It moves beyond passive viewing by planning to co-design "educational content" with local stakeholders.
The project collaborates with "local schools" and University of Namibia academics. Its interdisciplinary team of educators and community members fosters "lifelong learning" and knowledge exchange between the institution and the public.
SDG10: Reduced Inequalities
The project ensures the "local community's contribution is given value" by involving them in co-designing the exhibits and garden.
By actively partnering with groups previously sidelined, such as traditional herbalists and local community members, the project works to bridge the gap between academic institutions and marginalised or underrepresented community voices.
SDG11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
The initiative aims to address this goal, which is identified as central to its mission, through these actions:
• Building Restoration: Conducting a condition assessment of the 1908–1911 museum building to identify specific restoration needs.
• Heritage Preservation: Maintaining the museum as a repository for the medical history of Onandjokwe and the wider Namibian context.
• Natural Heritage: Expanding the local herb garden to showcase medicinal plants historically used in north-central Namibia.
SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals
The initiative’s "collaborative" foundation breaks institutional silos by linking formal research with traditional knowledge.
It relies on a reciprocal "partnership" between the University of Namibia (academics), Onandjokwe Hospital (medical professionals), museum staff, traditional authorities, and local herbalists.
This collaboration is expected to "enrich the initiative as well as influence academic ways of thinking and vice versa."
