Senior Fellow 2025: Chantal Umuhoza

Written by George Peckham, ITP Coordinator and Chantal Umuhoza, Curator, Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (Rwanda, ITP Fellow 2018)

We are thrilled to announce that our Senior Fellow for 2025 will be Chantal Umuhoza, Curator, Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy, Rwanda.

Chantal joined us on the International Training Programme in 2018. During her time on the ITP, Chantal was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas and her partner placement was spent at National Museums Northern Ireland.

Chantal is interested in projects dealing with biodiversity conservation, decolonization of conservation practices, museum inclusion, and museums as spaces of well-being.

For the last two years Chantal coordinated a project for the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy sponsored by Google Arts and Culture with the goal of digitizing Rwandan heritage sites, cultural objects, and documenting traditional and contemporary art-making practices. She also coordinated a project sponsored by UNESCO for the development of immersive 360-degree virtual tour and virtual reality tour of Ethnographic Museum.

Currently, Chantal is a member of African Heritage Hubs Technical Working Group and a member of Rwanda Heritage Hub coordination team. She is also the focal point for the UNESCO 1970 Convention.

Since taking part in the ITP in 2018, Chantal has been an active member of the global network. In 2020 Chantal hosted an ITP online subject specialist titled, the role of Rwandan Museums in Protecting Cultural Heritage. In 2022 she attended the Museums Association Conference that was held in Edinburgh. In 2024 Chantal attended the ICOM UK Conference at Ulster Museum, Belfast, and was invited to speak on a panel titled Old Wounds: After Conflict.

The ITP Senior Fellow role is part of our ITP further engagement projects which are essential to the core objectives of the ITP. Finding ways to give our fellows the widest possible opportunities for further training and development is fundamental.  Legacy projects inspire a lifelong commitment to our network from ITP partners and fellows, supported by the British Museum.

To date the ITP has welcomed 11 fellows back to the UK as Senior Fellow to further their professional development and strengthened their connections to the UK ITP network. These colleagues have worked on supporting and delivering the programme as part of the core ITP team.

Chantal has shared her thoughts on becoming the 12th ITP Senior Fellow:

My name is Chantal Umuhoza, and I have been working with Rwanda Museums for the past 12 years, spending most of that time as a museum curator. In 2018, I had the privilege of attending the British Museum International Training Programme. My partner placement was spent at National Museums Northern Ireland.

I participated in two legacy projects, in 2022 I attended the Museums Association conference and exhibition that was held in Edinburgh, and in 2024 I attended the ICOM UK Conference. My experiences with the ITP were transformative; they ignited my passion for museums, profoundly shaped my career, and provided me with invaluable insights. Additionally, I have developed lasting connections and friendships that I treasure.

The knowledge and relationships I gained through this programme have been instrumental in my professional and personal growth. Now, I am honored and thrilled to return to the British Museum as a Senior Fellow for the ITP 2025.

What excites me most about returning as a Senior Fellow is the chance to collaborate and learn from new fellows from all corners of the globe, as well as to provide guidance as someone who understands the program from the fellows’ perspective. It is also an opportunity to expand my professional network and reconnect with BM colleagues and museum professionals in the UK.

I embrace the challenge of this senior role and am eager to collaborate with the ITP team and partner museums to ensure this year’s programme is both enjoyable and informative for the new fellows. I hope to provide insights and updates throughout the programme, showcasing the incredible learning opportunities and the bonds we will create along the way.

Chantal will be an invaluable member of the ITP team, helping with the logistics and development of the annual programme, offering ideas for our legacy and sustainability projects, and providing support to the ITP team and fellows during the programme. We’re really excited to be working with Chantal this summer and can’t wait to welcome her back to the British Museum in June.