The Department of Museums and Monuments, under the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, is pleased to announce that Jinja City will host Uganda’s official National Celebrations for this year’s International Museum Day.
The event will take place on 18th May 2026 at the Rugby Grounds in Jinja District, under the theme “Museums: Uniting the World.”
The theme speaks to the power of heritage institutions to bridge differences, build understanding, and remind us of what we hold in common across generations and borders.
The International Museum Day is a global initiative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) that recognises the vital role museums play in education, cultural exchange, and community life.
As the city that is home to the Source of the Nile, the point where the world’s longest river begins its journey across the continent, Jinja carries a natural and historical weight that few places in Uganda can match.
It is a city that has long sat at the crossroads of nature and civilisation, of the ancient and the modern, of many peoples whose stories have flowed together along the same great river. There is no more fitting stage for a celebration of what museums do: unite us through our shared humanity.
Jinja is also the cultural capital of the Busoga Kingdom and home to some of Uganda’s most celebrated heritage institutions. The Uganda Railway Museum, housed in one of the city’s oldest colonial-era buildings, draws visitors from across the country and beyond. The Cultural Research Centre Museum at the Nile Gardens has, for decades, been one of the most important sites for research, documentation, and celebration of Basoga culture.
According to the Commissioner of the Department of Museums and Monuments, Jackline Besigye Nyiracyiza, Jinja already receives nearly a quarter of Uganda’s entire tourist inflow each year.
“Hosting the International Museum Day in Jinja is not simply a venue; it is a statement. When we bring International Museum Day to the banks of the Nile, to the heart of Busoga, we are saying clearly that Uganda’s heritage does not belong only to Kampala. It belongs to every city, every kingdom, every community that has kept its culture alive through generations of change. We invite Ugandans from every corner of this country to come to Jinja on 18th May and be part of a day this nation will remember,” Commissioner Nyiracyiza revealed.
Some of the activities will include bringing together government officials, cultural leaders, students, artists, policymakers, and Ugandans from every region of the country. Attendees can look forward to: Critical panel discussions on Ugandan art, museum policy and the legacy of cultural institutions in a diverse nation.
Exhibitions celebrating the breadth and depth of Uganda’s cultural heritage, with contributions from community museums across the country. Live performances of traditional music, dance, and cultural expression from across Uganda’s 56 peoples. Community engagements and youth activations are designed to bring the next generation of Ugandans into direct contact with their heritage.
Uganda’s museums are not passive repositories of the past. They are living institutions, spaces where the country’s diverse peoples encounter one another’s traditions, where schoolchildren hold ancient artefacts and feel the continuity of those who came before, and where communities take ownership of their own stories. The national celebrations in Jinja are an expression of that belief.
The celebrations will be led by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities through the Department of Museums and Monuments, in collaboration with the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Uganda, Uganda Tourism Board, and Jinja City and sponsored The event is also proudly supported by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) and the Refugee Law Project.
