The Institute for the History of Nicaragua and Central America (IHNCA) is renowned for its rigorous research and activities dedicated to providing communities with access to their own patrimony. Its resources include more than 50,000 books, extensive holdings of newspapers, maps, films, paintings, photographs, oral recordings, news-agency videos and collections of artefacts such as masks. Central to its activities is a long-term programme to recover the memory of Nicaragua’s diverse indigenous groups, affirming their past and providing insight into current issues. Led by dedicated Director Margarita Vannini, a team of professional staff carry out field research, make oral recordings, and rescue and conserve fragile documents. One example of the impact of their work on local development is the recent restoration and publication of royal land titles that enabled the indigenous communities of Subtiava and Jinotega to legally establish ownership of their land.
IHNCA contributes to regional development through many diverse activities. Staff members teach at the Universidad Centroaméricana and publish popular textbooks, scholarly monographs, CD-ROMs and highly respected journals. IHNCA’s photographic exhibitions include Processes of Peace and Disarmament and Portraits of the Nicaraguan Caribbean. The latter, reflecting the rich diversity of costeño identity, travelled to Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Spain. Another successful project was the public countrywide screening of 60 Nicaraguan videos and movies from the 1980s, an initiative proposed by a group of film producers of various nationalities. IHNCA’s Cultural Train, a mobile museum housed in three large trucks fitted with interactive technology, stimulates youth participation through debates and highlights the importance of literacy for individual and national development.
This first Prince Claus Award to Nicaragua honours IHNCA for its committed recuperation of local memory and history, for its engaged research that draws on the past to find solutions to present issues, and for strengthening links between Nicaraguans’ cultural identity and development.
The team at the Institute for the History of Nicaragua and Central America
The Library of documents and books at the IHNCA
A member of the counsel of Elders of the indigenous Jinotega people shows a historical document that was restored by the IHNCA
