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Google Arts and Culture honours Kenyan heroes as Kenya celebrates Mashujaa Day

By Hilary Kimuyu October 20th, 2020 2 min read

As we celebrate Mashujaa Day, Google Arts and Culture and the National Museums of Kenya have partnered to launch superheroes stories and enhance awareness around Kenya’s heritage.

Superheroes is an online exhibition that celebrates Kenya’s history by honouring the heroes and heroines from all the 44 Kenyan communities.

Superheroes is part of the first-ever digital exhibition titled ‘Utamaduni Wetu: Meet the People of Kenya’ which celebrates Kenya’s cultures, beliefs, generations and geography.

It is an opportunity for Kenyans to remember the women and men who shaped history by fighting, tenaciously for their communities’ land, freedom and spiritual well-being.

The exhibition was first launched on October 20, 2019 and featured Shujaa stories of 28 superheroes representing 14 communities.

In the past year, Google Arts and Culture and National Museums of Kenya captured Shujaa stories from all Kenyan communities.

The 61 superheroes collection now features unique stories of 61 “mashujaa” from the 44 communities who demonstrate Kenya’s diversity and foster unity in diversity.

At the launch event held at the Museum’s headquarters, President Uhuru Kenyatta, in a video message, said:

“We must look for our common vision in the dreams of our ancestors. We must seek out their wisdom and preserve their memory. We must bring them to life in a way that present generations can relate – through technology.

“You can begin that journey by visiting the National Museums of Kenya page on the Google Arts and Culture platform to learn the stories of our folk and cultural heroes, relive their experiences and draw the inspiration that you need from them in order to play your part in constructing and exemplifying our national ethos.”

On her part, Sports, Culture and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said:

“As we celebrate Mashujaa Day, I am delighted to announce that we now have at least one superhero for each one of the 44 communities and I invite you to explore, read each of the stories, and be inspired by the achievements and bravery of each superhero.”

Google Country Director for Kenya, Agnes Gathaiya, said:

“This project is part of Google’s commitment to preserving and promoting Kenya’s cultural heritage and communities noting that it is in line with Google’s primary mission of making the world’s information more accessible.”

Everyone can now explore at g.co/mashujaa more than 10,500 high-resolution photographs, 129 expert-curated exhibits and 80 street views of 16 sites, shining light on the intangible heritage and stories of the country’s more than 44 communities officially registered by the government: https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/mashujaa-day/m0jwyryt?categoryid=other