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THE BRAIN POWER AWARD “MOTHER AFRICA – WELCOME HOME” EXHIBITION
The Norwegian Association of Researchers (NAR) presents the Brain Power Award annually. The purpose of the award is to acknowledge the important role of NAR members in many research areas, as well as highlighting the contributions that research and development (R & D) work makes to society. By presenting the Brain Power Award, the NAP aims to establish a greater public understanding of the importance of investment in knowledge generation and R & D for the future. The exhibition «The Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour –‘Mother Africa – Welcome Home’» housed at Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, was designed and installed by a team of researchers, curators, filmmakers and photographers from South Africa and Norway. SapienCE director Christopher Henshilwood and senior scientist Karen van Niekerk were part of this team. Although Henshilwood was awarded the prize, he emphasised that it was shared with the entire team, who spent three years creating the exhibition. “Mother Africa” is the result of 30 years of excavations and research along the southern coast of South Africa. The core theme of the exhibition is the evolution of human modernity, with an emphasis on our equality as humans through our shared ancestry. The NAR jury’s review of the Mother Africa exhibition states, “The exhibition has contributed to an awareness and development of perspective on our common past, cultural origins, identity and heritage. This in turn can contribute to the knowledge of our common global identity and future. By going back 100,000 years in time, we can find fertile ground for the future, not dwelling in xenophobia, but in cooperation that stems from a common global humanity”.
