African artifacts shown in museums worldwide are often not borrowed, but stolen -- and TED Fellow Jim Chuchu is on a mission to get them back. Learn the sordid history behind how many of the collections in the West came to be, Chuchu's extensive work tracking and restoring Kenya's cultural heritage and what these efforts can mean for the wider African continent. An urgent call for institutions to reconsider the morality of the objects they "own" and their significance to the communities from which they were taken.

Jim Chuchu: Why are stolen African artifacts still in Western museums?

Why are stolen African artifacts still in Western museums?

90% of sub-Saharan Africa's cultural legacy resides outside its borders, a glaring testament to colonial plunder and loss.

A database of over 32,000 Kenyan artifacts abroad ignites a quest to reclaim cultural heritage and mend a collective memory gap.

The return of improperly acquired artifacts is a step toward restoring African societies' rich cultures, eroded by colonial narratives.