Dear Colleagues,
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ has come and gone, the vuvuzelas have been packed away and we at the Archival Platform are taking time to look inwards and reflect on who we are and what we're doing. We're also looking outwards and inviting others to share ideas and experiences with us. And, we're looking at developments in the world around us – through an archival lens.
This month’s editorial blog reflects on the vision and mandate of the Archival Platform, as it nears its first anniversary.
Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya reports on the debate around human remains unearthed in the construction of a new city building in Cape Town and developments at the ossuary in which these remains are housed. Sebinane Lekoekoe describes the Selibeng Multi-purpose Centre of Culture, Conservation and Learning Project (SEMPUCCCLE), a small community-based initiative dedicated to promoting Lesotho’s leadership history.
We welcome contributions from two new personas: Mak from Makhado, who goes off in search of monuments to local heroes and gets confused, and the Remembrancer, who comments on a dialogue on reconciliation between renowned Chilean-American author Ariel Dorfman and a group of young South African writers.
Last month, Ancestral Stories brought you a series of blogs on ways in which people are engaging with the histories of their families or larger groups with whom they are affiliated. This month, our blogs focus on ancestors and on how groups, built on the premise that ancestors are important, are convening to remember events that happened almost 200 years ago and are forging identities based on the appreciation of their forebears. Velaphi Mkhize
talks about why the ancestors matter, Phineas Ndwandwe writes about efforts to convene the Ndwandwe, Maanda Mulaudzi
tells us about family history associations in Venda and Mbongiseni Buthelezi reports on the annual gathering of the Insika yamaNtungwa (“Pillar of the maNtungwa family”).
A number of organisations have made submissions to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection of Information Bill. Their comments give cause for concern, especially in relation to the effect that the implementation of this Bill may have on media reporting on matters of public interest.
It has been somewhat ironic to note that the media and media-related issues have been very present in the news this month.
Like many South Africans, we were disquieted to read that a former Cape Argus reporter admitted to taking bribes to report favourably on former Western Cape premier, Ebrahim Rasool. The Times has been roundly criticised for publishing a photograph of a dead baby on its front page and the Mail&Guardian
has been criticised for showing a painting that depicts Mandela as a corpse on its front page. The painting itself has raised a storm and, like Zapiro’s cartoon of the prophet Mohammad which we drew your attention to last month, has drawn accusations of cross-cultural insensitivity.
We also report on the South African Human Rights Commission’s finding that Zapiro’s cartoon, which shows “Lady Justice” about to be raped by ANC President Jacob Zuma with the help of his political allies, does not constitute hate speech, unfair discrimination or violation of any human rights enshrined in our Constitution.
The Archival Platform has a particular interest in the curation of archives and this month we draw your attention to three new exhibitions that draw on archives, in all their complexity: Indépendance! Congolese stories at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium; The End Conscription Campaign (ECC) exhibition
at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg; and the New Year Carnival and the Alibama at the Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum in Cape Town.
In the resources section we include a virtual tour of the award-winning Red Location Museum in Port Elizabeth and information about two new documentaries, The Ancient Astronomers of Timbuktu, which draws on Mali’s extraordinary manuscript archive, and The Promised Land, a production that deals with land reform and legacy in South Africa.
As the soccer crowds left, the South African Society of Archivists (SASA) sprang into action at their annual conference. We’ve added a report on this conference to the website, as well as a presentation delivered there by National Archivist Dr Graham Dominy, which summarises the findings of a report, The Demand for and Supply of Skills in Library and Information Services, Archival Services and Records Management, commissioned by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC).
We’ve listed a number of opportunities for those of you looking for a platform to publish or participate in conferences, or to apply for fellowships or jobs.
Please remember that we welcome contributions from our readers. Please send your blogs, news or opportunities for inclusion on the website and in our newsletter.
Some breaking news: We’re happy to report Arts and Culture Minister, Lulu Xingwana, has responded to the “Letters to Lulu”, we sent her late last year. We’re going to give the people who composed the letters a chance to read the Minister’s response before we post it, and their comments, on the web.
With best wishes,
Jo-Anne Duggan
back to top
|
