Organisations

Organisations in Africa for archives, heritage sites, intangible heritage, museums and memory. Please contact the Platform to put your organisation on the list.

National government ministries and statutory bodies in South Africa

Department of Arts and Culture, South Africa
This national ministry aims to develop and promote arts and culture in South Africa and mainstream its role in social development.

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa
This national ministry manages world heritage and tourism.

Department of Science and Technology, South Africa
This national ministry manages issues relating to indigenous knowledge, especially in respect of research and innovation.

National Archives and Records Service, South Africa
Through its statutory regulation of the management of current government records, the National Archives and Records Service aims to promote efficient, accountable and transparent evidence-based governance. An Archives Advisory Council advises the Minister on archival matters.

National Arts Council, South Africa
Aims to develop and promote the arts in South Africa

National Heritage Council, South Africa
Aims for the preservation, protection and promotion of the South African heritage, both tangible and intangible, for sustainable development. Role in advising DAC, coordination and fundiing of the sector.

South African Heritage Resources Agency
Aims to provide for the identification, conservation, protection and promotion of South African heritage for present and future generations.

Non-government organisations and research institutes

Arts in Africa
This web-site is intended to be a one stop portal for information about the arts in Africa.

Africalia
Africalia aims to make a contribution to sustainable human development cooperation based on what is deemed desirable by people and organisations in Africa.

African Art Centre
The African Art Centre was established under the auspices of the S.A. Institute of Race Relations in 1959, it became an autonomous non-profit organization in 1982 and now has a well established reputation for promoting black artists and craftspeople in KwaZulu-Natal.

AFRICinfo
A cultural diary for Africa

AFRICOM International Council of African Museums
AFRICOM is an International NGO promoting museum development in Africa; its secretariat is located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Architect Africa Online
News and information portal for African built environment professionals

The ARTerial network
A network promoting the arts in Africa

Cape Craft and Design Institute
The Cape Craft & Design Institute (CCDI) was set up in 2001 to promote and grow craft as an economic sector in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Centre for Heritage Development in Africa (CHDA)
CHDA is an international Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) located in Mombasa dedicated to the preservation, management and promotion of cultural heritage in Africa through a programme of training and development support services.

Creative Cape Town
Creative Cape Town communicates, supports and facilitates the development of the creative and knowledge economy in the Central City of Cape Town.

Ecole du Patrimoine Africain School of African Heritage, Benin
EPA is a postgraduate university institution, specialised in the preservation and promotion of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

ESARBICA
ESARBICA (Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives) was established in 1969 in Kenya, brings together individuals and institutions concerned with the creation, use, preservation and management of recorded information in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Historical Association of South Africa (HASA)

Heritage South Africa (HASA)
Heritage South Africa was established in 1959 as the Simon van der Stel Foundation and is currently the largest and oldest national non-governmental (NGO) involved with heritage conservation, a non-profitable section 21 company with ten affiliated member organisations with almost two thousand enthusiastic volunteers.

Heritage, Museums and Memorialisation in Kenya
This three-year collaborative project is called ‘Managing Heritage, Building Peace: museums, memorialisation and the uses of memory in Kenya’. They are working with Kenyan museums, scholars, students, NGOs, communities and other civil society groups to investigate the different ways in which Kenyans are engaging with heritage, memory and identity. It is concerned both with state-led national heritage management and community-driven heritage initiatives, which include community peace museums, community ecological governance of sacred forests, and other activities around sites of memory.

Institute for the Study of Slavery and its Legacy
The Institute is the core project of the Reg September Trust and carries on the work initiated by the Roots & Visions Forum at UWC to uncover the contribution of slaves in the Cape to the identity of ‘Coloured’ people and the building of the City of Cape Town and surrounding towns and farms. It is further dedicated to uncovering within this history and heritage of slavery at the Cape, the many ties that bind ‘Coloured’, indigene Africans and the descendents of white settlers, over the course of time.

International Council of Museums-SA (ICOM-SA)
ICOM-SA is the local branch of ICOM which is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation of the world’s museums and museum professionals which is committed to preserving the world’s natural and cultural heritage.

International Council on Monuments and Sites-SA (ICOMOS-SA)
ICOMOS-SA is the local branch of ICOMOS which is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation of professionals established to advise UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention.

Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism
Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism seeks to be a critical node in the re-territorializing of global intellectual production.

John H. Marsh Maritime Research Centre
This Research Centre is housed at the Iziko Maritime Centre.

Museums online South Africa
Museums Online South Africa (MOSA)™ is run by an Association that maintains and develops an Internet portal dedicated to art, science and culture.

Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA)
OCPA is an independent pan-African non-governmental organisation aiming to enhance the development of national cultural policies in the region and their integration in human development strategies through advocacy and promoting information exchange, research, capacity building and cooperation at the regional and international level.

The Organization for Social Science Research
The Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) is a regional membership-based and donor-supported research and capacity-building organization whose mission is to promote dialogue and interaction between researchers and policy-makers in Eastern and Southern Africa with a view to enhancing the impact of research on policy-making and development planning. Its headquarter is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Policy Action Network, South Africa
The Policy Action Network (P>AN) supports the policy community by sourcing information on social policy with the aim of contributing to rigour in policy making and greater participation in policy processes.

Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
The Rock Art Research Institute holds collections that can be divided into two sections: 1.) Working collections 2.) Archival collections.

South African Museums Association
SAMA is an active association with a popular annual conference.

South African Association of Archivists

South African Historical Society
The Society is focused on generating communication among professional historians with an interest in southern African history whether they are located within the region or further afield. We welcome members from allied disciplines and professions.

South African History Online
Rewriting history, critically examining our past, strengthening the teaching of history

Trust for African Rock Art (TARA)
TARA’s mission is to create greater global awareness of the importance and endangered state of African rock art; survey sites; monitor status; be an information resource and archive; and promote and support rock art conservation measures.

The Van Riebeeck Society
The Van Riebeeck Society was founded in 1918 with the purpose of making primary sources available in a readable and enjoyable form to anyone interested in Southern African history.

Organisations outside of Africa for archives, heritage sites, intangible heritage, museums and memory.

ACCU
ACCU is a UNESCO-affiliated NGO in Japan promoting culture and heritage in the Asia-Pacific.

The ACP Cultural Observatory
The ACP Cultural Observatory aims at providing support to the ACP Countries in the understanding of the emerging trends and features of cultural industries. In the long run, it should contribute to the fostering of legal and institutional frameworks, support the progressive implementation of public policies and reinforce knowledge and capacities of ACP decision makers and operators involved in the cultural domain.

Connect CP
ConnectCP is a database of cultural policy experts based around the globe.

Connected Histories
A new search engine to help historians to find useful resources on early modern and 19th century British history.

KIT Information Portal Culture for Development
This website is dedicated to Object ID, an international standard for describing cultural objects. It has been developed through the collaboration of the museum community, police and customs agencies, the art trade, insurance industry, and valuers of art and antiques.

Culturelink
Culturelink is a network of networks for research and cooperation in cultural development.

CultureWatch Europe
The Council of Europe’s CultureWatchEurope Platform (CWE) promotes culture as “the soul of democracy” by offering an innovative and evidence-based understanding of culture, heritage and media developments in Europe.

ICCROM
ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization (IGO) dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage.

International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
The International Council on Monuments and Sites is an association of professionals that currently brings together approximately 9500 members throughout the world. ICOMOS works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places.

The International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA)
IFACCA is the global network of arts councils and ministries of culture. IFACCA aims to benefit artists, arts organisations and communities worldwide.

International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU)
INTBAU is a world wide organisation dedicated to the support of traditional building, the maintenance of local character and the creation of better places to live.

MUSEUM id
Museum if is an independent, UK based, ideas exchange and think-tank for museum and heritage professionals.

Power of Culture
The Power of Culture is a website promoting culture and development.

Regional Studies Association Research Network on Creative Industries
This Research Network aims to address trends and issues around the development of the creative and cultural industries at the regional level in UK, fostering a multi-disciplinary debate among researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the field.

Respatrimoni: Network of Researchers on Heritagisations
The Network of Researchers on Heritagisations (critical heritage discourse) provides critical analyses of heritage objects and practices within disciplines as varied as history, political sciences, geography and anthropology.

UNESCO
UNESCO has a number of Conventions and associated programs to support heritage safeguarding and the promotion of important archives of language and memory.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
WIPO works to safeguard the interests of communities in developing intellectual property protections applicable to traditional cultural expressions. 

Young Researchers Forum
The Young Cultural Policy Researchers Forum has been established to create an opportunity for young researchers – particularly those with an interest in European cultural policies - to get to know each other, collaborate on joined initiatives, and stay informed.