Archival Platform June 2011 newsletter

EDITOR’S NOTE

Archival material on display at the event hosted by the South African St Helenian Heritage Association to celebrate the 509th anniversary of the dicovery of the island. Photograph credit: Brenton Maart

This is a special message to delegates to the recent Southern African Historical Society Conference.

Many of your expressed interest in the Archival Platform and its activities and I thought I would forward our recent newsletter to you, together with an invitiation to you to use the Archival platform as a vehicle for sharing ideas and information.

The Archival Platform welcomes contributions from individuals and organisations who share its interest in and concern for the archives in the broadest sense. Opinions, news, book reviews, information about conferences and events are posted on our website www.archivalplatform.org and mentioned in our monthly newsletter.

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We look forward to hearing from you!

A number of common threads are woven through our newsletter this month: the power of archives and the role that civil society can play in ensuring that it is well directed; the complexities that we, as South Africans face as we negotiate a way to live with the past and exert our citizenship in the present; the important role of memory and the process of remembering in the lives of individuals and the nation; and the ongoing national conversation about information and secrecy.

In the month during which National Archives Week and International Archives Day was celebrated, the Archival Platform editorial reflects on the significance of archives and the role that they can play in deepening democracy and wonders whether our government recognises this important role?

The Archival Platform applauds the initiatives to reposition the arts, culture and heritage sector as a major contributor to economic development described in Minister Paul Mashatile’s recent budget vote speech to the National Assembly. We are heartened to hear that progress is being made in the development of a National Liberation Heritage Route and that attention is being paid to the declaration of new national heritage sites and the upgrading of the graves of struggle icons.

But we have a question for the minister: how does he intend addressing the dire situation of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa?

Consider this: the National Archives Advisory Council, has not been constituted since the term of office of the previous incumbents came to an end in 2008; the matter of the national archivist, suspended in September 2010, pending the outcome of a disciplinary process, has yet to be finalised rendering the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) particularly vulnerable at a time when the national archival system is in desperate need of dynamic leadership; and the woefully inadequate physical facilities mean that the all-important records of government lie scattered in private storage amenities across the land.

Maybe it’s time to stop asking when the Advisory Council will be appointed and consider whether, given the troublesome history of this body and its predecessor, it would be appropriate to do so.

So, we’re calling on government, not just the minister and the Department of Arts and Culture, to engage with civil society, look to the best examples the world has to offer and fundamentally rethink the question of the national archival system.

As we start collectively to re-imagine a different form for the national archival system we can establish a new set of roles for civil society, new opportunities for dynamic engagement and build a system that serves the needs of our democracy now and in the future.

Minister Mashatile has demonstrated the willingness to lead the Department of Arts and Culture into a new era and to engage with civil society chart a new course. We call on the Minister to apply his mind and his energies to resolving the troublesome question of the national archival system and pledge our whole hearted support for this endeavour.

While it’s been a sobering month, there’s also been many a cause of celebration! Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya reflects on youth month and contemplates the manner in which young people exert their citizenship today; Lucy Campbell calls on Capetonians to celebrate, rather than deny their shared heritage; Vuyani Booi describes a stirring event commemorating an almost forgotten massacre at Ingquza Hill; and Brenton Maart reports on a gathering held by those with ancestral ties to St Helena, to commemorate the 509th anniversary of the discovery of the island.

In other posts: Thokozani Mhlambi draws some parallels between his experience of house music and freedom, and reaches some interesting conclusions; John Wright points to some of the hard questions to ask when using archival evidence to construct stories of the past in KwaZulu-Natal; and Musa Hlatshwayo reflects on his research for the staging of Dayimane! a performance work that focuses on Nguni cattle and their role in Nguni culture.

We’re always keen to report on ways in which heritage institutions are tackling digitisation and welcome Laura Gibson’s post which describes the challenge of making the material of the Luthuli Museum accessible without compromising the integrity of the collection. We also welcome the news that Yale University has generously made digital images of its cultural collections freely available online.

The Archival Platform remains alert to the debates surrounding the trio of information bills currently under consideration. We were privileged to participate in a focus group convened by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the University of the Witwatersrand  to discuss these, and have posted the document arising from these discussions on our website. We’ve also posted Jan Duncan's article, "The Prevention of Scholarship Bill'  distributed by the South African Civil Society Information Service, which spells out the potential constraints the proposed Protection of Information Bill might place on academic research. 

“Living with the Past”, a conference convened by the Philosophy Department and the Wits Centre for Ethics conference, brought home some of the other challenges facing South Africans living with a difficult history, and toughed on a range of issues including land reclamation; the work done by the Missing Persons Task Team of the National Prosecuting Authority; the place of white South Africans in a post-apartheid society; the work of the Khulumani Support Group in the struggle for justice for victims and survivors of gross human rights abuses; and the need to forgive and repair the deep damage inequality and injustice.

On the international front, we bring you news of a report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about the seminar on experiences of archives as a means to guarantee the right to the truth.This report stresses the importance of archives to victims, for judicial accountability and non-judicial truth-seeking processes, and for reparations. In Serbia, a new digital tool – open source software – has been used to access archival information required to prosecute war criminals.

The month ahead seems filled with conferences and meetings. We wish those participating in these well with their deliberations and look forward to sharing some of the new ideas gathered over this period in our next newsletter.

With best wishes

Jo-Anne Duggan

In the headlines

Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile’s budget vote speech to the National Assembly

There seems to be a bright future in sight for arts and culture, but archives merit barely a mention!

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