Panel 5: Preservation, Conservation, and Digitization

Many public and private collection holders in Africa lack the capacity and resources to effectively preserve and make accessible their manuscript collections, whether physically or through surrogate formats. This panel concerns the efforts of collection holders, as well as governmental and non-governmental heritage organizations, to protect and promote Arabic-script written heritage. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, descriptions of conservation projects; case studies of successful capacity building in collection care and management; ethics and guidelines for practice; sustainability planning for digitization; and surrogate intellectual property rights.

Moderator: Susana Molins Lliteras, Associate Researcher, Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative, Historical Studies Department, University of Cape Town – Cape Town, South Africa

Keynote Paper: Beyond Our Libraries’ Door: Cultural Heritage Preservation and Social Challenges by Maria Luisa Russo, Field Coordinator, Malian Manuscript Projects, University of Hamburg – Hamburg, Germany
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: The Conservator as Cultural Biographer: Recovering the Life-Stories of Africa’s Manuscripts Through Conservation by Mary Minicka, Head of Preservation Section (Conservator), Western Cape Archives and Records Service, Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Government – Cape Town, South Africa
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: These Pearls Should Not Perish” – Arabic Manuscript Collections in Ibadan and the Necessity for Preservation of African (Islamic) History by Afis Ayinde Oladosu, Professor at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan – Ibadan, Nigeria
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: First Emergency Action on Preservation, Conservation and Digitization Work On The Travails of Insurgency On Arabic Manuscript Heritage: A Case Study of Bama, Gubio, Konduga and Magumeri Local Government Areas in Borno State, Nigeria by Ahmadu Girei Hamman, Academic Research Fellow at the University of Maiduguri – Maiduguri, Nigeria
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)