State of the Archives Report launched along with National Dialogue Forum
Jo-Anne Duggan
The 25th of March 2015 was an eventful day in the life of the Archival Platform. It marked two significant events: the first discussion in a series of National Dialogue Forums and the launch of the Archival Platform’s State of the Archives: an analysis of South Africa’s national archival system.
The National Dialogue Forum (NDF), generously funded by the Ford Foundation and hosted in partnership with the South African History Archive (SAHA), brought together a group of select stakeholders including representatives from each of the nine provincial archives and records management services, civil society organisations and academic institutions, to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. The proceedings focussed on two key concerns: issues arising from the State of the Archives analysis; and issues pertaining to the implications of the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 for archivists and records managers.
Facilitator Deirdre Prins-Solani, a skilled and empathetic heritage activist, set the tone for the day by asking participants to describe one aspect of their work that they were passionate about, provoking an extraordinary outpouring. I, for one, was spellbound by the participants’ passion and the illustrations they chose to explain why archives and records are vital resources to them and to the communities they serve. Andre Landman, an archivist in the University of Cape Town’s Special Collections Library, led the discussion on the Protection of Personal Information Act. While many were alarmed by the implications of this Act for their professional practice, they were pleased to be able to contribute to the further development of the Archival Platform’s draft guidelines for archivists and records managers.
It was a day of robust discussion and lively debate during which participants aired their frustrations, shared their challenges and sought ways to address these collectively. While many of the issues raised were troubling, what stands out in my memory is the sense of camaraderie, the ethos of mutual respect and support, and the deep commitment of participants to do what is needed to do their work in the best possible way, despite limited resources and adverse conditions.
The NDF was followed by the launch of State of the Archives: an analysis of South Africa’s national archival system. This event, held in the Women’s Gaol at Constitution Hill, was attended by about one hundred people keen to learn more about the report and to demonstrate their interest in and concerns abut the national archival system. Verne Harris, the Director: Research and Archive at the Nelson Mandela Foundation and an Archival Platform Steering Committee member, opened the evening with an impassioned address lamenting the state of the national archival system and calling for a re-imagining of the system to meet the needs of South Africa in the 21st century. Nomancotsho Pakade, formerly of Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) and now working with Action Aid South Africa, held the audience enthralled with her powerful and fresh articulation of the power of archives and memory, moving at least one person to tears. The formal proceedings concluded with a hauntingly evocative performance by Thokozani Mhlambi and Nobuntu Mqulwana of Light and Light Workz.
The Archival Platform acknowledges and thanks the many stakeholders who have contributed information and generously shared their experience and expertise as the State of the Archives analysis took shape. These include: the director and staff of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, provincial archivists and their colleagues in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape; members of the National Archives Advisory Council and the Western Cape Archives Advisory Committee; colleagues in the Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative at the University of Cape Town, University of Fort Hare, University of South Africa, and University of the Witwatersrand, the South African Society of Archivists and archival activists in civil society initiatives. Thanks are due too to the Nelson Mandela Foundation who distributed the analysis to their stakeholders and to the press and to the media who have drawn the troubled state of the national archival system to the state of the public at large.
The State of the Archives analysis, made possible through the sustained support of Atlantic Philanthropies is dedicated to Gerald Kraak with deep respect for a lifetime’s work as an archival activist and in acknowledgment of his indefatigable support for the difficult work of archives in the cause of building a just and equitable society as head of the South African office of The Atlantic Philanthropies.