Introduction & Objectives

Where this project began and its goals and objectives:

 This project began in late 2019/early 2020 when a group of researchers and colleagues from inside and outside of the University of Cape Town began meeting to discuss what modern heritage means in the African context. Colleagues came from a number of universities inside and out of Africa, and included significant voices from the African World Heritage Fund[1], the World Heritage and colleagues in the UNESCO system, Modern Cities Network and the Getty Foundation. Much our work since early 2020 has been conducted through Zoom, teams, email and WhatsApp, a reflection of the CORVID-19 times we were in, but also an important opportunity to draw in a wide range of people into a conversation about modern heritage that might not have been possible under other more ‘normal’ circumstances.

One of the key animating factors for this initial wide-ranging discussion for all of us was in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of UNESCO’s Modern Heritage Programme. An important occasion presented itself to reflect on the transformative cultural experiences and global consequences of the twentieth century – modernism’s century - and the dawn of the Anthropocene, and particular emphasis on Africa and its diaspora.  

Despite modernity’s planetary impact, the heritage of this seminal period is unevenly researched, appreciated, conserved and protected around the world. Nowhere is this more conspicuous than in Africa, where, despite initiatives like the Modern Heritage Programme and the 2004 Regional Meeting on Modern Heritage for Sub-Saharan Africa[2] there remains a serious oversight globally of the legacies (positive, negative, tangible or intangible) that transformed the continent, particularly during the twentieth century and which continues to remain deeply entwined in the challenges it faces in the future.[3]

Indeed, in our discussions is became clear modern heritage, with all its contested meanings, is one of the most marginalised heritage categories on the continent. In line with the Global Strategy for a credible, balanced and representative World Heritage List, adopted by the World Heritage Committee in 1994, the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) has identified modern heritage as one of the marginalised heritage categories that urgently needs identification and documentation if it is to be more fairly represented on the World Heritage List.

By developing and extending new professional and academic networks, critically reflecting on Africa’s encounter with modernities, and carrying out comprehensive research on the continent’s modern heritage, this global collaboration aims to support the sustainable agenda in Africa, from strengthening urban resilience to promoting inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List to give “heritage  a  function in the life of the community and to integrate the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programmes”[4].

It also became clear that Africa’s cities, many of which are themselves products of the twentieth century, face the highest rates of urbanisation in the world over the next half a century, straining populations, urban landscapes and hinterlands, and placing modern heritage at serious risk of alteration or destruction, and very susceptible to climate change. Despite global focus on the urban as the modern, it became very clear that Africa’s modern heritage has a vital role in promoting rural and urban sustainability in line with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the UNHabitat New Urban Agenda. In developing this intimate connection between the urban and rural spaces and places, and recognising current planetary challenges, from ecological crises and pandemics to rapid urbanisation and sustainable development, the Modern Heritage of Africa initiative (MoHoA) was created and established with its website hosted by the University of Cape Town. This initiative will embrace all stakeholders on the continent together with world-wide supporters of this theme.

The following goals and objectives are anticipated;

The goal of the Programme is to support the sustainable agenda in Africa through the research, protection, utilization and reinterpretation its modern heritage and to contribute to improving the implementation of the World Heritage Convention on the African continent. Specifically, the Programmes aims to:

• examine the meanings of Modern Heritage of Africa and to understand the role this heritage can play in promoting sustainability, notably SDG 11, of the human settlement in Africa;
• develop skills among heritage practitioners and other public and private sector stakeholders in associated fields, including research, training, conservation, advocacy and management;
• raise awareness about the significance of Modern Heritage of Africa amongst different stakeholders, including academics, heritage practitioners, developers, policy makers and civil society, especially amongst women and youth;
• address the underrepresentation of the Modern Heritage of Africa in the World Heritage List by building capacity amongst heritage practitioners in the identification and presentation of properties to be inscribed on Tentative Lists and potential future World Heritage nominations.

Focussing on the correlation between modern heritage and the Anthropocene, this initiative will employ a transdisciplinary approach to generate circular knowledge and undertake critical research on the definition, identification and sustainable conservation of Africa’s modern heritage.

The initiative was launched in 2020 with an initial brainstorming workshop in August, the isivivana (Keynote presentation by Professor Achille Mbembe & keynote presentation by Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty) and three further workshops (Working session: 3 May 2021) between April and September 2021, with intended the symposia taking place in September 2021 (Cape Town) (Call for Papers) and 2022 (London). Other longer-term activities are anticipated to continue into the future.