Conference Report

What: South African National Cultural Heritage Training Workshop, “Oral History: Practice and Policy”

Who: 64 participants from library, tertiary, archival, and cultural heritage organizations and institutions in South Africa and the United States.

Where: Cape Town, South Africa: main sessions at Cullinan Inn; day-long session at Robben Island Museum, plus session at the District Six Museum.

When: November 8-10, 2000

Sponsor: Binational Committee of South African National Cultural Heritage Training & Technology Project; Robben Island Museum.

Funding, Support for Workshop: Grants from Andrew W. Mellon, Ford Foundations; logistical and staff support from Robben Island Museum; units of Michigan State University.

Collaborating Institutions and Organizations:

• Michigan State University Museum
• African Studies Center, Michigan State University
• MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, Michigan State University
• Consortium for Interinstitutional Collaboration in African and Latin American Studies, Michigan State University
• Chicago Historical Society
• Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
  

This workshop brought together professional cultural heritage workers from South Africa and the United States for an intensive short workshop on oral history practice, method, model projects, technology, and policy. Participants attended sessions at the Cullinan Inn, Robben Island Museum, and the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa.

The event is the second in a series of projects in a three-year program of binational, multi-institutional collaborations in heritage training and technology funded by the Andrew W. Mellon and Ford foundations and Michigan State University. The project is administered by staff at Michigan State University and overseen by a Binational Committee of US and South African representatives of leading academic and cultural organizations.

The training agenda for this Project stems from a needs assessment workshop for representatives of South African heritage and cultural organizations, held in Durban, November 2-5, 1999.

Detailed Workshop Description

Workshop Objectives

The curriculum for the Workshop was inspired by the Durban needs assessment workshop’s identification of oral history as a national priority for South Africa’s cultural, historical, and heritage sectors. The curriculum included presentations and discussions on interviewing methods, model projects in new media, digitization of sound for preservation and dissemination, interpretation of oral histories, national policy frameworks for oral history and heritage, copyright and licensing of cultural assets, exhibits and community relations, and training curricula for oral history in academic and nonacademic settings. The objectives of the Workshop were:

• To train and capacitate a cadre of South Africa’s new generation of heritage professionals through an intensive program of specialized sessions, field experiences, and the provision of instructional resources for continuing application and education on-site in South Africa.
• To bring together a culturally-diverse, binational group of educators and heritage professionals in South Africa and the United States to foster new, collaborative, learning-based projects in history, heritage, and culture.
• To foster international scholarly and educational exchanges among participants and their institutions through the use of networked technologies.

Participants and Instructional Staff

Participant Selection: Participants in the Workshop were invited by a special subcommittee of the Binational Committee, which identified a diverse sampling of heritage professionals from an array of advantaged, underserved, emergent, and established institutions, museums, archives, and cultural organizations across South Africa. Nominations by this subcommittee were reviewed by the partners in the United States.

Instructors, Facilitators, Presenters: Instructors, presenters, and instructional assistance came from a number of sources; a listing of staff and instructors may be found at the Workshop website and in the Appendix of this report:

• the partner institutions in the United States: several units of Michigan State University (professional staff from the MSU Museum; humanities technology instructors from MATRIX); the Chicago Historical Society; the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, plus contributors from the International Intellectual Property Institute.
• cultural arts and humanities training and public programs and organizations in South Africa, including the University of Durban Westville; University of the Witwatersrand; University of Cape Town; District Six Museum; Robben Island Museum/Mayibuye Archives; South African Broadcasting Corporation; University of the Western Cape; South African Heritage Resources Agency; National Archives of South Africa; Campbell Collections, University of Natal-Durban, plus independent consultants, filmmakers, and radio program directors.
  Program

The Workshop divided into 3 one-day sessions, the first day on Robben Island and the remaining two at the Cullinan Inn, Cape Town, with extramural events at the District Six Museum and a reception at the home of the United States Consul-General in Cape Town. The structure of the curriculum drew the participants through a natural sequence from overarching issues of theory and policy, to methods, model projects, preservation and access, dissemination, distribution, digitization, and, finally, training for oral history.

• Day one (Nov. 8): Participants traveled to Robben Island Prison and Museum for a day of tours and sessions devoted to oral history presentation and interpretation. Participants listened to opening remarks about living heritage and oral history, by Prof. Jakes Gerwel. Led by the Museum’s Education and Research Departments, and assisted by the Hon. Ahmed Kathrada, chair of the Robben Island Council and a former prisoner, the participants then viewed and discussed new exhibits that broadcast oral narratives and interviews with ex-prisoners in the cells themselves. In the afternoon, they discussed problems of narrative interpretation in a session facilitated by Mr. Khwezi Ka Mpumlwana (Education Manager, RIM), and Dr. Harriet Deacon (Research Coordinator, RIM). That evening, participants toured the District Six Museum in Cape Town, where museum trustees and exhibit designers discussed the Museum’s redevelopment in the aftermath of the building’s reconstruction. A reception and dinner followed.
• Day two (Nov. 9): A full day’s sessions included panels on model projects, national policy, interviewing techniques, and preservation.
  • Prof. Luli Callinicos of Wits; Mr. Irwin Langeveldt of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology; and Prof. Yonah Seleti, Director of the Campbell Collections, University of Natal-Durban, discussed the policy framework for national oral history.
  • Dr. Sean Field (Coordinator, Western Cape Oral History Project, UCT) and Professor Marsha MacDowell (Curator, MSU Museum) demonstrated interviewing techniques in an interview with Prof. Robert Vassen, a South African exile who recalled early experiences under apartheid and his resulting political activism. This session was videotaped for later excerpting in instructional materials the project is developing.
  • Participants viewed and discussed two presentations of model oral history projects, facilitated by Mr. Dumisani Sibayi, South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA): the National Archives pilot oral history project on the 1956 Women's March, featuring oral narratives and songs recorded and digitized by workers under the supervision of Sue Krige; and a presentation about preserving the work of South African praise poets, by Dr. Russell Kaschula, Department of South African Languages & Literatures, UCT.
  • Ilse Assmann (Manager, SABC Sound Archives & Audio Library), discussed preservation and access issues for video and audio collections; Mr. Michael Shapiro and Ms. Lee Gillespie-White (International Intellectual Property Institute) addressed the knotty issues related to copyright and licensing of cultural assets in the context of international and South African law.
• Day three (Nov. 10): The day featured panels on digitization, community relations, various new uses of oral history, and training in formal and informal settings. The featured speaker was Hon. Bridgitte Mabandla, Deputy Minister for Arts, Culture, Science, and Technology.
  • In a session on best practices for digitizing sound archives, Professor Mark Kornbluh (Director, MATRIX, MSU), Ms. Melanie Shell-Weiss, (Assistant Director, H-Net, MSU), and Mr. Valmont Layne (Sound Archivist, District Six Museum) explained and discussed the intricacies of digitizing and presenting sound archives in networked settings.
  • Prof. Crain Soudien of the District Six Museum Council discussed the difficulties and challenges of coordinating community involvement in the collecting and recording of oral history at a community-based museum.
  • For a session facilitated by Prof. Kurt Dewhurst (Director, Michigan State University Museum), Dr. Diana Baird N'Diaye (Folklife Specialist, Office of Folklife Programmes and Cultural Studies, Smithsonian Institution) described the project on African immigrants in Bermuda and Washington, D.C. for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Dr. Russell Lewis (Director for Collections and Research, Chicago Historical Society) explained how the Society navigated the conflicting interests and stories collected through the Chicago Neighborhoods Project.
  • Dr. Ciraj Rassool (History Department, UWC), facilitated a session that explored new venues for oral history: controversial historical film documentaries of gay oral histories, by Mr. Jack Lewis (Film producer, Idol Productions), and samplings from community radio and oral history in local languages, collected and broadcast by Ms. Nomachina Mfeketho-Noah (freelance radio producer).
  • A final session grappled with the challenges in developing training modules for oral history and living heritage. Ms. Deirdré Prins (Educational Programmes & Materials Development Coordinator, Robben Island Museum) and Ms. Carohn Cornell (Heritage trainer), divided the participants into groups that each developed answers to a series of questions related to applying oral history practice in professional, educational, and tertiary institutions. The groups were directed by Dr. Leslie Witz (Robben Island Heritage Studies Training Programme) and Dr. Cynthia Kros (Heritage Programme, Graduate School for Humanities and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand).
  • A highlight of the afternoon was a talk and group discussion with Hon. Bridgitte Mabandla, Deputy Minister for Arts, Culture, Science, and Technology. The deputy minister reiterated the Ministry’s deep interest in developing and cultivating a new generation of heritage professionals adept at project management, heritage issues, and cultural tourism. She then fielded questions from the group about the Ministry’s work with smaller museums and its priorities for the heritage sector.

Special events: The group attended a reception sponsored by the United States Consul-General Cape Town, and a reception/dinner at the District Six Museum.

Outcomes, Evaluation, Follow-up

Workshop curricular materials: As part of the workshop, participants will receive a compact disk containing video excerpts and presentations from the panelists.

Workshop evaluations: A general evaluation session occurred at the end of the last day of the workshop, where participants discussed the skills and ideas they expect to take back with them to their professional and educational workplaces. Participants pointed especially to the sessions at Robben Island (many of them had not been to the Island before), digitization, and interviewing as especially instructive. They also mentioned that the program was quite intensive, and that it would take quite some time for them to digest and apply all that they had learned.

Follow-up: After the Workshop concluded, the instructors and project staff continued to maintain and develop communications with participants about skills acquired and new projects that could spin off from the Workshop. Participants were subscribed to the current listserv for all participants from the July Institute, and for attendees at the Durban needs assessment workshop, to discuss the Workshop and to foster communications about heritage issues. Lively and productive discussion continues through the preparation of this report.

Appendix

I. Workshop Organizational and Planning Staff

A. Curriculum planning and schedule coordination: Ms. Anthea Josias, Collections Coordinator, Robben Island Museum/UWC-RIM Mayibuye Archives, chair; Dr. Sean Field, Director, Western Cape Oral History Project, UCT; Mr. Khwezi Ka Mpumlwana, Education Director, RIM; Melanie Shell-Weiss, Assistant Director, H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online; Prof. Marsha MacDowell, MSU Museum.

B. Travel and logistical arrangements: MATRIX Staff: Joe Cords, Jacque Shoppell, Joan Eadie, MSU.

C. Follow-up communications and research: Amy Couture, MSU.

II. Facilitators, Special Guests, Presenters, Staff

A. Facilitators

1. Mr. Khwezi Ka Mpumlwana (Education Manager, RIM)
2. Dr. Harriet Deacon (Research Coordinator, RIM)
3. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Director, MSU Museum.
4. Mr. Dumisani Sibayi, South African Heritage Resources Agency
5. Ms. Anthea Josias, Collections Coordinator, Robben Island Museum/UWC-RIM Mayibuye Archives.
6. Dr. Ciraj Rassool (History Department, UWC)
7. Professor Yonah Seleti (Director, Killie Campbell Collections, University of Natal-Durban)
8. Ms. Deirdré Prins (Educational Programs & Materials Development Coordinator, Robben Island Museum).
9. Ms. Carohn Cornell (Heritage trainer).
10. Prof. Peter Knupfer, Project Director, MSU.
11. Russell Lewis, Andrew W. Mellon Director of Collections and Research, Chicago Historical Society.

B. Special Guests and Speakers

1. Hon. Bridgitte Mabandla, Deputy Minister, Arts, Culture, Science & Technology.
2. Professor Jakes Gerwel
3. Dr. Professor André Odendaal, Director, Robben Island Museum
4. Professor John Eadie (Director, CICALS, Michigan State University)
5. Hon. Mr. Ahmed Kathrada (Chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council).

C. Presenters, Commentators

1. Dr. Luli Callinicos (Heritage Consultant)
2. Mr. Irwin Langeveldt (Assistant Director: Heritage, DACST)
3. Dr. Sean Field (Coordinator, Western Cape Oral History Project, UCT)
4. Marsha MacDowell, Professor, Department of Art and Curator of Folk Arts, Michigan State University Museum.
5. Ms. Sue Krige, (Heritage Consultant).
6. Dr. Russell Kaschula, Department of South African Languages & Literatures, UCT
7. Mr. Michael Shapiro (General Counsel, International Intellectual Property Institute)
8. Ms. Lee Gillespie-White (International Intellectual Property Institute)
9. Professor Mark Kornbluh (Director, MATRIX, MSU)
10. Ms. Melanie Shell-Weiss (Assistant Director, H-Net, MSU)
11. Professor Crain Soudien (District Six Museum Council)
12. Dr. Diana Baird N'Diaye (Folklife Specialist, Office of Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, Smithsonian Institution)
13. Dr. Russell Lewis (Director for Collections and Research, Chicago Historical Society)
14. Mr. Jack Lewis (Film producer, Idol Productions)
15. Ms. Nomachina Mfeketho-Noah (Freelance radio producer)
16. Dr. Leslie Witz (Robben Island Heritage Studies Training Program)
17. Dr. Cynthia Kros (Heritage Programme, Graduate School for Humanities and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand)
18. Mr. Valmont Layne (Sound Archivist, District Six Museum)

D. Staff

1. Prof. Peter Knupfer, Project Director, MSU.
2. Ms. Joan Eadie, Program Coordinator, College of Education, MSU.
3. Scott Pennington, Educational Technologist, MATRIX.
4. Michael Fegan, Educational Technologist, MATRIX.
5. Joy Palmer, Humanities Technology Specialist, MATRIX.
6. Amy Couture, Humanities Technology Specialist, MATRIX.

III. Participants/Trainees

1. Teresa Barnes, History Department UWC
2. Karunananda Chetty, UDW Documentation Centre, Durban
3. Christopher DuPreez, South End Museum. Eastern Cape
4. Sello Hatang, National Archives, Pretoria
6. Vuyani Jarana, Nelson Mandela Museum, Transkei
7. Bongani Mabaso, National Archives, Pretoria
8. Thenjiwe Magwaza, Killie Campbell Collections, Durban
9. Oupa Makhalemele, Robben Island, Cape Town
10. Bashadi Lekgetho, North West Arts & Culture Dept.
11. Tizzie Mangiagalli, Caledon Museum, Western Cape
12. Sabine Marschall, UDW, Durban
13. Sydney Mashile, Pilgrims Rest Museum, Mpumalanga
14. Winnie Matjila, National Archives, Pretoria
15. Portia Matlala, National Archives, Pretoria
16. Bongani Mgijima, Lwandle Migrant Labour Museum, Somerset
17. Sibongesini Mkhize, KwaMuhle Museum, Durban
18. Sephai Mngqolo, MacGregor Museum, Kimberly
19. Lebo Mokoena, National Archives, Pretoria
20. Zolile Mvunelo, Robben Island, Cape Town
21. Tembisa Nkonto, Redhill Location Museum, Eastern Cape
22. Thulani Nxumalo, District Six Museum, Cape Town
23. Michele Pickover, Wits Historical Papers, Johannesburg
24. Graeme Reid, Gay & Lesbian Archive, Johannesburg
25. Tony Rodrigues, Technikon South Africa, Johannesburg
26. Grant Shezi, Robben Island, Cape Town
27. Sibongile Simelane, Wits Historical Papers, Johannesburg
28. Mark Snyder, Fort Hare, Alice, Eastern Cape
29. Trisha Sterling, Cape National Parks
30. Lesley Townsend, SAHRA, Cape Town