"Living Heritage: Oral History, Practice and Policy"

The training workshop on oral history, sponsored by the South African National Cultural Heritage Training & Technology Project and Robben Island Museum, offered sessions on a multitude of critical issues in South African oral history and technology. The participants came from all over South Africa, from large, established heritage organizations and small museums and sites, to engage a talented array of facilitators and panelists, including Luli Callinicos, Dumisani Sibayi (SAHRA), Ilse Assmann (SABC), Michael Shapiro and Lee Gillespie-White (International Intellectual Property Institute), Mr. Jack Lewis (Idol Productions), Prof. Leslie Witz (UWC Heritage Studies), Valmont Layne (District Six Museum), Prof. Cynthia Kros (Wits Heritage Studies), Sue Krige (MindWalks, Inc.), and others. Represented organizations included the Robben Island Museum, University of the Western Cape, National Archives of South Africa, the University of Durban-Westville Documentation Centre, District Six Museum, Michigan State University Museum, MATRIX: Center for the Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, the African Studies Center of Michigan State University, Campbell Collections of the University of Natal-Durban, South African Broadcasting Corporation, Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the Chicago Historical Society, and Technikon South Africa. The conference attendees also visited with DACST Deputy Minister Bridgitte Mabandla, who offered her thoughts about the significance of oral history in recapturing South Africa's heritage.

The conference was organized by Anthea Josias (Collections Manager, UWC-Robben Island Mayibuye Archives); Khwezi Ka Mpumlwana (Robben Island Museum, and now the chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Museum); and Dr. Sean Field (Director, Centre for Popular Memory, University of Cape Town).

This site contains a growing archive of sound, video, images, and text from the conference. Use the links to the programme, at left, to locate these materials. We are also developing a training disk with presentations and audio from the conference.

Conference Program

Conference Proceedings

Conference Report