“Letters for Lulu” delivered
On Tuesday, 8 December 2009, Director of the Archival Platform Dr Harriet Deacon handed six letters highlighting problems in the South African heritage and archives sector to Acting Deputy Director General of Cultural Heritage, Vusithemba Ndima.
The letters, addressed to Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana, emphasised issues such as a lack of strategic thinking about the sector, underfunding and understaffing of archives, and an inconsistent approach among officials to applying heritage laws and digitising heritage records.
The letters were submitted by professionals and organisations in the heritage and archives sector as part of the Archival Platform’s “Letters for Lulu” campaign, a constructive engagement with the ministry in the spirit of former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s “Tips for Trevor” campaign.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/press_release_letters_for_lulu/
Call to action for South Africa’s artists
On 17 November 2009, President Jacob Zuma met with performing artists at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Zuma encouraged artists to speak up and organise: “For our young democracy to continue to grow, our artists must play their constructive, critical role in informing society and invoking debate … Working together we can do more to achieve these goals. However, we will achieve them more if artists unite and give government an organised structure to work with.”
The Archival Platform welcomes this initiative, as we are trying to do just this in the archive and heritage sector – improve communication among ourselves, encourage debate, engage with government and highlight the value of the sector within broader society.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/zuma_meets/
Whose anthem is it anyway?
The reaction to reggae artist Ras Dumisani’s rendition of the South African anthem at the rugby test match between the Springboks and the French national side has ranged from outrage to amusement. It is clear that South Africans feel strongly about their national anthem. Is this because it is part of our national heritage and, if so, should we be regulating the way it is sung?
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/whose_anthem_is_it_anyway/
Developers ordered to demolish illegal resorts at iSimangaliso
The Durban High Court has ordered at least four developers accused of building unauthorised holiday resorts on KwaZulu-Natal’s World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park (previously known as St Lucia), to demolish them and rehabilitate the area.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/illegal_resorts_isimangaliso/
Archives and library training workshops set for early 2010
From May to October 2009, Department of Arts and Culture-commissioned interviews were conducted with staff of universities and universities of technology who are involved in training, employers in the library information services, archival and records management sectors and professional bodies. During January and February 2010, a series of stakeholder workshops will be arranged to discuss and verify the findings and to test possible recommendations. Stakeholders are invited to attend these workshops.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/archives_and_library_training/
Heritage agency releases archaeology reports on DVD
Version 1.0 of the South African Heritage Resource Agency’s archaeology, palaeontology and meteorite unit’s Report Mapping Project is available on DVD. The DVD provides a bibliography and maps of the project areas of the Archaeology and Palaeontology Impact Assessment (Phase 1) Reports, currently on file at the heritage agency.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/sahra_dvd_archaeology_reports/
Rusty Padlock Awards presented for poor PAIA performance
On 17 November 2009, the Open Democracy Advice Centre presented the annual Rusty Padlock Awards. These “awards” mark consistently poor performers in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act in the public sector. The “winner” of this year’s Rusty Padlock Award was the Department of Health.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/rusty_padlock/
Unheard stories of our liberation struggle
In presenting his paper, “Mystery and machination in the archive”, to the Nordic Documentation Project Concluding Workshop on 27 November 2009, Nelson Mandela Foundation Head of Memory Verne Harris asked why some voices continue to remain absent from our historical record.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/unheard_stories_liberation/
Darwin and the Cape exhibition launches
Darwin and the Cape, which runs at Cape Town’s Iziko South African Museum until April 2010, provides an overview of Charles Darwin’s life, his contribution to biology and his relationship with the Cape, and makes use of specimens from the Iziko collections.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/darwin_exhibition/
ICOMOS Malta meeting highlights released
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has released a special edition of its newsletter to share the highlights of the most recent meetings of the executive and advisory committee and the scientific council, which were held in Valletta, Malta from 5 to 10 October 2009.
www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/icomos_highlights_malta/
District Six Museum turns 15
Cape Town’s District Six Museum celebrated its 15th birthday on 10 December 2009. Congratulations!
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