Minister in The Presidency, Collins Chabane will on Saturday, 29 May 2010, on behalf of the South African government officially transfer the new building to house the ancient Mali manuscripts, of the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research to the Malian government.
The transfer will take place at a ceremony to be held in Timbuktu to the Malian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Madam Siby Ginette Bellegarde.
The building, located in the ancient city of Timbuktu, was constructed following a visit by former President Thabo Mbeki in 2001, to properly house the manuscripts collected across the city and surrounding regions with the effort to preserve Africa's heritage and intellectual property.
The preservation of the manuscripts was motivated by their historical value and anticipated contribution to the re-writing of the African history from an African perspective.
They are immensely significant to the continued re-evaluation of Africa's history, culture and contribution to the African renaissance. This is an ongoing project which succeeded in laying the foundation for the continuation of this work.
The South Africa-Mali Timbuktu project which was managed through a trust had three main objectives:
* The physical conservation of the manuscripts and training of the Malian conservators
* The construction of the library and archives building to house the manuscripts and all services relating to the preservation, collection and accession of the manuscripts
* The creation of public awareness on the need to preserve the manuscripts and their importance as sources of information that tells the true story of Mali and the surrounding regions.
The project, adopted by the New Economic Partnership of Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as its first cultural project, provided intervention measures to slow down the degradation of the manuscripts and encouraged active intellectual engagement emanating from research.
South African conservators led by the National Archives worked closely with the Tunisian government and provided training both in South Africa and Mali. In South Africa, the training designed around the needs of the manuscripts mostly on preventive conservation was provided to more than 10 Malian conservators.
Also a total of 14 officials received training in conservation at the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research.
In an effort to raise public awareness, a conference was held in Cape Town in 2006 attended by international, Malian and South African scholars to discuss and share their researches on the manuscripts. Exhibitions were also held in South Africa in 2006 and 2008 in all major cities.
The project was launched on Africa Day in 2003 and it is befitting to be transferred over to the Malian government in the same week that the continent celebrates Africa Day.
Enquiries:
Harold Maloka
Cell: 082 847 9799
Issued by: The Presidency
27 May 2010
