Digitise Africa Trust

Our vision is to enable the digital preservation of, and access to, primary source materials for enabling Africans to tell Africa’s story, and to do this in a way that:

  • ensures ownership and custodianship remains in the hands of Africans, African organisations and African institutions

  • ensures the source materials are readily available in Africa and further afield for research, education and use, and

  • ensures the preservation of both human and natural history collections for the benefit of Africa’s people and her environment

Access to Africa’s Story

We believe access to the source materials of our own story, as Africans, is a significant educational and development goal that will open up social, cultural and economic opportunities in Africa and for Africans

Africans telling Africa’s Story

We believe Africans are best placed to tell Africa’s story to the world particularly given ready access to the source materials of that story

Identifying African Collections under Threat

We believe African’s are best placed to identify collections significant for telling Africa’s story that are under threat

Identifying Inaccessible African Collections

We believe African’s are best placed to identify collections significant for telling Africa’s story that are not readily accessible for research and use

African Digital Preservation Capacity

We know there is the expertise in Africa to digitise analogue collections and process born-digital collections and to build digital archives at preservation standard in line with international best practice

Ownership Stays in Africa

We believe the ownership and custodianship of African collections whether analogue or digital should remain in the hands of Africans, African organizations and African Institutions so that Africa can offer her stories to her people and to the world as a gift rather than having them stolen from from her

Get Involved

If you know of analogue or born digital collections significant for telling Africa’s story that are in a vulnerable state, or if you have expertise to assist in the preservation of Africa’s human and natural heritage collections, please be in touch with us at info@digitiseafrica.org.

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Contribute

If you are interested in funding initiatives to preserve Africa’s heritage collections or to tell Africa’s story, or you know of others who may be interested in joining this mission, please reach out to us on info@digitiseafrica.org.

“

In the information society, in the long run, only the digital will survive in the memory
of a nation as it is more readily available and accessible than analogue cultural heritage
resources.

The DigiCULT Report: Technological landscapes for tomorrow's cultural economy, page 28European Commission Directorate-General for the Information Society, European Communities, 2002
“

Today we have a growing and effective body of approaches, experience, and collaboration to address the challenges. Digital preservation is an important, necessary and doable endeavour with simple first steps all can undertake.

Digital Preservation Handbook, https://www.dpconline.org/handbook/digital-preservation/why-digital-preservation-mattersDigital Preservation Coalition
“

To realise an information society for all, digital cultural heritage resources need to be
easily available and accessible for all citizens.

The DigiCULT Report: Technological landscapes for tomorrow's cultural economy, page 31European Commission Directorate-General for the Information Society, European Communities, 2002
Digitisation of a painting
shot showing digitisation of flat objects

Digitisation is best done at a standard where the digital facsimile captures the smallest significant detail for an adequate interpretation of the material. Standards such as FADGI, Metamorfoze and ISO/TS 19264-1:2017 describe the standards at which flat cultural heritage objects should be captured adequate for preservation and presentation purposes.

David A. Larsen, Founder, Africa Media Online

Partner with us on this journey: hi@digitiseafrica.org