TOWARDS A GLOBAL NETWORK? OUTCOMES AND LEGACY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME BONGEKA HLENGWA (SA) From then to now ( ) 1 BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010 Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the International Training Programme

Attending the ITP at BM The British Museum Besides the knowledge I gained, being in this programme was the most exciting thing I have ever experienced. Thanks to the British Museum and its dedicated team of coordinators and mentors. I personally learnt quite a lot of things while visiting different departments and museums, but in this presentation I will only concentrate on one skill that I still use in my line of work today. It is worth indicating that besides the skills I gained, the experience also boosted my interest in history and culture, and taught me not to focus in only one culture, my culture, but to learn about other cultures as well. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 2

Back Home: The influence ITP had The experience bear me only positive fruits, both at a personal level and professional level. I would not be where I am today, where I am very happy and content, still hungry for growth. As soon as I got back home, I decided that I was no longer happy about my MA dissertation topic, which was “TELLING IT THROUGH ARTEFACTS: THE DEPICTION OF ZULU HISTORY IN THE MUSEUMS OF KWAZULU- NATAL.” I wanted to change it to “TELLING IT THROUGH ARTEFACTS: THE DEPICTION OF SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY IN THE MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA”, which would then incorporate all the different histories and cultures of the diverse South Africa. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 3

Back Home: The influence ITP had (Cont..) That alone influenced my move from KwaZulu-Natal Province in SA to Gauteng, so that I could get a chance to mingle with people from different cultures so that I could learn more about them their history, their culture and their languages. I left London in August 2006, when we completed the training, and in November of the same year, I asked to be transferred from KZN, Pietermaritzburg to Gauteng, Pretoria by the SA Department of Arts & Culture. When I realized that the scope in Pretoria was not as wide, I moved to Johannesburg but unfortunately had to move a little bit away from the Museum field, with good intentions though. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 4

Currently In 2007 I moved to Johannesburg to work as a Language Practitioner at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. My key responsibility was to ensure that all Bills and Laws passed are available in all 4 official languages of the Gauteng Province (isiZulu, Sepedi, Afrikaans & English) -promoting culture -ensuring that even a layman on the street knows the laws of the province -ensuring that African languages do not become extinct. In 2009, I found a home in the same institution but different division, where I got a chance to use one of the skills I gained during my training at the BM. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 5

Currently (Cont…) I am now a Supervisor of a Unit called Documents and Services, under Information and Knowledge Management Directorate. This Unit has four sub-units and one of them deals with archiving documents produced by the legislature. My responsibility is to ensure that that those documents, which are produced every blessed day, are archived systematically both manually and electronically. In that sub-unit, I brought with me document classification skills, documenting skills as well as paper conservation skills. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 6 Gauteng Legislature AGENDA 01 November 2007 Sports Recreation Arts and Culture Committee Gauteng Legislature AGENDA 01 November 2007 Sports Recreation Arts and Culture Committee

Currently (Cont…) Even though I do not practically work at the archive, I supervise and advise our institution’s Records Management Officers. I am also a partner-driver of an initiative towards a paperless Gauteng Legislature, where everything will be scanned, saved and retrieved electronically. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 7

Challenges Faced Employment-wise, I am fine, but with my dissertation, I am very much behind, because I have not been able to find a university that has a spot on programme that will assist me in dealing with my topic as the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where I completed my coursework of my MA(Heritage Studies) no longer offers Heritage Studies as a degree. The University of South Africa and Witwatersrand University, which I am closer to do not have similar programmes. So, I have been struggling to figure out what to study and where, to further my knowledge and to carry on with my study and exploration of different cultures and the depiction thereof, in the museums of South Africa. Basically, I am stuck. May colleagues from SA assist with information and/or guidance? BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 8

Where to? I am not giving up. I will still pursue my research and complete my dissertation. I am still going to improve the depiction of history and culture in the museums of SA through artifacts, as my hypothesis was and still is IT IS NOT ADEQUATELY DEPICTED. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 9

Improvements on ITP? I could not have organized it better. BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 10

THANK YOU!! BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme 11