1. Nampombe Saurombe University of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa
The role of archives in the decolonisation of the higher education curriculum in South Africa International Workshop: Maintaining Facts Infrastructure in the Era of Post- Truth Politics Swedish National Heritage Board and Södertörn University Stockholm, Sweden September 2017
Nampombe Saurombe
University of South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa
Title slide – option 2

2. Outline Introduction Problem Statement Objectives of the study
Decolonisation of the Higher Education Curriculum
South African public archives
Public programming
What can be done?
Conclusion

3. Introduction Image placeholder
#FeesMustFall Movement Student uprising
Key Demands:
Free & Quality Education
Decolonisation of the University Curriculum
Removal of colonial symbols i.e. Statue of C. University of Cape Town
End the outsourcing of services e.g. cleaners, security guards etc.
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7. Problem statement
#FeesMustFall student movement ( ) has compelled universities to decolonise their curriculum.
Is this change possible in the absence of archives?
Why are archivists in South Africa silent about their role in this process?

8. Objectives
To identify the role archival resources play in the decolonisation of higher education curriculum
To highlight efforts towards decolonising South African archives
To describe how public programming can help archivists in South Africa to encourage academia to make use of archives in the decolonisation process.

9. Decolonisation of the Higher Education Curriculum
A process of re-humanizing the curriculum (Ndhlovu-Gatsheni 2017)

10. Decolonisation of the Higher Education Curriculum
Current curriculum is largely westernized, excluding indigenous knowledge systems. It marginalizes certain languages, cultures and heritage.
Change will lead to an inclusive curriculum that represents the entire nation of South Africa described as the ‘Rainbow Nation’
Understanding the History of South Africa is critical in this process.

11. Decolonisation efforts @UNISA

12. Brief History of South Africa
Date
Action
Pre 1652
Before the arrival of the Europeans
The arrival of the first Europeans in the Cape of South Africa
British rule ’s
Apartheid rule
1994-
The post apartheid era

13. Archives- a crucial link in the Decolonisation process
Archives serve as memory aids that help us learn from our past, understand our present and decide our future. Wide range of formats: written, photographic, moving image, sound, digital and analogue

15. South African archives: colonised or decolonised?
Whose history is preserved in the archives?
South African archives are affected by the four eras experienced in this country.
The history of the marginalized communities is mostly undocumented.

16. South African archives: colonised or decolonised?
NARSSA Act no. 43 of evidence of the the desired change regarding archives and records management in South Africa.
Example- Oral History Project

17. Public programming in South Africa
Section 3 (h) of the NARSSA Act no 43 of 1996 mandates NARSSA to promote awareness and encourage use. There is special emphasis on reaching out to the less privileged.
NARSSA does have a public programming unit.
NARSSA, University of South Africa and the National Research Foundation Project- Taking archives to the people

18. Public programming- Linking academia with the archives
Findings from Doctoral study in the ESARBICA region (South Africa included) revealed low utilization of archival resources. (Saurombe 2016)
Reasons: lack of funding, shortage of staff, lack of skills, few collaborative initiatives, insufficient knowledge of users, invisible archives, not harnessing ICTs and social media platforms.

19. Public programming of Archives in the ESARBICA region
Review Legislation
Integrate current trends
Align Mission Statements with Access & Use
Develop public programming policies
Link Archives to Needs of Society
Branding
Awareness of the Archives
Regular Evaluation
Rules and Regulations
Availability of Resources
Advocacy
Funding
Sufficient Staffing
Appropriate Technology
Conduct User Studies
Current and Potential Users
Evaluate and Improve Services
Provide Feedback
Educate Users
Partnerships
Libraries, Museums & Private Archives
Archivists' Skills and Knowledge
Increase Training Opportunities
Encourage & Support Attendance
Access and Use

20. What can be done?
Archivists in SA must be proactive and design custom made public programmes for the academic community in South Africa.
Archivists in SA should also contribute to the definition and meaning of ‘decolonisation’ .
Training and education in decolonisation will help archivists to design suitable programmes.
Archival associations i.e. SASA and ESARBICA should support and encourage archivists in South Africa to participate in the decolonisation of higher education.
NARSSA and the provincial archives should collaborate with other information providers to improve archival information literacy

21. Conclusion
Archives are an important part of the decolonisation process.
The participation of archivists in the transformation process of the higher education curriculum is important.
This could improve levels of utilization at NARSSA and the provincial archives.

22. Dr. Nampombe Saurombe