The Bleek-Lloyd Collection and
the Memory of the World
International Register
Jan Bos
Cape Town, 14 August 2015
UNESCO
• 1972
World Heritage Convention
• 2003
Convention for Intangible Cultural
Heritage
• 1992
Memory of the World Programme
Memory of the World Programme
“World Heritage Convention for
Documentary Heritage”
Vision:
• … belongs to all
• … should be preserved and protected for all
• … should be permanently accessible to all
Mission
• To facilitate preservation
• To assist universal access
• To increase awareness worldwide of existence
and significance of documentary heritage ->
Memory of the World Registers
Documentary Heritage
Carrier and content can be equally important
•
•
•
•
Textual items
Non-textual items (maps, prints, music scores)
Audiovisual items (films, sound disks, photos)
Virtual documents
Single document or group of documents
Memory of the World Registers
Showcases of the Memory of the World programme
• Items of documentary heritage that are part of
the inheritance of the world
• Their significance transcends boundaries of time
and culture
• They should be preserved for present and future
generations
• They should be made accessible to all peoples
Showcase
International Register: Africa
23 out of 305
• Africa (general):
Christopher Okigbo
Collection
• Angola: Ndembu
Archives
• Benin: Colonial Archives
on political affairs
International Register: Africa
• Egypt: Deeds of Sultans
and Princes
• Egypt: Memory of the
Suez Canal
• Egypt: Collection of
Persian Illustrated and
Illuminated Manuscripts
• Egypt: The National
Library of Egypt's
Collection of Mamluk
Qur'an Manuscripts
International Register: Africa
• Ethiopia: Treasures from
National Archives and
Library Organizations
• Ghana: Dutch West India
Company Archives*
• Madagascar: Royal
Archives
• Morocco: Kitab al-ibar
manuscript
International Register: Africa
• Mauritius: Records of the
French Occupation
• Namibia: Letter Journals
of Hendrik Witbooi
• Namibia**: John Marshall
Ju/'hoan Bushman Film
and Video Collection
(Smithsonian Inst. USA)
• Senegal: Fonds of the
Afrique occidentale
française (AOF)
International Register: Africa
• Tanzania: Collection of
Arabic Manuscripts and
Books
• Tanzania: German
Records of the National
Archives
• Tunesia: Archives of the
Regency of Tunis in the
18th and 19th centuries
International Register: Africa
• South Africa: Archives of the
CODESA and of the MultiParty Negotiating Process
• South Africa: Archives of the
Dutch East India Company*
• South Africa: Criminal Court
Case No. 253/1963 (State vs
Nelson Mandela & Others)
• South Africa: Liberation
Struggle Living Archive
Collection
• South Africa: The BleekLloyd Collection
African Nominations 2014-2015
• Côte d’Ivoire: Louis
Normand's photography
collection
• Côte d’Ivoire: Colonial
historical archives
• Egypt: Coins’ collection
• Ethiopia: Bahire Hassab
(Sea of Comptus - Calendar)
• Ethiopia: Degua (6th century
hymns’ book)
• Mauritius: Indentured
Labourers documents
African Nominations 2014-2015
• Niger: Collection of Arabic
and Ajami manuscripts
• Senegal: William Ponty
School Collection of Papers
• Senegal: Collection of old
postcards from French West
Africa
• Uganda: Records on the
martyrdom of the Uganda
Martyrs
• Zimbabwe: Nehanda and
Kaguvi mediums’ judgement
dockets
Nomination procedure
• Anyone may submit a nomination
• Two nominations per country per 2 years
(exception: joint nominations)
• Next deadline: 31 March 2016
• Assessment by Register Subcommittee
• Conclusive recommendation by International
Advisory Committee
• Decision by Director General
Selection criteria: Bleek-Lloyd
Selection Criteria: Bleek-Lloyd
• Authenticity
• World significance, uniqueness, irreplaceablity
• Additional critera:
– Time
– Place
– People
– Subject and theme
– Form and style
– Social, spiritual and community significance
Bleek-Lloyd Collection
“These collections provide the only means
of hearing one of the most fascinating
of the 'lost voices' of humanity.”