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Memory of the World Register – Africa

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The first inscriptions on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register were announced in 1997.[1] By creating a compendium of important library and archive holdings – including books, manuscripts, audio-visual materials, and digital documents[2] – the program aims to use its networks of experts to exchange information and raise resources for the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of documentary materials.[3] As of 2023, 494 pieces of documentary heritage have been included in the register.[3] Of these, 35 are from Africa.[4] They include recordings of folk music, ancient languages and phonetics; aged remnants of religious and secular manuscripts; collected lifetime works of renowned figures of literature, science, and music; copies of motion pictures and short films; and accounts documenting changes in the world’s political, economic and social stage.

List by country/territory

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Documentary heritage[A] Country/Territory Custodian(s), Location(s) Year
inscribed
Reference
Christopher Okigbo Collection Africa Christopher Okigbo Foundation, Brussels

50°49′33″N 4°22′32″E / 50.825953°N 4.375628°E / 50.825953; 4.375628 (Christopher Okigbo Foundation)

2007 [5]
Al-Mustamlah Min Kitab Al-Takmila  Algeria National Library of Algeria, Algiers

36°44′55″N 3°04′19″E / 36.748481°N 3.071902°E / 36.748481; 3.071902 (National Library of Algeria)

2017 [6]
First Summit Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Archives  Algeria,
 Egypt,
 India,
 Indonesia,
 Serbia
2023 [7]
Arquivos dos Dembos / Ndembu Archives  Angola,
 Portugal
Arquivo Nacional de Angola, Luanda

8°49′04″S 13°13′52″E / 8.817705°S 13.231108°E / -8.817705; 13.231108 (Arquivo Nacional de Angola)

2011 [8]
Colonial archives  Benin National Archives, Porto-Novo

6°30′39″N 2°36′25″E / 6.510954°N 2.606833°E / 6.510954; 2.606833 (National Archives, Porto-Novo)

1997 [9]
Memory of the Suez Canal  Egypt Egyptian Embassy, Paris

48°52′04″N 2°17′46″E / 48.867809°N 2.296108°E / 48.867809; 2.296108 (Egyptian Embassy, Paris)

1997 [10]
Deeds of Sultans and Princes  Egypt National Archives of Egypt, Cairo

30°04′02″N 31°13′38″E / 30.067110°N 31.227230°E / 30.067110; 31.227230 (Egyptian National Library and Archives)

2005 [11]
Persian Illustrated and Illuminated Manuscripts  Egypt National Library and Archives of Egypt, Cairo

30°04′02″N 31°13′38″E / 30.067110°N 31.227230°E / 30.067110; 31.227230 (Egyptian National Library and Archives)

2007 [12]
National Library of Egypt's Collection of Mamluk Qur'an Manuscripts  Egypt National Archives of Egypt, Cairo

30°04′02″N 31°13′38″E / 30.067110°N 31.227230°E / 30.067110; 31.227230 (Egyptian National Library and Archives)

2013 [13]
Treasures from National Archives and Library Organizations  Ethiopia National Archives and Library, Addis Ababa

9°01′04″N 38°44′58″E / 9.017869°N 38.749318°E / 9.017869; 38.749318 (National Archives and Library of Ethiopia)

1997 [14]
Dutch West India Company (Westindische Compagnie) archives  Ghana,
 Netherlands,
 Brazil,
 Guyana,
 Netherlands Antilles,
 Suriname,
 United Kingdom,
 United States
National Archives of Ghana, Accra

5°33′40″N 0°12′29″W / 5.561230°N 0.207952°W / 5.561230; -0.207952 (National Archives of Ghana)

2011 [15]
Royal Archives (1824–1897)  Madagascar Department of National Archives, Antananarivo

18°54′24″S 47°31′09″E / 18.906557°S 47.519057°E / -18.906557; 47.519057 (Department of National Archives, Antananarivo)

2009 [16]
Kitāb Shifā al-Asqām al-Āriḍat min al-Ẓahir wa al-Bāṭin min al-Ajsām/the Book of Healing from internal and external diseases affecting the body  Mali Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu

16°46′20″N 3°00′31″W / 16.77227°N 3.00855°W / 16.77227; -3.00855 (Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library)

2017 [17]
Tadkirat al gāfilin ‘anqubhihtilāf al- mu’minin/ Reminder to those who do not pay attention to the harms caused by the divergence between believers  Mali Ahmed Baba Institute, Timbuktu

16°46′36″N 3°00′21″W / 16.77663°N 3.00575°W / 16.77663; -3.00575 (Ahmed Baba Institute)

2017 [18][19]
Maṣāliḥ al-Insān al-Mutaʿalliqat bi al-Adyānwa al-Abdān, The human being interests linked to the religions and the body  Mali,
 Nigeria
Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu

16°46′20″N 3°00′31″W / 16.77227°N 3.00855°W / 16.77227; -3.00855 (Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library)

2017 [20][21]
Records of the French Occupation of Mauritius  Mauritius Mauritius Archives, Port Louis

20°11′18″S 57°28′05″E / 20.188388°S 57.468040°E / -20.188388; 57.468040 (Mauritius Archives)

1997 [22]
The Records of Indentured Immigration  Mauritius 2015 [23]
The Slave Trade and Slavery Records in Mauritius (1721-1892)  Mauritius National Archives Department, Coromandel

20°11′16″S 57°27′57″E / 20.1879°S 57.4659°E / -20.1879; 57.4659 (National Archives Department)

2023 [24]
The archival collections on the Bienheureux Père Jacques Désiré Laval - The Apostle of Mauritius  Mauritius 2023 [25]
Kitab al-ibar, wa diwan al-mobtadae wa al-khabar  Morocco Bibliothèque al-Quaraouiyyine, Fez

34°03′51″N 4°58′22″W / 34.064143°N 4.972771°W / 34.064143; -4.972771 (Bibliothèque al-Quaraouiyyine)

2011 [26]
Manuscript of al- Zahrāwīsur  Morocco Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc, Rabat

34°00′30″N 6°50′34″W / 34.008402°N 6.842639°W / 34.008402; -6.842639 (Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc)

2017 [27]
Letter Journals of Hendrik Witbooi  Namibia 2005 [28]
Fonds of the "Afrique occidentale française" (AOF)  Senegal National Archives, Dakar

16°46′36″N 3°00′21″W / 16.77663°N 3.00575°W / 16.77663; -3.00575 (Ahmed Baba Institute)

1997 [29]
Collection of old postcards from French West Africa  Senegal National Archives of Senegal, Dakar

16°46′36″N 3°00′21″W / 16.77663°N 3.00575°W / 16.77663; -3.00575 (Ahmed Baba Institute)

2015 [30]
William Ponty School Collection of Papers  Senegal Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar

16°46′36″N 3°00′21″W / 16.77663°N 3.00575°W / 16.77663; -3.00575 (Ahmed Baba Institute)

2015 [31]
The Bleek collection  South Africa University of Cape Town/South African Library, Cape Town

33°57′29″S 18°27′39″E / 33.958056°S 18.460833°E / -33.958056; 18.460833 (Ahmed Baba Institute)

1997 [32]
Archives of the Dutch East India Company  South Africa,
 Netherlands,
 India,
 Indonesia,
 Sri Lanka
2003 [33]
Criminal Court Case No. 253/1963 (State Versus N. Mandela and Others)  South Africa The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, Pretoria

33°57′29″S 18°27′39″E / 33.958070°S 18.460832°E / -33.958070; 18.460832 (The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa)

2007 [34]
Liberation Struggle Living Archive Collection  South Africa Doxa Productions, Hout Bay

34°01′00″S 18°23′21″E / 34.016636°S 18.389210°E / -34.016636; 18.389210 (Doxa Productions)

2007 [35]
Archives of the CODESA (Convention For A Democratic South Africa) 1991 - 1992 and Archives of the Multi-Party Negotiating Process 1993  South Africa National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, Pretoria

25°44′11″S 28°12′21″E / 25.736375°S 28.205835°E / -25.736375; 28.205835 (National Archives and Records Service of South Africa)

2013 [36]
German Records of the National Archives  Tanzania National Archives, Dar es Salaam

6°48′35″S 39°17′08″E / 6.809694°S 39.285492°E / -6.809694; 39.285492 (National Archives, Dar es Salaam)

1997 [37]
Collection of Arabic Manuscripts and Books  Tanzania Zanzibar National Archives, Zanzibar

6°10′35″S 39°12′06″E / 6.1764393°S 39.2016237°E / -6.1764393; 39.2016237 (Zanzibar National Archives)

2003 [38]
Privateering and the international relations of the Regency of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuries  Tunisia National Archives of Tunisia, Tunis

36°47′58″N 10°09′53″E / 36.799444°N 10.164791°E / 36.799444; 10.164791 (National Archives of Tunisia)

2011 [39]
The Abolition of Slavery in Tunisia 1841-1846  Tunisia National Archives of Tunisia, Tunis

36°47′58″N 10°09′53″E / 36.799444°N 10.164791°E / 36.799444; 10.164791 (National Archives of Tunisia)

2017 [40]
The Music holdings in Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger's archives (1910-1932)  Tunisia Centre des Musiques Arabes et Méditerranéennes, Sidi Bou Saïd

36°52′01″N 10°20′44″E / 36.866831°N 10.345667°E / 36.866831; 10.345667 (Centre of Arab and Mediterranean Music)

2023 [41]
Nehanda and Kaguvi mediums’ judgement dockets (April 1897). Case between State versus Nehanda and Kaguvi spirit mediums leading to their execution.  Zimbabwe National Archives of Zimbabwe, Harare

17°47′40″S 31°03′50″E / 17.794351°S 31.063766°E / -17.794351; 31.063766 (National Archives of Zimbabwe)

2015 [42]

See also

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Notes

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^ Names and spellings provided are based on the official list released by the Memory of the World Programme.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Launch of the International Memory of the World Register 2022-2023 Cycle". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  2. ^ Diop, Papa Momar; Jordan, Lothar (2022). "The UNESCO Memory of the World Program as a Possible Catalyst for Fostering Peace and Peace Studies in Africa". Peace Studies for Sustainable Development in Africa: 763–773. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-92474-4_56.
  3. ^ a b "64 new inscriptions on UNESCO's Memory of the World Registers". UNESCO Press. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  4. ^ "Memory of the World". UNESCO. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  5. ^ "Christopher Okigbo Collection". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  6. ^ "Al – Mustamlah Min Kitab Al – Takmila". UNESCO Memory of the World. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  7. ^ "First Summit Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Archives". UNESCO Memory of the World. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  8. ^ "Arquivos dos Dembos / Ndembu Archives". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  9. ^ "Colonial Archives". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  10. ^ "Memory of the Suez Canal". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  11. ^ "Deeds of Sultans and Princes". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  12. ^ "Persian Illustrated and Illuminated Manuscripts". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  13. ^ "The National Library of Egypt's Collection of Mamluk Qur'an Manuscripts". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  14. ^ "Treasures from National Archives and Library Organizations". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  15. ^ "Dutch West India Company (Westindische Compagnie) Archives". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  16. ^ "Royal Archives (1824-1897)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  17. ^ "Kitāb Shifā al-Asqām al-Āriḍat min al-Ẓahir wa al-Bāṭin min al-Ajsām/the Book of Healing from internal and external diseases affecting the body". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  18. ^ "Tadkirat al gāfilin 'anqubhihtilāf al- mu'minin/ Reminder to those who do not pay attention to the harms caused by the divergence between believers". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  19. ^ "A reminder to those who do not pay attention to the harms caused by the divergence between believer". UNESCO International Centre for Documentary Heritage. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  20. ^ "Maṣāliḥ al-Insān al-Mutaʿalliqat bi al-Adyānwa al-Abdān, The human being interests linked to the religions and the body". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  21. ^ Adewumi, Afolasade A. (July 2019). "Historical Treasures in Ruins: Salvaging Archives in Nigeria". Art Antiquity and Law. 24 (2): 159. ISSN 1362-2331 – via HeinOnline.
  22. ^ "Records of the French Occupation of Mauritius". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  23. ^ "The Records of Indentured Immigration". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  24. ^ "The Slave Trade and Slavery Records in Mauritius (1721-1892)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  25. ^ "The archival collections on the Bienheureux Père Jacques Désiré Laval - The Apostle of Mauritius". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  26. ^ "Kitab al-ibar, wa diwan al-mobtadae wa al-khabar". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  27. ^ "Manuscript of al- Zahrāwīsu". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  28. ^ "Letter Journals of Hendrik Witbooi". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  29. ^ "Fonds of the "Afrique occidentale française" (AOF)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  30. ^ "Collection of old postcards from French West Africa". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  31. ^ "William Ponty School Collection of Papers". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  32. ^ "The Bleek Collection". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  33. ^ "Archives of the Dutch East India Company". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  34. ^ "Criminal Court Case No. 253/1963 (State Versus N. Mandela and Others)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  35. ^ "Liberation Struggle Living Archive Collection". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  36. ^ "Archives of the CODESA (Convention For A Democratic South Africa) 1991 - 1992 and Archives of the Multi-Party Negotiating Process 1993". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  37. ^ "German Records of the National Archives". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  38. ^ "Collection of Arabic Manuscripts and Books". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  39. ^ "Privateering and the international relations of the Regency of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuries". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  40. ^ "The Abolition of Slavery in Tunisia 1841-1846". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  41. ^ "The Music holdings in Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger's archives (1910-1932)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  42. ^ "Nehanda and Kaguvi mediums' judgement dockets (April 1897). Case between State versus Nehanda and Kaguvi spirit mediums leading to their execution". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
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