African Platform on Access to Information adopted

We recently attended the Highway Africa conference, running concurrently to the Pan African Conference on Access to Information. From the UNESCO Communication and Information newsletter:

Around 220 delegates from diverse sectors gathered together in Cape Town, South Africa, from 17 to 19 September 2011 in a meeting that gave way to the signature of the African Platform on Access to Information. The Pan African Conference on Access to Information (PACAI) was convened by the Windhoek + 20 Working Group, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration. UNESCO supported the event together with other key partners, which included the African Union Commission, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

A number of important developments towards enhanced access to information have taken place in Africa in the past few years. Ten African countries now have access to information laws, as the international expert Toby Mendel explained during the event. There are also relevant on-going initiatives at the regional level, such as the Model Law for African Union Members on Access to Information, which is being developed by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information of the African Commission on Human and Peoples´ Rights. In the context of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), work is also underway towards the adoption of a binding Supplementary Act for a Uniform Legal Framework for Freedom of Expression and Right to Information. Moreover, many African countries are now part of multi-stakeholder efforts like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the International Aid Transparency Initiative and the Open Government Partnership. In sum, a momentum in the direction of transparency is taking place on the African continent.

Delegates to the Pan African Conference on Access to Information reflected on the advances in press freedom, freedom of expression and access to information that have taken place in Africa since the Windhoek Declaration was agreed upon on 3 May 1991. However, such recognition by PACAI participants was accompanied by their emphasis on the still substantial obstacles that need to be overcome if access to information is to be fully guaranteed.

Most African countries lack access to information legislation, and its implementation, where it does exist, has faced critical difficulties. On the supply side, important challenges have to do with the need to set up proper procedures ensuring timely access to information, effective enforcement mechanisms and adequate record management practices. Insufficient human and financial capacities within public bodies, accompanied by a culture of secrecy, were also identified as key problems.

Viewed from the demand side, the majority of Africans fundamentally lack awareness about their right to know and about how to actually exercise it. The complex issue of exceptions to information disclosure (based, for example, on national security, personal safety or privacy considerations, among other things) was also discussed at length during the Conference. Other important topics addressed included ICT and public domain information, the role of journalists, the promotion of media and information literacy, and the link between access to information and gender equality. Also during the Conference, the African Union Commission launched the Pan-African Media Network.

PACAI took place simultaneously with a number of other events, such as the 2011 edition of Highway Africa and a series of UNESCO sponsored workshops. During the joint closing session of all the gatherings held under the umbrella denomination “Africa Media Summit”, the African Platform on Access to Information was adopted. Recalling the 1991 Windhoek Declaration, Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, highlighted that, once again, from the African region emerges a new Declaration “that is setting a series of principles that should be followed not only by all nations that are members of the African Union, but by all nations of the world”.

23.09.2011
Source: UNESCO

Teaching Digital Heritage (and a little bit of Internet Activism)

This semester I have been co-teaching two courses at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.  The first is through the programme of English Studies and looks at the development of heritage resources, using the example of the KZN Literary Tourism project.  We deal with the development of writers trails, the research and writing of the author profiles, and look closely at the website and related digital heritage resources.

The second course is News Media in the Internet Society (Internet Studies department) and my section looks at environmental activism and social media, in particular blogging and micro-blogging.  Using real world examples, such as our award-winning green blog Sprig and Charity Water, I chart the effectiveness of new media in promoting awareness and instigating change.  For the duration of my section of the course, the students manage their own website (https://internetstudies.ukzn.ac.za/newsmedia/) where they will be publishing their assignments.

Heritage and Socio-Economic Development Conference

We’re presenting at a conference on Heritage and Socio-economic Development from 21-22 September 2011 at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.  There are some interesting speakers and I think it will be a worthwhile event.

Shembe Heritage Sites

I read with particular interest that certain Shembe sites in Inanda are now heritage landmarks as the Shembe and Inanda have featured in a fair bit of my work. My Master’s dissertation focussed on the functions of dreams and visions in the Shembe Church at Inanda, we have been working on a mapping prototype for Inanda, and in the early 2000s, I worked as a Research Assistant on a project for the National Monuments Council, which looked at exactly this, the potential designation of Shembe holy sites as heritage landmarks. I am happy to see that this has now come to fruition.

Ekuphakameni
Ekuphakameni

Below is the municipality’s article:

A number of major sites connected to the Shembe faith have been awarded Cultural and Religious Heritage landmark status, thanks to efforts by the Municipality. Provincial agency Amafa/Heritage KwaZulu-Natal approved a nomination by the Municipality to proclaim the Shembe Ebuhleni and Ekuphakameni villages, as well as the pilgrimage route and Nhlangakazi Holy Mountain, in Ndwedwe. eThekwini’s Senior Project Manager Peter Gilmore said the Municipality and the Inanda Community Tourism Board made the nomination to Amafa in an effort to make the newly launched Woza eNanda heritage route more attractive to international tourists and to preserve important heritage and cultural sites along the route. The Shembe, or Nazareth Baptist Church, was founded in the province by Isaiah Shembe in 1910 and its members are said to now number about 4 million. The annual Shembe pilgrims’ walk to the faith’s holy mountain is one of the largest religious pilgrimages on the continent, said Gilmore. Mandla Nxumalo, a curator at the Ohlange Institute, which is on the Woza eNanda route, welcomed news of the granting of Amafa status. “This will add value to our route, this is one of the places which has a rich history in our province. “I hope that this will improve access for tourists in the area and further developments can take place,” he said. Gilmore said efforts were now being made by the Municipality to apply for national heritage status for other facilities on the Inanda Heritage Route, including the Gandhi settlement, John Dube museum and Inanda Seminary.

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