Building a new home of our history - the Bafokeng Digital Archive

Abstract

The Royal Bafokeng Nation values its history and heritage. It believes in the Setswana proverb that says 'Maropeng go a boelwa, go sa boelweng ke teng'; meaning that mankind will always refer back to is origins in order to forge ahead and progress. In light of the above, an initiative, known as the Bafokeng Digital Archive was birthed in 2011, with the aim to collect and disseminate information about events that shaped the Bafokeng's past and our identity as a nation. Using the new to preserve the old, the Bafokeng Digital Archives is a collaborative effort to document and make accessible, the community's rich history.

This paper aims to highlight some of the processes followed, challenges met and lessons learned from the project. Some of the achievements of the projects include: archival storage and digital infrastructure, material acquisition and metadata creation, web presentation and marketing.