Gudmund Valderhaug, who organised the first international conference.
(Image: Christa Lemelin)May 29, 2008 – Verne Harris, head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Memory Programme, recently presented a paper at an international conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His paper, titled “Ethics at the Endgame”, explored the concept of archives and justice in South African contexts.
Archives and the Ethics of Memory Construction, which brought together people from different disciplines to discuss issues related to archives, was the second international conference inspired by a colloquium hosted by the Foundation in 2005. The 2005 colloquium explored the concept of “Memory for Justice”, the slogan of the Memory Programme at the Foundation.
Nearly 100 participants attended the 2005 colloquium, including the executive director of the Steve Biko Foundation, Nkosinathi Biko; the director of strategy and planning at the Norwegian Library and Museum Authority, Gudmund Valderhaug; and Catholic University of America Professor David Wallace.
Inspired by the colloquium and the energy of his South African colleagues, Valderhaug organised an international conference on the theme of memory for justice in Oslo, Norway in 2006.
Said Valderhaug: “The colloquium at the Foundation was a groundbreaking event. It brought together archivists and other memory workers to discuss one common issue: the roles of memory and archives in the struggle for justice on individual, collective and national levels.
“This combination of diverse voices addressing one theme was extremely fruitful, generating new insights and understandings, and an inspiration to continue the dialogue.”
The Oslo conference, titled “Archives, Justice, Democracy”, attracted 130 participants. This year, the School of Information at the University of Michigan organised the third meeting on issues concerning memory, archives and justice. Wallace, who attended the 2005 colloquium and helped organise the Michigan conference, credits the colloquium and the Foundation for helping to stimulate an international dialogue on the connection between archives, memory and social justice issues.
Catholic University of America professor David Wallace was inspired by the Memory Programme’s work.
(Image: Christa Lemelin)“The colloquium provided an opportunity to draw on the inspiration of the South African example, and apply it to other contexts.” Wallace said he was impressed by how South Africans were not content to rest on their accomplishments, but realised that South African democracy was fragile and a work in progress.
Many participants had taken the ideas and discussions from the 2005 colloquium into other cultures, communities and contexts, he said. The Michigan conference, a direct result of the 2005 colloquium, was well attended and signalled the “pertinence and hunger for dialogue and action”.
“The 2005 colloquium and subsequent events indicated the gathering of momentum within the archival profession for a deeper, richer and more meaningful engagement with present-day social justice challenges, in light of their historical antecedents and connections,” Wallace said.
Valderhaug said the conference was characterised by lively and creative discussion between participants from all over the world. “As a result of these three conferences, there has emerged a vigorous international movement on memory, archives and justice.”