Page 9 - 2022 UNESCO ICDH Newsletter_vol.3

Youngsoo Bahn
Column Digitization is often times presented as a Recently, there was a huge digitization project
panacea for problems of preservation and access. in the McMillan Memorial Library of Kenya. Over
However, access to digitized collections and 21,000 documents were digitized and stored in
Practical reflections on their preservation, especially in the long term, archives with the support of the British Council’s
may be problematic. The problems are not only Cultural Protection Fund. Projects were selected
the Documentary Heritage technological but also economic, political, legal as part of the Cultural Protection Fund’s Disaster.
and moral. Some preservation experts say digital The stored data and images will be displayed
technology is not ideologically neutral and poses on the web, and the world will have access to it
digitization of Africa social and political as well as technological through online exhibitions. However, the internet
challenges.
penetration rate of Kenya and the surrounding
In the developed world national libraries and countries around East Africa, including Ethiopia,
other research libraries are engaged in major Tanzania and Uganda, is under 25% (2020). And
projects to digitize significant heritage collections since 2010, internet penetration in East Africa has
that reflect the history and culture of their respective hardly improved. Based on this information, there
countries. In many cases “treasures,” selected on seems to be an asymmetric distribution of sharing
account of their particular beauty, rarity, or interest, digitized information via the World Wide Web.
are displayed on the World Wide Web as “virtual To fix this imbalance in Africa, both a developed
exhibitions,” for example, Treasures from Europe’s digital ecosystem and extended infrastructure are
National Libraries. essential.
The aim of such projects is to make the The selection process of digitization tends
collections accessible to the general public, to be determined by the donor organization
mainly via the World Wide Web. It is an exciting or country and their valuation methodology.
prospect that anyone with access to the Internet Sometimes this can flow into different directions
can gain access to a kaleidoscopic sampling of within the administrative and bureaucratic process.
the world’s cultural heritage. However the operative Nevertheless, the process of digitization should
words are “with access to the Internet.”. If African be carried out in such a way that it preserves
documentary heritage is digitized, how many the integrity of the culture of African people, and
Africans will be able to benefit? This question raises they should have more control over their own
few concerns for projects aiming to digitize African documented heritage. This implies the right to
heritage materials. For example, who selects the decide which categories of information can and
material to be digitized? Who are the beneficiaries? cannot be made available to the public. At the
Is the digitized text freely available to both African same time, there should also be consideration of
scholars and the general public? ownership and economic interest.
Beginning this year, ICDH is planning a four-
year(2022-2025) long, multi-bilateral ODA business
in Cote d’Ivoire with UNESCO, which is deeply
related to digitization support. It is a significant
moment to make this opportunity a moral concept
of assistance with a broader consideration to
meet the practical purpose of digitization. It is also
a chance to ensure a just and fair application of
the proposed information-based digitization with a
wide framework such as infrastructure investment,
digital education for digital transformation, and the
establishment of Africa’s digital ecosystem.

8 UNESCO ICDH Newsletter 9 Memories of Today