TRAINING IN AFRICA

Africa is different - creating a dire need for the training of television archivists (Dr S. Mbaye, Director of the National Archives of Senegal, confirmed this need during his presentation).

Given the above scenario, I would like to appeal to FIAT to help train archivists IN Africa. One realises that this is not one of the easiest tasks if you consider that very few countries have the necessary infra-structure and proper technology.

Maybe a good starting point might be South Africa which fortunately has the infra-structure and technology (the SABC TV News Archives is already contemplating introducing telework!). What we lack, though, are skills that compare internationally. We find ourselves in a rather awkward and unique position with everything tailor-made for our needs and no-one to compare with. The absence of competition locally makes our situation desperate to ensure not only that we are on the right track but that we improve our product quality too. This can only be done through professional training. I must add, however, that judging by what was said at the conference, I was encouraged to see that the SABC is not that far behind.

Perhaps with the help of FIAT/IFTA, South Africa might help to develop the training of archivists in other African states; They surely also need to preserve their media heritage - the African documentaries that we see on CNN, BBC, Reuters TV, etc. - for their coming generations, and who knows...? Africa might have "AFROMEDIA", the African version of EUROMEDIA at the turn of the century!

Thank you.

Maureen Ngobeni
Manager: SABC TV News Archives
Auckland Park, South Africa
Tel. 27 11 714-6454
Fax. 27 11 714-3861