Description under development. Coming soon...
This national project of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology seeks to audit indigenous technologies and associated knowledge throughout the country with a view to identifying and developing indigenous technologies of economic potential to stimulate rural economic development.
A secondary goal of the project is to develop research capacity in Historically Disadvantaged Black Universities in the country by tasking students of these universities with conducting the audit with the support and leadership of the academic and research staff of the universities. The National Heritage Cultural Studies Centre is the provincial implementing agency in the Eastern Cape.
For purposes of coordination and cost-effective management, the National Heritage Cultural Studies Centre decided to plan and implement both projects together but without losing their seperate character, identity and focus. This has been facilitated by the identical audit approach of both projects.
The University of Transkei is a collaborating partner in these efforts, with Professor G T Sirayi acting as Manager and Provincial Coordinator for both projects. The strategic collaboration with UNITRA is aimed at addressing the logistical problem of managing both projects in the vast Eastern Cape province, and also forging valuable reseatch links between the two sister Historically Disadvantaged Universities. The NAHECSC's collaborating partner at UNITRA is the Rural Research and Development Institute.
A joint UFH/UNITRA project management team comprising the staff of both Universities short-listed and selected approximately eighty students from each University who were appointed a fieldworkers. These students were trained at a workshop in December 1997 and then deployed to all six regions of the province to undertake fieldwork in January of 1998. Supervision was carried out by sixteen academic Team Leaders drawn in equal numbers from both universities. A debriefing for the project took place at the University of Fort Hare involving fieldworkers and Team Leaders from both universities.
In December of 1997, Dr. Conchita Ndege, visiting scholar from the University of North Carolina, assisted the NAHECSC in developing an African Studies Programme and Cultural Management & Development Programme. A working document, which resulted from Dr. Ndege's efforts, covers the following:
The Eastern Cape Audio Visual Centre is a joint project between the Provincial Government and the University of Fort Hare. A more thorough description of the project is currently under development.
| National Heritage Cultural Studies Centre
University of Fort Hare Alice 5700 |
Phone: 27(040) 65 31175 or 65 31837 Gallery: 0404-2269 Fax: 27(040) 65 31926 E-mail: CCS@ufhcc.ufh.ac.za |