Dr Yolandi Burger & Ms Zandile Myeka - ’Named after Nelson’ & digital creativity within archival practices

In the lead up to International Nelson Mandela Day (18th July), IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Yolandi Burger & IAS Residential Fellow Ms Zandile Myeka deliver a dual seminar -

Dr Yolandi Burger - Measuring Mandela: Co-designing his legacy and impact on urban places The "Named after Nelson" (NaN) project is a collaborative Global South and Global North project that utilised a co-design approach to integrate contributions from diverse stakeholders to memorialise Nelson Mandela's legacy in the metropolis. This initiative benefitted from the complexities inherent in co-design, including understanding the varied needs of diverse stakeholders, navigating power dynamics, and fostering effective communication within a multicultural and multidisciplinary team. The approach focused on capturing and reflecting the profound influence Mandela knowingly and unknowingly had on placemaking, revealed through the graphic heritage depicting his legacy in locations named after him. The seminar will share the methodological framework employed in the NaN project, highlighting the links between design inquiry and archival practice. The discussion will reveal how, within the context of graphic heritage means, meanings, and measures, impact has been generated through various channels connected to the project. This will draw from research impact theory and practical examples of implementing this towards measurable outputs.

Ms Zandile Myeka - Exploring the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Archive as a collaborative link with institutional repositories design inquiry and social transformation This seminar explores the use of digital resources to foster digital creativity within archival practices, focusing on the Loughborough Urban Graphic Object Archive and the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory Archive at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. It reports on how the relationship between these respective institutional repositories has leveraged digital technologies to innovate archival practices, enhance access to archival materials, and engage diverse audiences. Through case studies, the project explores strategies such as digitisation, data visualisation, multimedia presentations, digital storytelling, collaborative projects, and user-centred design. By analysing the collaborative experiences of these settings, the project clarifies the transformative impact of digital creativity on archival practice, emphasising its role in preserving cultural heritage, promoting historical understanding, and fostering social inclusion.

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