Poor support silences historical voices

Archivists are pivotal in preserving a nation’s rich history, but those tasked with safeguarding important historical materials and documents recently highlighted a lack of support and investment.The digital shift has also not made things easier, with archivists bemoaning the fact that they are not accorded the required financial resources to fund training programmes, digitise sound archives, and provide support to keep up with modern archiving trends.This is according to Dag Henrichsen, a Namibian historian and archivist and a representative of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB), who spoke at a recent workshop on historic archives and sound recordings.Henrichsen called for greater investment in and recognition of the work of archivists.Listening to the eldersHenrichsen said more resources should be channelled towards archivists, especially those in the academic and arts fields.“If one looks at archivists and librarians, not only in Namibia but worldwide, they do challenging jobs and are usually at the lower scale of public wages, and they do not have support networks when it comes to generating money for training or travel for conferences, and more,” he said.“With reference to the sound archives, there is so much technology involved. This has to be financed, but then the people who work with it also need to be trained, and there is usually no understanding in the administration of these institutes of the importance of these oratory recordings. Archivists do the basic work so that we can listen to the elders,” he added.HamstrungNamibia currently stores its historical audio archives at the National Archives of Namibia in their original form. The archivists tasked with managing the archives have revealed that they are hamstrung by a lack of support.The chief archivist at the institution, Muningandu Tjeriko, underscored the need to digitise Namibia’s sound archives.This, Tjeriko said, will make it easier for researchers to make use of them.Namibian sound archives date back to the 1950s, with none of them digitised and their significance underappreciated.“Our people do not recognise the importance of sound archives, therefore there is no support, unlike other countries who understand and support the digitising of sound archives to ensure that the material is preserved and user-friendly,” Tjeriko said.Learning from the pastAs the custodians of important historical information, national archivists play a crucial role in ensuring future generations have access to a wealth of information about the past.However, without adequate support, this vital task may be in jeopardy. Henrichsen went on to say that the sound archives contain praise poems in indigenous Namibian languages, which he believes underpin a great deal about a country’s history.“Praise poetry underpins everything in the Otjiherero oratory. It even underpins political discussions. We need to listen to the praise poetry recorded by the men and women of the 1950s and listen to the history they narrate,” Henrichsen underlined.“For example, with regard to the genocide, these men and women are either survivors or first descendants thereof. Yet, hardly anyone is listening to the praise poetry,” Henrichsen said.

Poor support silences historical voices

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-09

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Poor support silences historical voices

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-09

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