UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2017 - SABC has more than one Archive

SABC Archives

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has more than one archive, safeguarding television and radio broadcast material for preservation, rebroadcasting and research purposes. The upcoming World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October will again highlight the importance of these archives for future generations.

Follow the day with the hashtags #AudiovisualHeritage
                                                      #wdavh2017

Facts about UNESCO, WDAVH and SABC Archives...

"It's your story - Don't lose it!" - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2016 theme

The annual World Day for Audiovisual Heritage will again be hosted worldwide on 27 October.

Bertram Lyons, IASA Editor and working at AVPreserve, has posted the following:  

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage has become a key initiative for both UNESCO and the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) to honour audiovisual preservation professionals and institutions that help to safeguard this heritage for future generations despite the many technical, political, social, financial, and other factors that threaten its survival. Audiovisual archives around the world join together annually on 27 October to celebrate their work with activities and events that not only highlight the vulnerability of this heritage, but also celebrate the often unheralded work of the heritage institutions that protect it.

The theme of the World Day this year is "It's Your Story - Don't Lose It". 

READ MORE: New CCAAA Website and the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage!

Interview with SABC archivists on African Dialogue about the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2015 #wdavh2015

Two of SABC Radio Archives' archivists were interviewed on the programme African Dialogue on Channel Africa about the World day for Audiovisual Heritage that was celebrated on Tuesday 27 October.
Sipho Hlope is the Springbok Radio archivist; and Namatama Mate is the Channel Africa archivist.

"Today the world acknowledges the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. This is a day, now headed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, aims to raise awareness about the importance of audiovisual documents and the importance of archiving. This year’s theme is “Archives at risk: protecting the world's identities". Today we speak to: • Sipho Hlope, archivist from Springbok-radio • Namatama Mate, journalist and archivist from SABC. • Cecil Nguva-uva – former Southern African Broadcasters Association • Ilse Assman Chairperson of the Southern African Broadcasting Association’s Audiovisual Committee." - iono.fm

Storify of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage at the SABC Media Libraries #WDAVH2015

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2015 on 27 October

Once again awareness needs to created about the dire situation of the world-wide audiovisual heritage!

The slogan of this year's World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is:

"Archives at Risk: Protecting the World's Identities"

The world’s audiovisual heritage of sound recordings and moving images are extremely vulnerable as a result of factors ranging from neglect, natural decay to technological obsolescence, as well as deliberate destruction. 

Consequently, UNESCO has made it part of its mission to raise public consciousness of the importance of preservation of these recordings through the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. 

In adopting 27 October as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, UNESCO, in cooperation with the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) and other institutions, has helped to raise the profile of the issues at stake and focus global attention on the fragility of this heritage. 

                                                          - UNESCO Woprld Day for Audiovisual Heritage 

The countdown has begun!
Today is 19 days away from the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2015!

Archivists of SABC Radio Archives being interviewed about World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014 #wdavh2014

Three of the archivists of SABC Radio Archives were interviewed by SABC Radio stations about the importance of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage that is celebrated yearly on 27 October 2014.

The interviews are uploaded on SoundCloud.

Morongwa Mokwena, English Archivist, on 26 October on Media@SAFM on SAFM




Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist, on 27 October on Loslip, on RSG. (interview in Afrikaans)




Peter Raseroka, Ikwekwezi Archivist, on 27 October on Ikwekwezi FM (interview in isiNdebele)





Related posts:

- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014 today

- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014 on 27 October

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014 today

"Archives at risk: Much more to do"
WDAVH posters

"What if you wake up one day and all the memories of the world are gone?
What then of the future?"

All audiovisual archives worldwide are in trouble.
The formats and the play-out machines are obsolescent.

If we don't start today, will we be able to safeguard our memories and our history for future generations? The need for digitization are more pressing than ever!

The Swiss National Archives put this on YouTube.
The clock is ticking!




Read more: 

- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014

- World Day for Audiovisial Heritage - UNESCO

World Day for Audio Visual Heritage 2014 on 27 October

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is held again on 27 October.

The theme for this year's celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2014 is "Archives at Risk - Much More to Do!"

 Our AV heritage allows us not only to appreciate watching and listening to our AV collections but more importantly, it tells us about who we are.

The Coordinating Council of AV Archives Association (CCAAA) encourages all to join in the campaign for the need to safeguard man's AV heritage." - WDAVH

Read more about the campaign: World Day for Audio Visual Heritage 2014 

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2013 - Eventifier created #wdavh2013

The most recent World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is archived at Eventifier.
The photos that are shared on Instagram about the SABC Radio Archives are also included in this archive of social media interactions about audiovisual heritage.

Eventifier is a great way to archive all the social media stories and to keeping it together. Social media stories get "lost" or it becomes inaccessible as time goes by. This is a great way to archive a social media event that was categorised by a hashtag.

Unfortunately only the first request is free for an Eventifier to be created. Posts can also only be deleted, and nothing can be added after the Eventifier has been created. This option could have added to the quality of the archive of a hashtag.

A screen print of the Eventifier for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage looks like this:

Related posts:

- SABC Media Libraries' Instagram photos for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2013 #wdavh

- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October #wdavh2013


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October #wdavh2013

The yearly World Day for Audiovisual Heritage highlights the vulnerability of the world's audiovisual records.

The Instagram photo is from a photo taken in the SABC Radio Archives, which collects and stores audio material from SABC Public Broadcast Services (PBS) Radio Services. The SABC Radio Archives store a vast collection of audio material in different audio formats, some of which are also subject to disintegration if not being digitised before it is too late.

More information about the day can be found here: About the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

27 October 2013
Theme: Saving Our Heritage for the Next Generation

"Audiovisual documents, such as films, radio and television programmes, audio and video recordings, contain the primary records of the 20th and 21st centuries.

 Transcending language and cultural boundaries, appealing immediately to the eye and the ear, to the literate and illiterate, audiovisual documents have transformed society by becoming a permanent complement to the traditional written record.

However, they are extremely vulnerable and it is estimated that we have no more than 10 to 15 years to transfer audiovisual records to digital to prevent their loss. Much of the world's audiovisual heritage has already been irrevocably lost through neglect, destruction, decay and the lack of resources, skills, and structures, thus impoverishing the memory of mankind. Much more will be lost if stronger and concerted international action is not taken. 

It was in this context, that the UNESCO General Conference in 2005 approved the commemoration of a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage as a mechanism to raise general awareness of the need for urgent measures to be taken and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents as an integral part of national identity."

                          Source: UNESCO

Posts from previous years: 

- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October 2012

- Storify: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 at the SABC 

- Springbok Radio #1 - The History

- Unesco World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2012 - Awareness by SABC Media Libraries in South Africa 

- Unesco World Day for Audiovisial Heritage 27-28 October 2010

Blog post by Karen du Toit, archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2012 - awareness by SABC Media Libraries in South Africa

Picasa Photo album of  SABC Media Libraries exhibition for UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2012.

UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is an annual event on the 27th of October.

This year IASA (International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives) coordinated the event worldwide with the theme:
"Audiovisual heritage memory? the clock is ticking"

The link is here with all the participating countries and organisations listed:
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

This year the day fell on a Saturday, and the exhibition was set up on the 29th of October 2012 at the SABC.
The exhibition will be open in the foyer of the SABC for the rest of the week.

The official poster for SABC participation in
UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 

The SABC News Archives also participated in creating awareness about their audiovisual heritage of SABC news on AV formats that are threatened with obsolescence.

A Picasa photo album of their exhibit is uploaded here: Unesco World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2012 - SABC Television News Archives exhibit at SABC


Related post:

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October 2012


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

World day for AudioVisual Heritage on 27 October 2012

It is again on 27 October 2012 the World Day for AudioVisual Heritage that has been declared by UNESCO as the official day to highlight the dire state of our AV collections worldwide.

The theme for 2012 is: “Audiovisual heritage memory? the clock is ticking”

"Audiovisual documents, such as films, radio and television programmes, audio and video recordings, contain the primary records of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Transcending language and cultural boundaries, appealing immediately to the eye and the ear, to the literate and illiterate, audiovisual documents have transformed society by becoming a permanent complement to the traditional written record.  

However, they are extremely vulnerable and it is estimated that we have no more than 10 to 15 years to transfer audiovisual records to digital to prevent their loss. 

Much of the world's audiovisual heritage has already been irrevocably lost through neglect, destruction, decay and the lack of resources, skills, and structures, thus impoverishing the memory of mankind. Much more will be lost if stronger and concerted international action is not taken." - UNESCO 

IASA, the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives, is hosting the day at 
World Day for AudioVisual Heritage.

They undertake to post any relevant content: Tell us how your organisation is celebrating World Day for Audiovisual Heritage? 



The SABC Media Libraries will also be taking part. 


This year we will focus especially on our Springbok Radio Revisited collection, the radio material of the former SABC radio station Springbok Radio, that was handed back earlier this year to the SABC. 

Springbok Radio Revisited

The official hand over of Springbok Radio archive material to SABC took place on 8 May 2012 this year.  

Hand over of Springbok Radio material by Frans Erasmus to
Thami ka Plaatjie of the SABC

Springbok Radio can still be heard digitally in 6-hour loops that is being refreshed on a two-weekly basis by our Springbok Radio custodian, Retha Buys. 
The Springbok Radio Audio stream is here: http://www.springbokradio.com/AudioStream.html

How will you highlight your audiovisual heritage?


Related posts: 

- Storify: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 at the SABC

- SABC Platfontein celebrated World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

- SABC Bloemfontein exhibition for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

- UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage  27-28 October 2010

- The story of  Springbok radio via Storify

- Frans Erasmus, an inspiration!

- Springbok Radio Revisited


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Storify: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 at the SABC

Storify: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage at the SABC

The SABC celebrated World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27th Oct 2011 by hosting a traveling exhibition from ILAM called “For Future Generations – Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music". The exhibition was up from 5 - 28th October in Auckland Park. 


The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage culminated in a lunch-time concert on 27 October  by Pops Mohamed. Pops Mohamed is a South African musician who promotes our cultural African music tradition by promoting African music with the traditional musical instruments on a modern platform. He says he is on a "mystical African music journey". 


The SABC participation in World Day for Audiovisual heritage was compiled in a Storify with all the relevant posts, updates and tweets about the day, and to highlight the importance of our audiovisual heritage.

Quote from Unesco World Day for Audiovisual heritage:

Sound recordings and moving images are extremely vulnerable as they can be quickly and deliberately destroyed. Essentially emblematic of the 20th century, audiovisual heritage can be irretrievably lost as a result of neglect, natural decay and technological obsolescence. Public consciousness of the importance of preservation of these recordings must be engaged and the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is intended to be the platform for building global awareness.

Some cellphone photos of the Pops Mohamed concert on the 27th Oct.

Pops Mohamed at the lunch-time concert at SABC

Pops Mohamed serenading Florence Moshatana on the mbira

Pops Mohamed playing the kora

Related posts:

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage - 27/10/2011
ILAM Travelling exhibition at the SABC 
SABC Platfontein celebrated World Day for Audiovisual Heritage


Blog post & Storify by Karen du Toit, Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

ILAM travelling exhibition at SABC: For Future Generations – Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music

The four interns of the SABC Radio Archives, which form part of the SABC Media Libraries, visited the ILAM travelling exhibition in the SABC foyer in Auckland Park. The exhibition will still be here until the 28th of October 2011.

"For future generations - Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music".

It is as part of the build up towards the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on the 27th of October 2011 next week.
ILAM stands for International Library of African Music.

Obakeng Phiri, Mbali Jezile, Nokuthula Mzelemu & Thakhani Ramufhufhi 

The exhibition celebrates the work of Hugh Tracey who was a former SABC employee. Hugh Tracey founded ILAM in 1954, and his  collection of sound recordings and photographs of the sub-continent, captured from 1928 through the early 1970s during 19 field excursions that took him as far north as the then Belgian Congo will be represented in this exhibition. ILAM is situated in Grahamstown at the University of Rhodes.

The travelling exhibition, “For Future Generations – Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music” displays a selection numerous features on Tracey’s field research, publications, films and audio recordings. Video stations offer footage of South African mine dancing, Chopi xylophone orchestras, Shona music and story-telling, and on ILAM’s history and current projects.    

           - Ilse Asmann (SABCMediaLib blog: World Day for Audiovisual heritage)

Read more about Hugh Tracey and his contribution to the preservation of the rich heritage of African music:
Hugh Tracey Portrait

Part of the ILAM exhibition at the SABC

Abel Thulare, SABC Information Librarian, also came to check out the exhibition

Obakeng Phiri took the photos

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage - 27/10/2011

In building up towards the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage which is celebrated on the 27^th of October, we will host an exhibition from the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in the SABC foyer from next week, 5 October until 28 October 2011.  Please make time to visit the exhibition.

The exhibition celebrates the work of Hugh Tracey who was a former SABC employee. Hugh Tracey founded ILAM in 1954, and his  collection of sound recordings and photographs of the sub-continent, captured from 1928 through the early 1970s during 19 field excursions that took him as far north as the then Belgian Congo will be represented in this exhibition. ILAM is situated in Grahamstown at the University of Rhodes.

The travelling exhibition, “For Future Generations – Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music” displays a selection numerous features on Tracey’s field research, publications, films and audio recordings. Video stations offer footage of South African mine dancing, Chopi xylophone orchestras, Shona music and story-telling, and on ILAM’s history and current projects.

On the 27^th of October, The Pops Mohamed Duo has agreed to do a lunch hour concert for the SABC staff. He will demonstrate some of the instruments that Hugh Tracey had collected during his travels. The concert promises to be a highlight for us.

We hope to see you there.

Ilse Assmann, Manager: SABC Media Libraries

Report about the British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop at the SABC

The British Library has received support from the World Collections Programme to run a course on sound and audiovisual archiving in South Africa. Participants for the programme were drawn from the SABC Regional branches and from broadcast archives in other southern African countries.
                    - (Dr Janet Topp Fargion, Lead Curator, World and Traditional Music of the British Library)

Report by Elizabeth Mate, Archivist, SABC Radio Archives, who had the privilege to attend the workshop.

The British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop started from the 28th 0f March to the 1st of April 2011, in the M5 studio of the SABC. 

The first two days was with Will Prentice (Head of Technical Services, Sound and Vision) where we focused on the brief history of analogue audio and a few processes of digitization. He spoke about the qualities of audio (mav, mp3, vma) whereby he advised us, as archivists to always consider the original. In this case it will be wav, for it is not compressed like mp3 which throws out a lot of data.  We were showed how to clean the tape and cassette machines and how to demagnetize the machines. He said it was a standard thing for every archivist before recording and cataloguing material every day.  We spoke about the actual storage areas of audio. It was agreed that space is a very huge problem for all archives.  We spoke about things which can be of great damage to our work such as air conditioning and water.  We also spoke about LP’s, CD’s reel-to-reel tapes and different types of analogue carriers.  We were shown how to adjust the pitch of sound on the cassette play back.

The last session was with Andrew Pearson (Maintenance Repair & Design Engineer, Sound and Vision), who did the introduction to video archiving. He showed us how many times a film move for us to see one picture. We focused on the qualities of video/film; and how colour was added to the black and white films.  He showed us how to adjust the video recorder to get the right colour of different colours on the bars of the TV monitor. We also spoke about sound adjustment; high light means brightness, and other distorting pitches. We dealt with video cassettes, their durability, and the processes it takes when bringing it to digitization. We were even taught how to open a video tape and fix the tape. We also touched on the use of Wavelab. It is a very important tool when it comes to transferring audio from both analogue audio carriers and digital ones.

During the Workshop, we were also advised that technicians from the Technical departments must not just phase away or throw away broadcasting equipment. They must work together with archivists to know what type of audio carriers still needed to be used.

We were advised that materials or audio which are on analogue carriers must be converted or transferred to digital carriers before equipments using these carriers are phased out.  The equipment is being phased out because it is no longer being manufactured.

I think the SABC is on the right track by introducing digitization in its audio and audiovisual archives.

Related post:
British Library Audiovisual Archiving Training Workshop

British Library Audiovisual Archiving training workshop

British Library

A British Library Audiovisual Archiving training workshop is busy taking place here at the SABC from 28 March to 1 April 2011.

The workshop focuses on audio and video archiving and will be funded by the British Library who will also do the training. For this workshop the British Library in cooperation with the SABC Media Libraries have invited:

1. The SABC Regions who do not always have hands-on access to training
2. One participant from the following 5 countries who are SABA members: Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, DRC and Angola. We are working closely with UNESCO in this regard.

The SABC hosts and provides the necessary equipment. Where the SABC do not have the required equipment, the British Library brought the equipment with them.The British Library is funding the workshop as well as the workshop delegates.

25 people are attending, with representatives from Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and the DRC.

The SABC Media Libraries hope that this will be the beginning of a long-term relationship with the British Library and that both SABA and the SABC will benefit greatly from this initiative with more member countries to get involved. – Ilse Assmann (Manager, SABC Media Libraries)

The invitation letter from Dr Janet Topp Fargion, Lead Curator, World and Traditional Music of the British Library had the following details:

The British Library has received support from the World Collections Programme to run a course on sound and audiovisual archiving in South Africa. The programme builds on similar training provided in Kenya since 2009.

Participants for the programme are being drawn from the SABC Regional branches and from broadcast archives in other southern African countries.

The training will cover issues of documentation and collection management, digitization of audio and video collections, and storage. It will take place in studios of the SABC to ensure as much hands-on experience as possible. For this reason too the number of participants is being kept to a minimum.

The trainers from the British Library will include Dr Janet Topp Fargion (Lead Curator, World and Traditional Music), Andrew Pearson (Maintenance Repair & Design Engineer, Sound and Vision) and Will Prentice (Head of Technical Services, Sound and Vision).