Memnon has recently donated the digitization of a body of valuable archival material documenting Mandela’s life, work, and writings to the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). The digitization of various formats and content was done in Brussels with our partner in South Africa, Jasco Broadcast Solutions, arranging the logistics and project onsite.
In order to carry out this project, their inventory had to be reviewed to determine what could and could not be digitized. Tapes were collected from NMF and delivered to Memnon in early 2019 and underwent a digitization process. This included the handling of a test batch which allowed for the quality and formats to be discussed, agreed upon, and signed off by the NMF.
The collection which was identified as suitable for digitization comprised mainly VHS tapes, Betacam, DigiBeta as well as MiniDV tapes. The final hard drives were delivered in late 2019 and were formally presented to the NMF at a special event.
“In all continents there are capable men and women, experienced, who are rising to the challenges, which are posed by the numerous problems that affect humanity, and I am confident that this world one day will be the type of world we all deserve”, were Mandela’s wise words, in one of the digitized interviews found among other speeches in events and conferences.
It is with great delight that Memnon contributed to safeguarding Nelson Mandela’s remarkable legacy. Memnon aims to continue preserving much more of his inspiring message of hope and global reconciliation and keep his memory alive.
Our core mission is to make archives accessible and to keep priceless memories, historic knowledge and moments alive in new content and use cases. We support and donate in-kind activities for historic and endangered archives and plan for 2020 a new program, more information will be announced soon. In the meantime, if you have ideas, suggestions or want to know more, feel free to contact us.
