Who we are?

The Sudan Memory project seeks to conserve and promote valuable cultural materials from and about Sudan through digitisation and via an online platform. Throughout the country, many interesting and rich archives are at risk for a number of reasons: extreme weather conditions, lack of appropriate storage conditions, neglect and conflict. Many public and private collections are also locked away and not easily accessible.

Our mission is to help preserve these archives and their stories, so that current and future generations can benefit from this precious and important heritage. 

How did it all start?

The Sudanese Association for Archiving Knowledge developed the original idea for the project. Together with Professor Marilyn Deegan from King’s College London, a renowned expert in the field of digitisation, and the National Records Office in Sudan, they successfully applied for funding from the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund and later from the Aliph foundation. In 2018 the work started. 

What we do? 

The project has been digitising materials from various public and private collections, many forgotten and at risk of being lost. Contributing partners include the Sudanese Radio and Television Corporation, Rashid Mahadi Photo Studio, the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, the National Records Office, the Women’s Museum in Darfur and many others. Also, photographers, artists, researchers and family archives are contributing collections to Sudan Memory, among them Issam Hafiez, Griselda Al Tayeb and Frederique Cifuentes. Capacity building is an integral part of Sudan  Memory, and staff in partner organisations and private collections have been trained in scanning, data description and data management. 

What is the result?

The materials scanned by Sudan Memory include films, photos, manuscripts, objects, documents and art works. Many stories, histories and memories related to this content have been recorded. We have also created a 3D model of Suakin, exploring new ways for the audience to access and engage with archive materials through an interactive portal.

The project has also built capacity within private and public archives to use digitisation as a tool to preserve this unique heritage and make it accessible for a wider audience. This has been achieved through training and the supply of equipment to various partners in Sudan. 

A comprehensive selection of the scanned materials and stories are made available for non-commercial purposes on this website. Further scanned materials are held at the contributing archives and collection locations. The commercial copyright remains the property of the original rights holders, who should be contacted for licensing requests.