Technology liberates history
A new dynamic, user-friendly and interactive website of The Sunday Times Heritage Project went live last weekend, thanks to the collaborative efforts between the Sunday Times and South African History Archives (SAHA). The physical memorials have been extended into a multimedia format, combining never before seen footage, documentation and other historical information.
The purpose of the new website is to retell the history of the various memorials in Cape Town, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng from a number of perspectives. The re-launch of www.sundaytimes.co.za/heritage/ on the nation's Heritage Day coincided with the Sunday Times Heritage Project's installation of memorial sites nationally, aimed at shining a spotlight on people, places and events that shaped our history over the last century.
The site offers a multiplicity of learning experiences, from 360-degree panoramic tours of the sites to documents, pictures, interviews, radio clips, police files and audiovisual material. The objective is to elevate history from the hallowed but often dusty realms of academia into an exciting, participatory and richly hued exercise that imparts information, stimulates discussion and analytical thought.
The project has also sparked off a school memorial project initiative within SAHA, aimed at instilling a passion for history and research in both learners and teachers. This project, running in three provinces, will culminate in the installation of three memorials under the auspices of the Sunday Times Heritage Project
