TOWARDS A GLOBAL NETWORK? OUTCOMES AND LEGACY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME BONGEKA HLENGWA (SA) From then to now (2006-2010) 1 BB Hlengwa, Cairo,

TOWARDS A GLOBAL NETWORK? OUTCOMES AND LEGACY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME

TOWARDS A GLOBAL NETWORK?OUTCOMES AND LEGACY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMMEBONGEKA HLENGWA (SA)From then to now (2006-2010) 1BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the International Training Programme

Attending the ITP at BMThe British Museum

Besides the knowledge I gained, being in this programme was the most exciting thing I have ever experienced. Thanks to the British Museum and its dedicated team of coordinators and mentors.

I personally learnt quite a lot of things while visiting different departments and museums, but in this presentation I will only concentrate on one skill that I still use in my line of work today.

It is worth indicating that besides the skills I gained, the experience also boosted my interest in history and culture, and taught me not to focus in only one culture, my culture, but to learn about other cultures as well.

BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme2

Back Home: The influence ITP had The experience bear me only positive fruits, both at a personal level and professional level. I would not be where I am today, where I am very happy and content, still hungry for growth.

As soon as I got back home, I decided that I was no longer happy about my MA dissertation topic, which was TELLING IT THROUGH ARTEFACTS: THE DEPICTION OF ZULU HISTORY IN THE MUSEUMS OF KWAZULU-NATAL. I wanted to change it to TELLING IT THROUGH ARTEFACTS: THE DEPICTION OF SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY IN THE MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA, which would then incorporate all the different histories and cultures of the diverse South Africa.


Back Home: The influence ITP had (Cont..)That alone influenced my move from KwaZulu-Natal Province in SA to Gauteng, so that I could get a chance to mingle with people from different cultures so that I could learn more about them their history, their culture and their languages.

I left London in August 2006, when we completed the training, and in November of the same year, I asked to be transferred from KZN, Pietermaritzburg to Gauteng, Pretoria by the SA Department of Arts & Culture.

When I realized that the scope in Pretoria was not as wide, I moved to Johannesburg but unfortunately had to move a little bit away from the Museum field, with good intentions though.


CurrentlyIn 2007 I moved to Johannesburg to work as a Language Practitioner at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. My key responsibility was to ensure that all Bills and Laws passed are available in all 4 official languages of the Gauteng Province (isiZulu, Sepedi, Afrikaans & English)-promoting culture-ensuring that even a layman on the street knows the laws of the province-ensuring that African languages do not become extinct.

In 2009, I found a home in the same institution but different division, where I got a chance to use one of the skills I gained during my training at the BM.BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme5

Currently (Cont)I am now a Supervisor of a Unit called Documents and Services, under Information and Knowledge Management Directorate.

This Unit has four sub-units and one of them deals with archiving documents produced by the legislature.

My responsibility is to ensure that that those documents, which are produced every blessed day, are archived systematically both manually and electronically.

In that sub-unit, I brought with me document classification skills, documenting skills as well as paper conservation skills.BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme6Gauteng LegislatureAGENDA01 November 2007

Sports RecreationArts and CultureCommitteeCurrently (Cont)Even though I do not practically work at the archive, I supervise and advise our institutions Records Management Officers .

I am also a partner-driver of an initiative towards a paperless Gauteng Legislature, where everything will be scanned, saved and retrieved electronically.BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme7

Challenges Faced

Employment-wise, I am fine, but with my dissertation, I am very much behind, because I have not been able to find a university that has a spot on programme that will assist me in dealing with my topic as the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where I completed my coursework of my MA(Heritage Studies) no longer offers Heritage Studies as a degree. The University of South Africa and Witwatersrand University, which I am closer to do not have similar programmes. So, I have been struggling to figure out what to study and where, to further my knowledge and to carry on with my study and exploration of different cultures and the depiction thereof, in the museums of South Africa. Basically, I am stuck.

May colleagues from SA assist with information and/or guidance?BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme8Where to?I am not giving up.I will still pursue my research and complete my dissertation.I am still going to improve the depiction of history and culture in the museums of SA through artifacts, as my hypothesis was and still is IT IS NOT ADEQUATELY DEPICTED.BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme9Improvements on ITP?I could not have organized it better.

BB Hlengwa, Cairo, March 2010- Towards a global network? Outcomes and legacy of the Internationall Training Programme10THANK YOU!!
