The project is to lower the threshold for archives to make the African image collections digitally available via internet. Also wants to improve the accessibility to historic photographs and archival information so that the general public can be attracted and the multimedia industry stimulated to make use of these resources. The project incorporates web-based culturally reliable multimedia resources from African countries e.g. Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone etc. In order to promote cultural awareness, use of digital image in context, resources exists in multiple modalities and within the context of social/cultural events. It will show image resources from different African dialect containing collection of ancient civilizations images, monuments, ruins, woodlands. It will also portray the history and modern digital images However, people different part of the world can see and make use of these images on the web-based resources, Identify the sources of information African accesses, and prefer to use; while they can provide information and support to help reduce inequalities across the African population generally, and Black and minority ethnic groups specifically. The purpose of this project was to explore the suitability and accessibility of information from African communities.
This report documents the history of African digital images from several perspectives. The cultural history section archives the social history of Africa, including the origin of a tribe in Nigeria called Yoruba, from a place named Ile Ife “The O’odua”, the event of Ashanti tribe in Ghana etc. The important events, people, and places associated with the black community; and the changes that have occurred within the community over time. This section incorporates information acquired from a variety of sources, including photographs, books, newspaper articles, academic papers and architectural drawings. The architectural history section documents the significant aspects of the community's architecture and includes photographs and copies of original building plans. The use of diverse sources in documenting the history of black community allows different voices and views to be conveyed. The origin of a tribe in Nigeria called Yoruba - The African peoples who lived in Yorubaland, for the last four centuries, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. Both archeology and traditional Yoruba oral historians confirm the existence of people in this region for several millennia. Yoruba spiritual heritage maintains that the Yoruba ethnic groups are a unique people who were originally created at Ile Ife. Yoruba civilization remains one of the most technologically and artistically advanced in West Africa to this time.[1] [O’odua History accessed March 25, 2009] The event of Ashanti tribe in Ghana - The Ashantis is one section of the people known as the Akans in Ghana. They live in the central part of the country, about three hundred kilometres from the coast. The vast territory they occupy in this position is most densely forested and because of the richness of forest, lands in soil, minerals (Gold), it is known to be the richest in the country. Generally, the Ashantis (Asantes) are very industrious; their innate desire to live independent lives categorizes them as "Most Hardworking People". They are extremely ambitious and determined to succeed in every venture they undertake.[2] [Ashanti History accessed March 25, 2009]
Theoretical and Intellectual issues are important to consider in this project as is concerned with the theoretical, ethical, appropriation, and other flows of knowledge about the past, and with how these may affect communities, researchers, and other stakeholders, and use this information to generate ideas for norms of good practice and theoretical insights on the nature of knowledge, and culture-based rights. Areas of particular concern are research on and access to cultural material and cultural heritage sites which include implications of applying both Indigenous and legal frameworks – cultural tourism, commercial use of rock art and other images, open and restricted access to information, the uses of ancient genetic data, legal protections, and research permissions and protocols. Intellectual project issues consist of copyright factors, since audio, video and images that might be used, could be based on information that is copyright protected. Responsibility of such content used may be considered and also the issue of proceeding over legal jurisdictions. It is believed that there will be people that would like to input some historic digital images onto the site but may have problem using a computer system. Therefore, there will be some form of help on the website for those falls within this category so they could also make their collections be accessible to the general public.