Cultural Affairs and Sport

      (1) What steps is the provincial government taking to improve public access to historical records held by the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, particularly through digitisation initiatives;

       The Western Cape Archives implemented a digitisation programme to digitise archival records to ensure continuous accessibility and long-term preservation. 

Archival records are made accessible to the members of the public on request by researchers. Researchers request access to digitised records via the reading room desk, telephonically or via email, and an archivist retrieves the digital file and sends it to them. The Archives Service is currently busy with a process of developing a website that will enable access to snapshots of archival resources to simplify this process.

(2)   whether there are plans to expand outreach and awareness programmes to ensure that communities, researchers and learners make greater use of these resources; if so, what are the relevant details?

      The Western Cape and Records Service conducts public awareness programmes to create awareness about the services provided by the institution.

The approach to Public Awareness Programming has three prongs:

1. Programmes to make the Archives more accessible – new developments each year: These involve packaging archival material or expertise to make it more accessible for a particular audience. Recent initiatives include Unboxing the Past for Grade 10s (2023/4); Guide for Community Archives (2024) and the Moorreesburg se Trommel (2025/6). For the 2026/27 financial year, the department is working on a programme for Grade 4s using archival photos linked to their CAPS history syllabus, specifically Communication and Transport through time. This supports the aims of WCARS Outreach – especially the prong of increasing accessibility to archival records - and ties into the broader DCAS aim of creating services and resources for all ages and stages of residents’ lives. We have a resource for Grade 10s (high school) which is linked to CAPS history curriculum and a guide to archiving for community members was developed for adults. For the craft community a craft papers and origami booklet with the title: Images of Cape Town was created.  A “Documenting lives” pamphlet which is distributed to the members of the public was also compiled.

2.  Programmes for creating awareness

     These involve attending events, expos, etc. and getting the word out about what archives are, what the team does, and showcasing possible career options for the youth.

3. Programmes for current users/potential traditional demographic of users of the Archives

     These are targeted at people interested in history, research and/or the content of the archives or the specialist knowledge of the archivists. e.g. public talks by researchers, foyer exhibits, Family History workshops on

     how to do archival research, custom-made programmes for universities, based on research interests (programmes have been held for the Universities of Oslo, Qatar, Stanford, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Western Cape and Stellenbosch). Furthermore, preservation workshops for university students, community groups and heritage practitioners are held.

Some public awareness programmes are conducted in collaboration with other directorates in the department which is crucial for tapping into different networks and expanding the reach.  

Outreach programmes are advertised on the website of the department to create awareness to researchers and learners and the broader community. A lot of resources can be accessed through the archives webpage including source booklets on Archival sources places. The department will continue to add to this bank of resources.The Unboxing the Past: Researching Cape Slavery programme is rolled out each year to new and repeat schools to teach historical research skills while aligning to the Grade 10 history curriculum.  This is an ongoing project and has a sustainability and teacher training aspect to it. The Travelling Archives: Moorreesburg se Trommel. The Western Cape Archives contains different kinds of records about the history of our province. As the Archives is centralised in Cape Town, efforts are made to make the records of smaller places, like Moorreesburg, more accessible. Copies of selected documents, photographs, maps, and oral history interviews from the Archives, about the town, are placed in a Travelling Archive in the local Museum and the Library. This is a pilot project and will form the basis for other editions of the Travelling Archive linked to other places in future. 

Online/hybrid events in the form of talks/seminars during Archives Week and for other public events, expands our reach significantly.

In the previous year, most public awareness programmes were provided to schools. Word of mouth, together with social media and other communications platforms, has led to more people visiting the Archives.  This is testament to a few years of consistent excellence in programming and outreach.