Mapping Differential Geographies: New Media, The Virtual Freedom Trail, and the Politics of (Re)-Telling African Women's Contributions to the Liberation Struggle in Tanzania

2011 marks the 50th anniversary of liberation from colonial rule in Tanzania and many other African countries. Building up to this momentous occasion there have been various conferences, workshops, celebrations and discussions about the achievements that have been made and to reflect on what yet has yet to be done. It has also marked a new trend in Tanzania that of African liberation heritage tourism. Societies emerging from colonialism, conflict and violence face numerous challenges at the local, national, and international levels. A variety of strategies now exist for “healing” wounds of violent past and for coping with the future. National reconciliation and peace building can be promoted through effective use of innovative heritage projects for empowerment while providing redress for marginalized communities. In most African countries, cultural institutions like museums and art galleries, archives and art academies were established either by the colonial state or in the context of postcolonial nation building. Often these efforts have been shaped according to national aesthetics and/or thematic concepts and guidelines. By moving beyond those well established forms of heritage pageantry – national memorials, commemoration celebrations – that are often more about national performance than social justice, important histories of the “other” that were formerly overlooked, silenced, and diminished may now be explored. My project rests at the intersection of efforts to rethink African liberation heritage and debates surrounding how and who should undertake these efforts and who should directly benefit. My project maps the complex relationships between Tanzania and South Africa, specifically women’s contributions, in preparing for liberation and post-apartheid South Africa. Most of this history is only now being fully explored, and still widely unavailable and much still undocumented. While the 50th anniversary of Tanzania’s independence has sparked an eruption of exhibitions, books, and events, a close look at the materials and content of events reveals a continued hegemony in regards to what counts as worthy of telling, whose stories matter. My project specifically examines the contributions of and visual and textual representations by/of women political activists in Tanzania, including female anti-apartheid and liberation activists living in exile in Tanzania, both during and after the struggle against apartheid and colonialism. The goal of this research is to produce the Virtual Freedom Trail Project (VFTP), an open-source, community-based archive and web-based virtual, living museum, centering on the marginalized voices and experiences in the struggle for liberation in Tanzania. In this particular case, it addresses historic conservation and cultural heritage in economically poor countries as it also relates to issues of poverty, land use/rights, gender inequality, and the digital divide. It will challenge histories told exclusively from elite perspectives and represent histories/social problems in support of development at the grassroots/community level. Furthermore, this project specifically seeks to identify alternative visions for sustainable development in Africa through historic and cultural conservation that may well challenge prevailing and contemporary attitudes towards both. The protection of cultural heritage in countries like Tanzania is a challenge, particularly where heritage sites are widely spread in rural areas. By combining local community-based resources, including participants, and local forms of knowledge production to document, preserve and protect heritage sites on the Internet, provides a viable alternative for the conservation of endangered heritage assets.