Cape Verde: safeguarding of a historic heritage collection

INA and the Amílcar Cabral Foundation join together for the restoration and digitization of a unique collection related to the history of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

Composed of 43 audio cassettes, this collection contains radio interventions in the 60s and 70s of an emblematic character in the history of these countries: Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral.
Founded in 1984, the Amílcar Cabral Foundation aims at protecting the work and memory of Amílcar Cabral, a key politician in the history of the anti-colonial struggle in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Founder of an underground organization which later became the country's main political party, the African party for the independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Amílcar Cabral opposed the Portuguese presence in Guinea in the mid-1950s. Failing to succeed by peaceful means, his party - engaged in an armed struggle in 1963. Nevertheless, Amílcar Cabral did not give up on its diplomatic combat and his engagement enabled the party to be recognized by the United Nations in 1972. Two years later, Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands became independent. Sadly assassinated in 1973 by the military radical branch of his party, Amílcar Cabral has never witnessed the success of his struggle.

As part of the Convention signed between INA and the Foundation, INA wished to participate in safeguarding the sound recordings, threatened with deterioration, of this political fighter. Once restored, the collection will be accessible within INA’s consultation centers. Through its commitment, the Institute contributes to the preservation of a unique heritage, and offers new sources of understanding and knowledge to researchers about the anti-colonial struggle in sub-Saharan Africa.