British Council Independent Evaluation: Neem project in Sudan “represents a breakthrough in community-led cultural heritage documentation and accessibility”.
This independent evaluation, led by Arwa Babiker, covers activities support through 2024 by the British Council Cultural Protection Fund. This is a snapshot of what we have been doing with our friends and colleagues from the University of Khartoum and our network across the country since 2022. It’s been an awful and sad time for Sudan, and we are really proud of what we have managed to achieve in the face of real adversity. Our team have been forced from their homes multiple times. There were many long nights. Yet, it is just the beginning…
The evaluation found we have restored 2657 cultural elements, created 7407 metadata records, trained 18 community ambassadors, and rolled out the smartphone and web platform that will bring the vast University archive and community posts to the people. This work is now accelerating through 2025. The restored and categorised University archive, collected since 1964, is currently being migrated to the platform – making it available to the public for the first time. The smartphone application is being used to collect oral history and endangered heritage across the country.
Read the summary findings here:
The scale of the cultural crisis is unfathomable. The forces at work are huge and powerful – from colonialism and globalisation to political marginalisation, resource scarcity and climate change. It will take a movement to respond.
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