There was no hesitation in taking this opportunity, since, as a student of African history in years gone by, I had read about the significance of Timbuktu in the history of the great Mali and Songhay Empires.

 

We were warmly received by the town’s diverse peoples who took us to view the centuries-old buildings that spoke of ingenuity and originality, a keen artistic eye, and delicate artisanal skill. While aware of the impressive history of the town, which had become “a symbol of the unreachable”, we were not aware of the extent to which this history had left its mark. The Djingere-Ber and the Sankore Mosques are truly astounding monuments to ancient African collective endeavour, planning and imagination, and worthy traces of the “university town” of old that we have read and pondered about for years.

President of The Republic of South Africa, Thabo MBEKI

Yet, little could prepare one for the excitement of visiting the modest building of the Ahmed Baba Institute. There we were shown medieval manuscripts which are without any doubt among the most important cultural treasures in Africa, forming as it were, an integral part of a rich and diverse cultural heritage of the town that includes its historic mosques and architecture and its cultural traditions. These manuscripts and papers, some of which dated back eight centuries, were used in this ancient African town of learning to teach mathematics, chemistry, botany, astronomy, optics, medicine, law, history, religion and other subjects. We were astounded by the artistic beauty of the illustration and illumination of some of these documents, surely amongst the most exquisite we had ever seen.

President MBEKI’s message in the visitor’s book at the Ahmed Baba Institute (IHERI-AB) on November 3rd, 2001.

Sadly, many of the manuscripts are in poor condition and in urgent need of stabilization and repair. Yet others are poorly enclosed and stored. Unfortunately given the rudimentary facilities at the centre and the harsh Saharan desert environment these manuscripts in the possession of the Ahmed Baba Institute, constituting one of the most extraordinary collections of medieval manuscripts in Africa if not the world, were not likely to survive another 100 years in these conditions.

 

These inspirational manuscripts which represent such an important link to our own glorious past, and of inestimable value to the African Renaissance, led the South African Government to pledge support for their conservation and to ensure that the South Africans at the foot of the continent are themselves apprised of these treasures on the western extreme of the continent, so that they, too, may embrace its significance.

 

Following our pledge the South African and Malian Governments represented by the Minister in the Presidency, Dr. Essop PAHAD, and the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Malians Abroad, Mr. Lassana TRAORE, signed an agreement expressing the two countries’ commitment to undertake a government-to-government project aimed at conserving the manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Institute and at rebuilding the library and archival infrastructure of the Institute. The SA-Mali project has been declared an official South African Presidential Project and has been endorsed by the New Partnership For Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as its first cultural project.

 

More concretely, the South African Government has embarked on a training programme for Malian conservators and heritage professionals. Already our own National Archive has hosted one cohort of trainees in South Africa for two months annually in SA since 2003. The South African Government also established a Trust Fund to raise funds from South African citizens, including the business sector, towards the building of a new library. The project has also encouraged South African academics to begin to study the significance of specific manuscripts. With the assistance of Premier Ebrahim RASOOL a team of building experts have visited Timbuktu to investigate the requirements for the construction of a library.

 

Our compact to assist in conserving and protecting these valuable manuscripts, is a compact to secure our own patrimony for the benefit of our children and all of Africa’s future generations.

It was moving to witness the exceptional effort of the Malian government officials whose dedication to the tasks of collection, conservation, and preservation of these documents for posterity were executed so diligently and painstakingly under working conditions which can at best be described as basic. Limited facilities and staffing also meant that there were severe restrictions on accessing these manuscripts by academics and others. Clearly there was a great need to create conditions conducive to the documentation and study of these important intellectual artifacts.