Conference organized by the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation (Provincial Archives and Records Services). The theme is Çapturing Memories: History, Heritage and the Pride of Mpumalanga Province.

Deadline for proposals/abstracts    : 27 June 2016
Decision on abstracts                     : 05 JULY 2016
Date of conference                         : 26 August 2016
Venue                                             : Middelburg (TBC)

Mpumalanga is very beautiful and rich in cultural diversity, history and heritage. Many people from outside the province and the country visit the province as tourists to witness its beauty. Many areas in the province have stories known and unknown. Various communities claim to be the indigenous people of a particular area, where some were forcefully removed from their land by wars of conquest or by the apartheid regime. Places changed names after dispossession and now the ‘indigenous’ people demand the original names to be restored. The apartheid government removed traditional leaders from their positions because they refused to send people to work for free on the farms or because they resisted paying some form of taxation. Now it is the time to redress all the injustices of the past. Communities did not only lose land but their languages too.  Oral history as a growing field within history, has gained momentum in South Africa since 1994. As a result, many oral history projects have been undertaken at various institutions of higher education, government departments, as well as in schools and within local communities but have just scraped the surface. Together with oral history, heritage has become a major issue of intellectual debate and policy development in the country. In the process heritage has become a source of celebration.

Sub - themes:

• Education a tool of change
• The linguistic landscape of Mpumalanga province 
• Identified and unidentified heritage sites 
• Land redistribution, contestation, compensation and coownership
• Traditional leadership and culture: adapting or static 

Proposals are invited for contributions to the 3rd Mpumalanga Oral History Conference. Although the conference is primarily academic, case study reports and other contributions are welcome. The contributions must be based on original work and have a clear focus on oral history.

The envisaged end-product of the conference will be a compilation of the proceedings. Interested contributors are encouraged to bring along to the conference papers that are photo-ready for publication. 

If you are interested, please send us a short proposal including:

1. an abstract of your paper or case study report (100-300 words)
2. the relevant conference sub theme
3. a short biography of yourself (50-100 words)
4. your contact information (name and surname, affiliation, postal address, email address, phone and fax numbers)

The duration of presentation will not exceed twenty (20) minutes and this will be   followed by ten (10) minutes for discussion

The papers shall not be longer than 5000 words. 

Deadline for proposals/abstracts is 27 June 2016

The conference organizing committee will confirm acceptance or rejection of your proposal by 05 July, 2016

  Send proposal to:
  Convener: 3RD Mpumalanga Oral History Conference
  Mpumalanga Provincial Archives
  Mr. Nkitseng Mahalefa 
  Mpumalanga Department of Culture Sport & Recreation
  HEAD: Archives and Records Management Services
  TEL: 013 766 5081
  Cell: 083 263 0932 email: nfmahalefa@mpg.gov.za or nmahalefa@gmail.com
   
Enquiries: 

   Mr. Nkitseng Mahalefa (nfmahalefa@mpg.gov.za); 013 766 5081