Global Digital Heritage Afrika

23/09/2026

24 September 2026 - 🇿🇦Happy Heritage Day South Africa! This Heritage Day, we're reflecting on something that sits at the heart of our work: our heritage is complex and at times deeply contested.

Cape Town's statues and memorials reflect the city's layered, often contested history. From war memorials to figures like Jan van Riebeeck, Maria De La Quelleire, Jan Smuts and Cecil John Rhodes, these monuments have inspired pride in some and pain in others.

Earlier this year, at the request of the City of Cape Town we hit the streets armed with laser scanners and photogrammetry-grade cameras to digitally preserve 20 of the city's public sculptures. To record the tops of the statues that most people never get to see, we brought in a cherry picker.

The result is the Global Digital Heritage Cape Town Public Sculptures 3D collection on Sketchfab, freely accessible to the public, with annotations providing historical context for each figure and site. To access the collection, go to:
https://skfb.ly/pLxpu

But we recognise that no annotation is ever complete. Whose voices are represented? What perspectives are missing? What would you add if given the chance?

This Heritage Day, we're inviting the public to explore the collection and share what you think should be included. Heritage documentation is not a once-off exercise - it is an ongoing conversation. Let's build it together!



https://skfb.ly/pLxpu

17/09/2026

Global Digital Heritage Afrika at the University of Cape Town headlines the South African Heritage Resources Agency Heritage Month webinar. The day 2 keynote address, presented by Siddique Motala was titled 'Digitising Heritage: Preservation & Possibility'.

14/09/2026

30/08/2026

District Six - revisiting the ghosts of the past through counter-surveying. Video 2 of 2.
Part of our heritage work involves advocating for communities. We have partnered with Iron Heart Digital Marketing Cape Town to produce 2 videos related to our work in District Six. In this video, we show how counter-surveying allows us to zoom in to the stories of ex-residents. Counter-surveying blends surveying & mapping with archival social justice, and involves taking ex-residents back to the location of their demolished homes. We conduct a counter-survey with Mark Jacobs, an ex-resident who was forcibly removed from Eckard Street in District Six. Mark tells us his story.

Watch the video and subscribe to our channel.

To read more about counter-surveying, the link to the full paper is in the comments.

https://youtu.be/6dsl3Ti5p2M?si=-1LbZ54k81S76Tlz

District Six, the most infamous site of apartheid forced removals i...

19/08/2026

📅 Save the Date!

Join SAHRA's Heritage Month Webinar, "The Future of Heritage in South Africa," from 15–18 September 2026.

Explore the impact of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, climate change and changing societies on the future of heritage conservation and management.

More details and registration information coming soon.

10/08/2026

The physical destruction of District Six did not erase the place; it made its memory even more present.
Perhaps the most well-known site of apartheid-era forced removals, District Six continues to live in the stories and experiences of the communities connected to it.
By working with these communities and using digital technologies, Global Digital Heritage Afrika is exploring new ways of telling and preserving some of the stories of District Six.
Our first of two videos has now been released.
Watch it here.
The past continues to haunt the present.


Iron Heart Digital Marketing Cape Town

District Six is the most well-known site of apartheid forced remova...

05/05/2026

Happy African World Heritage Day! Proclaimed by UNESCO in 2015, African World Heritage Day (5 May) is an opportunity for people around the world to celebrate Africa’s unique cultural and natural heritage.
Global Digital Heritage Afrika at the University of Cape Town is the Africa branch of Global Digital Heritage. Click the link below to experience virtual tours of some of the sites we have documented in South Africa.
The virtual tours enable you to interact with 360 panoramic photos, video, 3D models and other media. Enjoy!

The Owl House Nieu-Bethesda
KwaZulu-Natal Amafa and Research Institute
Fish Hoek Valley Museum