Page 7 - Rotary International Mandela Day Celebrations 2021

Speaker

Razia Saleh

Director Archives & Research, Nelson Mandela Foundation

Razia Saleh is currently the Director: Archive and sentenced to life imprisonment during the
Research at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Prior Rivonia trial together with Nelson Mandela and
to this she was the archivist at the African others.
National Congress (ANC) over seeing the
From 2001 to 2006, she was the Archives Project
arrangement and description of ANC archives
Coordinator for the African National Congress
primarily those produced in exile. Razia has a
(ANC) Archives. Her main responsibility was to
long association of working in archives from
oversee the arrangement and description of
when she helped established the South African
ANC archives that consisted mainly of the
History Archive (SAHA), and has a Masters’
documentation generated during the period
degree in archival studies from the University of
that the ANC was in exile, 1960-1990.
London. Her interest includes the use of digital
technologies in enhancing access and as a
From 1989 to 2000 she helped set up and
preservation tool for archives.
worked for the NGO South African History
Archive (SAHA), which was created to
Longer piece safeguard the records of the United
Democratic Front (UDF) and its affiliates. The
RaziaSaleh is the Director of Archive and
UDF was the leading anti-apartheid
Research at the Nelson Mandela Foundation
organisation operating inside South Africa in
where she oversees the creation of an
the 1980s. Razia was an anti-apartheid and
integrated and dynamic information resource
community activist, working full-time for the
on the life and times of Nelson Mandela, and the
UDF and before that the Transvaal Indian
research and analysis required to support this.
Congress (TIC). Mahatma Gandhi established
the TIC in 1904 when he was living in South
Razia is also a Board member of the Ahmed
Africa. After therepressive era of the 1960s. it
Kathrada Foundation, established by the
became dormant but was revived in 1983.
struggle stalwart. Kathrada was

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“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to
the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
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