Digitisation project most welcome

When the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa (HACSA) invites guests to a reception and an African heritage-themed dinner at the Mövenpick Emporium in Accra next Friday, June 23, it would be for the noble cause of raising funds for an important digitisation project. 

HACSA has thought out how useful it would be for the whole world if the work of photographers and filmmakers in Ghana and the African diaspora were digitised, archived and exhibited.

That’s why it is bringing together public and private entities, as well as individuals, to raise funds towards actualisation of the idea.

All over the world, it is known that existing analogue resources are becoming fragile or being degraded through poor storage conditions. Their accessibility is also being threatened with the passage of time and overuse.

Digital information, however, does not degrade and lose quality with repeated use and has globally become a wonderful resource for students, researchers and teachers looking for material for all sorts of reasons.

That’s why we appreciate HACSA’s effort and say it is worth supporting. Imagine how exciting it could be if with just a tap on your computer or smartphone, you can access a remastered, enhanced copy of the famous ‘I Told You So’ film featuring Bob Cole, Araba Stamp, Osuabrobuo, Kapwepwe and other great Ghanaian actors

Or imagine the excitement that would play on the face of a researcher who discovers clean, digitised copies of films on time spent in Ghana by well-known elements from the diaspora like Malcom X, Mohammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King and Richard Wright.

We urge all folks capable of contributing to the realisation of HACSA’s proposed project to patronise Friday’s affair at the Mövenpick and help add more value to our cherished visual heritage.