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Digitising, disseminating and showcasing African cultural materials.

Africa Commons is a digital platform that aims to enable Africa to control, digitise, and disseminate its archival riches—those within the continent and items residing internationally.

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Integrated on a single platform, Africa Commons currently comprises:

Africa Commons: South African Magazines

Over 50, 000 pages of historically significant magazines, written for African audiences.

This groundbreaking, digitised collection of rare, historical, and out-of-copyright magazines from 1937–1973 comprises over 50, 000 pages of historically significant magazines, written for African audiences.

Drum Magazine 1955–1973
The Township Housewife
Grace Magazine
Hi-Note!
Contrast
And more being added.

At the heart of this compilation stands the iconic, Drum Magazine:

Once the most widely read magazine in Africa
Drum reflected the heartbeat of our society
277 issues, spanning 1955–1973
Intentions to obtain earlier issues 1951–1954

Explore the collection

Africa Commons: Southern African Films and Documentaries

Streaming access to more than a century of African history, politics, and culture.

With content spanning the 1900s to the early 2000s, this collection features:

Over 100 films and documentaries dating from the 1900s to the early 2000s
Films and newsreels covering key events from 1919 onwards
Exclusive interviews from the 1980s
Writers, journalists, and activists discussing first-hand accounts of key events

All films are transcribed and keyword searchable. Accompanying essays in PDF format will be added in future to provide context and make the films accessible for introductory courses.

The content supports teaching and research in:

African studies
Film & cinema
History & world culture
Race & ethnicity
Women’s studies
And other areas.

Explore the collection

Africa Commons: History and Culture

Showcasing rare and endangered African cultural materials.

The most comprehensive place for searching and collecting African historical and cultural materials. The collection features:

Central access point to over 450 000 digital cultural artefacts
Curated from more than 4 500 collections worldwide
600 contributing organisations
Books, newspapers, government documents, letters, diaries, posters, and manuscripts
Oral history, photographs, art, music, and videos
Simple, powerful search