Advocacy of the oral history projects: processes that should occur to create public awareness in the project undertaken by Gauteng Provincial Archives

Abstract

In March 2023, Veritas College in Springs, Ekurhuleni, undertook a fun history lesson where the Grade 4 learners were required to acknowledge and celebrate influential historical figures. Several of the children selected individuals such as Dr Chris Barnard, Dr Martin Luther King, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela and one learner identified para-Olympic swimmer Natalie du Toit. The object of this class exercise was for learners to see that they too could have a positive impact on the world and strive to be leaders who can make their world a better place (Veritas College Facebook page, 2023). In March 2023, the United States National Archives hosted an exhibition showcasing their archives that focussed on women in baseball. These collections included video footage and oral testimonies from women who had participated in baseball and simultaneously created a National Baseball Hall of Fame (US National Archives Facebook page, 2023). These two examples are how the Gauteng Provincial Archives could take the oral history project to the people of Gauteng and inform learners of the unsung sporting heroes that were neglected under the apartheid dispensation. This paper will adopt a postmodernist approach by undertaking an investigation to see how other archives around the world market and promote their collections, particularly oral history collections, both to school-going learners and the general public. The intention of this paper is to formulate a framework that the Gauteng Provincial Archives could consider when marketing the oral history project related to unsung sporting heroes.