Dmitry Bondarev and Maria Luisa Russo (University of Hamburg) The University of Hamburg, with the financial support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gerda Henkel Foundation, runs two projects dealing with the written cultural heritage of Mali. The environment of interconnected social space created by this collaborative work helps maintain careful attitude to what constitutes cultural heritage. Through participation in different modules of the projects, the members of the complex multilingual and multicultural communities find connective space in the activities related to manuscript preservation, cataloguing, and research.

1. Joining the Dots:
Projects on Conservation
and Research of Malian
Written Cultural Heritage
Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures,
University of Hamburg, Germany

2. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
1. Malian written cultural heritage
 Book and documents collections dating mainly from the XVIII
century onwards
 Writing: Arabic; languages: Arabic and African languages
(Songhai, Bambara, Fulfulde, Soninke...)
 Collections structures: mainly private owners. Library as family
heritage; books and documents are mixed.

3. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
1. Malian written cultural heritage
 Heritage spread across the
country: not only Timbuktu city
and Region, but also other cultural
centres (Segou, Jenne)
 Past projects on preservation and
research, by several Malian and
international institutions
 Political troubles in 2012: major
part of Timbuktu manuscripts were
moved to Bamako

4. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
2. Current projects - Germany
 Coordination: University of Hamburg, Centre for the Study of
Manuscript Cultures
 Financing: Auswärtiges Amt, Gerda Henkel Stiftung, Jutta Vogel
Stiftung
 Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office): project on
Timbuktu mss for preventive conservation, basic cataloguing of
manuscripts, libraries reconstruction and equipment
 Ongoing digitization, carried out by Hill Museum and
Manuscript Library: close cooperation

5. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
2. Current projects - Germany
 Gerda Henkel Stiftung: one project on Timbuktu manuscripts,
two projects on Segou and Jenne. Activities: cataloguing,
preservation, research
 Contribution by Jutta Vogel Stiftung
 In 2015, another project funded by GHS started research on
Ajami mss (in Arabic script in African languages). Aims:
identification of languages, cataloguing and research on mss:
monolingual (non-Arabic), bilingual and multilingual

6. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
3. Multicultural & multilingual:
manuscripts as connective space
 Ajami project: focus on
manuscripts coming from
different communities, whose
linguistic identities can be
traced in the manuscripts
 Work organization: research
of free-lance researchers, who
work in libraries and in
families’ households to
identify manuscripts
 Researcher as a mediator
between social groups –
academic community and
non-academic communities

7. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
3. Multicultural & multilingual:
manuscripts as connective space
 Interaction and exchange between different social actors
 Manuscripts as connective space, where researchers and
families interact
 Private collections and risk of loss: the role of research in
cultural heritage perception

8. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
4. Partnerships
 Local partners, dynamic partnership: acting in direct
cooperation with local social stakeholders
 Importance of widening potential audience and interests
around manuscripts

9. Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg, Germany
5. Perspectives and challenges
 Access and research is still difficult in some cases
 Financing: need of renegotiating some rules of project
reporting in order to take into consideration local unwritten
rules of hospitality
 Work: individual and team
 Connecting projects to foster collaboration among different
people involved

10. Thank you for
your attention
Dmitry Bondarev | Maria Luisa Russo
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures,
University of Hamburg, Germany