Entrance of the Leiden University African Library & Middle Eastern Library since 2024. Herta Mohr Building, Witte Singel 27 A, 2311 BG Leiden, the Netherlands.History: the former library entrance of the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), Pieter de la Court-building of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, with an African sculpture (left) as its janitor. Summer 2024 ASCL moved to the Herta Mohr building, Leiden, the Netherlands.
The African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) of Leiden University is an academic institute for research and education on Africa. The activities of the ASCL library include collecting and distributing free images and supplying textual information on African studies and Africa via Wikimedia websites. By 2024, ASCL had uploaded some 6500 of its own and donors' images to Wikimedia Commons. Wikidata, the Wikimedia knowledge base, is used to illustrate the Web dossiers of the ASCL, for example the web dossier on Southern African women writers. For further overviews of the ASCL photo collections please refer to Commons:Collections of the African Studies Centre (Leiden). ASCL contributed 100+ new articles about Africa on various language Wikipedias.
The Top 5 of Most-Viewed ASCL Photographs in May 2023
Images from the African Study Center Leiden appear on various Wikipedia websites, especially on the English and French language Wikipedias. Using a tally how often those page weblinks are clicked on in a month time as a proxy for the readers' interest, we can tentatively establish a Top 5 of most-viewed images in May 2023. It is shown here with links to the English Wikipedia articles the photographs appear on, the number of article page views and the ASCL photo source collections:
4. "The Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone" in the 1910s with a crossing train. Photo by Alphonso Lisk-Carew and his assistant, his brother Arthur (together the Lisk-Carew Brothers) - Sierra Leone - clicked on 134,506 x - Lisk-Carew Brothers
Public library, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 1960
Kenneth Onwuka Dike University Library, Ibadan, Nigeria, 1960
Coutinho collection Guinea-Bissau and Senegal 1973-1974
Dutch medical doctor and professor Roel Coutinho in 2015 donated a photo collection of his medical work in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal during 1973-1974 to the ASC and Wikimedia Commons. Its 752 images were captured in the last year of the War of independence of the PAIGC against the colonising power Portugal and are largely made in the liberated areas of Guinea-Bissau, featuring medical interventions, open air schools and hospitals, but also socialist people's open air shops, daily life and parties.
An imam takes care of a leprous patient, Sara, Guinea-Bissau, 1974
A soldier with a rocket propelled grenade, Manten, Guinea-Bissau, 1974
PAIGC soldiers in Guinea-Bissau - Military commanders on the northern front, Guinea-Bissau, 1974
Open-air school for adults in Guinea-Bissau, 1974
Woman on the northern front, Hermangono, Guinea-Bissau, 1974
Collection list continued below...
Project Wikipedians in special residence 2013 - 2015
In 2013 ASC initiated the project Wikipedians in special residence to foster the collaboration of national cultural institutions with Wikimedia. Two Wikipedians visited twelve large museums, libraries and government agencies which donated image collections to Wikimedia Commons and contributed expertise to the Wikipedia encyclopedias. ASC itself and its staff members donated hundreds of photographs and maps to Wikimedia Commons.
A crab in a pot with shards to predict the future, Kapsiki, Cameroon. Photo Wouter van Beek
Funeral ritual, Kapsiki, Cameroon. Photo Wouter van Beek
Many hands make light work. Meal Time, Sierra Leone, 1910s. Photo Lisk-Carew Brothers
Van Beek collection Cameroon and Mali 1970s
Dutch anthropologist w:nl:Wouter van Beek donated 132 photographs of Mali and Cameroon. Here some images of markets, agriculture and daily life of the Dogons in Mali.
Tourists in negotiations with a Fulbe man, Tireli, Mali 1985
Young man just returned from Abidjan, shows his radio, Tireli, Mali 1985
Women selling their beer warn the photographer that he also has to buy some, Tireli, Mali 1989
Visitors are addressed by a prison comrade of Mandela
Collection list continued below...
Project Wikipedian in residence 2019 - 2024
Results
The African Studies Centre Leiden (ASC) scanned 6000+ photographs of Africa created and donated by retired Africanists and others, and published them on Wikimedia Commons in a Wikipedian in residence project. A sample is shown below. The focus then shifted to supplying missing Wikipedia articles on for example African cinema, African writers, Second Boer War Boer generals and Africanists, and uploading De Rouveroy short and feature films on Africa. Project leader was ASC head librarian Jos Damen, while Hans Muller (User:Hansmuller) was the Wikipedian in residence. (A previous similar project was Wikipedians in Special Residence 2013-2014.)
Curation, multilingual description and upload of those 6000+ scanned older and recent photographs of Africa by Dutch Africanists to Collections of the African Studies Centre (Leiden) on Wikimedia Commons. Occasionally, Public Domain images from other sources were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, and fair use copyrighted images to the English-language Wikipedia as well.
Videos: converting and uploading 11 videos of Africa to Wikimedia Commons by Dutch filmmakers Emile and Maarten de Rouveroy van Nieuwaal, for instance:
New book: Dutch medical professor Roel Countinho, who donated 760 photographs of Guinea-Bissau and Senegal (1973-1974) was prompted by us to write a related autobiographical account on the liberation movement PAIGC. In 2022 he published his book in Dutch: Coutinho, R.A.; Damen, Jos. De vrijheidsstrijd van Guinee-Bissau: door de ogen van een jonge dokter[The struggle for independence in Guinea-Bissau, seen through the eyes of a young doctor, Roel Coutinho]. ASC occasional publications, 45 (in Dutch). Leiden: Afrika-Studiecentrum. ISBN9789054481959. OCLC1379428382..
Portuguese translation: Coutinho, Roel; Damen, Jos (2024). A Luta pela Libertação da Guiné-Bissau vista pelos olhos de um jovem médico neerlandês, Roel Coutinho (in Portuguese). Translated by Pos, Arie. Voorschoten, the Netherlands: Editora Couto. OCLC1493297351.
Instruction of students, the communications officer and other staff members on various Wikimedia matters, such as uploading images using Pattypan, and writing Wikipedia articles.
Wikidata: please refer to the contributions by ASCL colleague User:Walkuraxx on how to ingest bibliographic data into Wikidata, the Wikimedia knowledge database (Wikimedia GLAM Newsletter December 2020). (In the present Wikipedian-in-residence projects relevant Wikidata items were occasionally created and expanded.)
Independent usage of uploaded photos in other media, for instance
Thirteen USB thumb drives containing more than 6000 files of scanned slides (.jpg en .tif) donated by Africanists, at the start of the upload project for photographs of Africa in 2019.
Abyssinian woman - Winterton Collection of East African Photographs. A possible further project.
Stamps of East Africa, 19th century
Professor Ton Dietz of the African Studies Centre collected stamps and related images of East-Africa, 1865-1900.
French Post Office in Malindi, Zanzibar Stone Town, 19th century
Queen Victoria stamps used at Zanzibar, 1865-1890
Four annas green Queen Victoria stamps of India, Zanzibar, 1866
Envelope with half anna Queen Victoria stamps, Zanzibar, 1875-1895
NSAG collection North Africa 1961-1962
Medical professor L.A. van Es and Mr. M.U.U. van Dis donated 1400-odd black and white and colour photographs of their expedition with the Dutch Student Africa Group (NSAG) mainly through the north of Africa in 1961-1962, visiting various universities. Some images:
An Egyptian guide, his little son and a Dutch student at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, 1961
A group viewing the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pash, Cairo, Egypte, 1961
A farmer is plowing with two oxen near Cairo, Egypt, 1961
Ramses II. Small Temple of Hathor and Nefertari, now inundated, Abu Simbel, Egypte 1961
An Egyptian boatman on the Nile to Buhen, 1961
The tomb of the Mahdi (Mohamed Ahmed), mosque at Omdurman, Soedan, 1961
Two local students in conversation with a Dutch student, Omdurman, Sudan, 1961
Guards in white uniforms with headdress at the Presidential Palace, Khartoum, Sudan, 1961
A cyclist, Khartoum, Sudan, 1961
Laughing Dutch students, University of Khartoum, Sudan, 1961
Girls at an elementary school, Khartoum, Sudan, 1961
A boy at an elementary school is moving to the rhythm of music, Khartoum, Sudan, 1961
A grove of palm trees at an irrigation canal of the Gezira Plan, Sudan, 1961
Young men at a bicycle shop, Kampala, Uganda, 1961
Outpatient clinic of the Mulago hospital, Kampala, Uganda, 1961
Academics at University College Ibadan, Nigeria, February 1962
Rietveld collection Nigeria 1970-1973
Aart Rietveld also donated 99 slides of his work in Nigeria as a history teacher at Toro Teachers College (1970-1973).
Teachers in training await the inspection of their huts, Toro Teachers College.
Polygamy. The driver of Toro Teachers College is marrying his third wife, Toro Teachers College.
Three impatient dodos - men dressed as evil spirits - wait until they can perform. Jos Ceremony, Jos.
The ceremonial ruler of Bauchi in his procession of horsemen, Eid al-Fitr (Durbar festival, Sallah), Bauchi.
Pan African Games Lagos. A female javelin thrower in the stadium, Lagos, 7-18 Januari 1973.
White horned zebus in front of the openings of the Kainji Dam.
Rietveld is being taught how to ride a horse, Toro, Nigeria, 1970-1973
Van der Kraaij collection Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Morocco and Senegal 1972-1987
Dutch economist Fred van der Kraaij lived for many years in Liberia where his activities included teaching at the university in Monrovia. He kindly allowed ASC to scan his large collection of slides. Here we show images from his first series, mainly concerning the mines at Yekepa and the Firestone rubber factory in Harbel, both in Liberia.
Fruit vendors headcarrying enamel bowls, Monrovia, 1975
LAMCO J.V. open pit mining for iron ore, Yekepa 1976
Conveyor belt for iron ore, Yekepa 1976
Train for iron ore transport, Yekepa 1976
Dam for eletricity generation, Firestone rubber factory, Harbel 1976
A rubber tapper with buckets at the Firestone rubber plantation, Harbel 1976
Firestone latex factory, Harbel 1976
Firestone latex factory, Harbel 1976
Houses for laborers at the Firestone rubber factory, Harbel 1976
Storage of folded latex sheets, Harbel 1976
A woman busy winnowing paddy and a man with a mortar, Agrimeco, Montserrado county, 1976
A woman prepares a meal in conversation with Dr. Van der Kraaij, Région de Kayes, Mali, 1985
Van Achterberg collection Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Morocco, Mauretania, Namibia, Niger and Tunesia 1985, 1996 - 1997
Dutch cultural anthropologist Angeline van Achterberg widely travelled through Northwest Africa as a researcher, visited women's organisations and wrote books about the region. Some images from the scanned slides she donated:
A Tuareg lady and girl ask for water along the tarmac road Arlit-Agadez, Niger, 1985
A boy is standing near a sign for the political party MNSD-Nassara (Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement), Agadez, Niger, December 1996 - January 1997
A break in the journey by bus to Ougadougou, Yako, Burkina Faso, 1996
A seller of pancakes on the street, Gorom-Gorom, Burkina Faso 1996.
"Ensemble stoppons le SIDA Fidelité Abstinence Préservatif"/"Together we stop AIDS. Loyalty Abstinence Condom". Sign to combat HIV/AIDS along the road from Bamako naar Ségou, Mali, 1996
A Tuareg griot (singer) with his family and musical instrument tehardent, Tin Aicha, Timboektoe, Mali, 1996
A griot (singer) outdoors with his tehardent and public, UNHCR kamp Mberra, Mauretania 1996
Men at a market for beans and flour, Léré, Timbuctu, Mali 1996
The Atlantic Ocean viewed from Hotel l'Océan, Kribi, Cameroon 1997
A working-class area of Yaoundé, Cameroon 1997
Pupils of the boarding school for the Bagyéli people, Bipindi, Cameroon 1997
Members of the selfhelp organisation Mboscuda, Bamenda, Cameroon 1997
Van de Bruinhorst collection Somaliland 2019
Dr. Gerard van de Bruinhorst, Afrikanist at ASC, donated photographs and videos of his trip to the Hargeysa 12th International Book Fair 20-25 July 2019 in Somaliland. Because of copyright some beautiful book covers have to be omitted here.
A food stall run by women, Hargeisa
Nasiim Mohomed Ali Aar, author of the novel Between Love, Past and Destiny, Hargeisa
The lights of Hargeysa with the Central Market at night seen the Masala View Restaurant, Hargeisa
A panel discussion at the Hargeysa 12th International Book Fair 20-25 July 2019
Hargeisa War Cemetery
A painting depicting an animal story with a mathematical geometric series of 0.5, Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Video of sheep near Masjid Jama, Central Mosque of Hargeisa
Video of a group of men sitting in front of the University Bookshop. Women in burqa pass by, Hargeisa
Dromedaries, sheep and goats at the live stock market in Hargeisa
Kigali, Rwanda 2021
In 2021 Gerard van de Bruinhorst and Elvire Eijkman, both from the African Studies Centre Leiden, visited Rwanda Children's Book Fair 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda and donated some photographs and videos taken there.
The Caritas bookshop in Kigali, 2021.
Monument for the ten murdered Belgian Blue Helmets of the United Nations 1994, Kigali.
A Kigali school blackboard with bullet holes and a French text commemorating the Belgian paratrooper Debatty, killed in April 1994.
A crafted passenger airplane, with text "Amahoro" (Peace) in Kigali Public Library.
A lady in front of the large banner "Rwanda Children's Book Organization. Book Fair 2021".
A representative for Bakame Editions at Rwanda Children's Bookfair 2021, Kigali.
Books on display at the Rwanda Children's Book Fair 2021, Kigali
A taxi motorcyclist with his engine on a red dirt road, Kigali.
The Genocide Monument of the University of Rwanda in a parking lot, Kigali.
A white mosque with loudspeaker with hills in the background, Kigali.
White-brown robin-chats (Cossypha heuglini) sing in the hotel garden, Kigali.
A church service with community singing in St. Étienne Cathedral, Kigali.
Top 5 of Most-Viewed Photographs, September 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022
3.New Nigerian newspaper page 7 January 1970. End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra, with the military Obasanjo, Jallo, Bissala (Bissalla), and Gowon. Picture taken by Dutch teacher Aart Rietveld - Nigerian Civil War - clicked on 120,439 x - East Africa 1975 (Rietveld Collection)
4. "The Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone" in the 1910s with a crossing train. Photo by Alphonso Lisk-Carew and his assistant, his brother Arthur (together the Lisk-Carew Brothers) - Sierra Leone - clicked on 119,193 x - Lisk-Carew Brothers
4. Dutch anthropologist and professor Wouter van Beek saw eleven boys clad in white immediately after their circumcision at the market in Tireli, Mali 1990 - Circumcision - clicked 98,977 x - Dogon (W.E.A. van Beek Collection).
Top 5 of most-clicked images from ASCL for September 2019, when for the first time since the start of the counts in 2014, the threshold of two million views (clicks, peeks) per month was crossed.
3. Aart Rietveld photographed female coffee pickers in Zambia or Zimbabwe, 1975 - article Coffee - clicked 97,025 x - East Africa 1975 (Rietveld Collection)
5. Dutch anthropologist and professor Wouter van Beek saw eleven boys clad in white immediately after their circumcision at market in Tireli, Mali 1990 - article Circumcision - clicked 81,077 x - Dogon (W.E.A. van Beek Collection).
↑ NB. In this count, as far as is known, the number of visitors on the Internet leaving a web page within a few seconds (bounce, a normal phenomenon on the internet), is not (yet) deducted, so the numbers mentioned are (over) estimates and only relatively indicative.
↑Book review in Dutch: Martens, Joris (2023). "Arts en ooggetuige in Guinee-Bissau". indiestijdschrift.nl (in Dutch). Indies tijdschrift. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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