Archbishop Desmond Tutu steps out of his Toyota to be greeted by former Mayor of Cape Town Patricia De Lille. Behind them is Mthunzi Gxashe, the archbishop’s son-in-law and aide, who regularly drove him in the car. Photo: Benny Gool, Oryx Media.
Cape Town - The Archbishop Desmond Tutu Intellectual Property Trust has taken another step forward in its mission to preserve and uphold teachings by the famous anti-apartheid stalwart.
The trust, on the eve of what would have been the archbishop’s 92nd birthday, launched the first phase of a bespoke digital platform created to memorialise his prodigious body of work.
According to the trust, the project was established by Tutu, who wanted to manage his intellectual property and associated rights and provide a one-stop, comprehensive and accessible resource for present and future generations of learners and thinkers.
The trust said the project would unfold over the coming years as more materials are prepared and captured in digital form.
“The next phase will also include linking the platform to important materials held in the archives of local and international universities, among others.
“There is also a physical aspect to the archiving initiative, with a large collection of papers, artefacts, books and gifts associated with the archbishop located in Cape Town,” the trust said.
Trust chairperson Dr Mamphela Ramphele said the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust was thrilled to have prepared the ground for the next phase of the archiving project that would draw in the expertise of university partners in the UK, US and South Africa.
“The digital platform has been designed to be accessible, easily searchable and robust. The memory of Archbishop Tutu’s template for human leadership based on the principles of inter-dependence, love and justice for all cannot be lost to a world and beloved country being driven to the abyss by consumptiveness, inequality and division.”
The physical archive of the platform will also promote the programmatic work of the trust’s sister organisation the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, including a permanent exhibition at the Old Granary Building.
One of the most recent items added to materials on public display at the Granary is the Archbishop’s old Toyota Corolla, which according to the trust in itself teaches an important lesson about probity.
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