A large proportion of Djenné’s manuscripts have now been digitally scanned, ready to be stored at the Archives Nationales in Bamako, and released online by the British Library. As part of the ceremony handing over the digital files in Bamako on the 7th December, 4D Heritage's exhibit will showcase the heritage of the past with the tools of the future. Importantly, it shall be placed in the hands of individuals at a local level, giving them the knowledge and tools needed to ai

Tucked away on the southern edge of the Sahara lies the ancient city of Djenné. The city, with its traditional mud-brick (‘adobe’) houses and towering Great Mosque, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Islam reached this region in the 13th and 14th centuries. Djenné has a scholastic heritage to rival the better-known Timbuktu. The 50 Koran schools dotted across the city are sites of Islamic learning that date back to the medieval period, with the manuscripts used there the proud

The dilemma about humanitarian priorities is often posed in a stark manner: surely the number one priority for humanitarian initiatives is saving lives? Don’t lives matter more than objects, buildings and sites? Heritage is about more than artefacts, buildings and sites. It is about people’s memories and how they make sense of their surroundings and history. It is about the accumulated culture of communities, the ideas that bind them together and help shape their sense of ide