MEAP Milestone — 70,000 unique digital objects

Since 2019, the Modern Endangered Archives Program has been committed to funding projects that document and digitize at-risk cultural heritage materials around the world. In five rounds of funding, we have funded 112 projects in 52 different countries, ensuring that unique voices, images, and documentary heritage are not only preserved but made globally accessible.

We’re happy to share the news that in July 2024, MEAP reached a new publication milestone: publishing more than 70,000 unique digital objects from 36 different collections. We invite you to explore all 70,000 objects, including more than 41,000 photographs, posters, drawings and fliers; 20,000 newspapers, magazines, personal papers, and correspondence; 9500 sound recordings; and 400 moving images files. Each of these objects expands our ability to understand the 20th and 21st centuries, often from perspectives purposefully left out of national archives and political discourse.

These collections feature cultural heritage from 23 countries and are now globally accessible from the open access UCLA Digital Library. MEAP collections illuminate numerous cultural movements and historical events from the last 80 years, often providing insight into shared experiences from disparate parts of the world. Consider these intersecting collections and themes:

1. The Albanian Photographic and Graphic Art Collection(opens in a new tab) from the Albanian National Film Archive provides visual evidence of how Communism informed the national film movement while the Humun Bichig Newspaper collection documents the last remaining newspaper printed in traditional Mongolian script after Soviet pressure purged the traditional script in 1941.

2. The Mali Projet Archives des Femmes collection preserves papers and photographs from decades of anti-colonial activism led by women in Mali while the Archive of the Confederación Campesina del Perú (CCP) documents the organized efforts of rural and indigenous people in Peru to defend their land and autonomy.

3. The Willis E Bell Photographic collection documents ceremonial and daily life in communities throughout Ghana following independence (1957-1978) while the Barbados Ephemera Collection reflects cultural and social life following independence in 1966 through theater brochures, event announcements, advertisements and more. Users can also juxtapose these depictions of post-colonial life with photographs from the same time period in Afghanistan (Louis Dupree and Nancy Dupree Collection), Lebanon (Photo Surprise Archive of Photo Jack), and Lesotho (Ramakatane Archive).

The Modern Endangered Archives Program continues to publish new content monthly and will soon announce a new cohort of funded projects that will add to this robust collection of cultural heritage objects. Explore all MEAP funded collections online now.

Hero image: A private party at a residence, Willis Bell Archive 221, Willis E Bell Photographic Archive