Public History

A guiding concern for the History Workshop over the decades has been the endeavour to collaborate with communities to write and archive their histories. Since the 1990s, the History Workshop has received a steady stream of requests for participation in public history and projects driven from below, reflecting its growing reputation as one of the leading public history institutions in the country.

The Workshop is currently involved in collaborations with the Greater Dobsonville Heritage Association; the Non-racial Sports History Project; the Alexandra Heritage Centre; the 1970s Group (activists of the 1970s generation); political organisations and activists in liberation movement, trade unions and others.

In 2019 a digital publication A People's Guide to Archives and Democracy in South Africa was launched to provide information and links to ways in which civil society, researchers and organisations can gain access to government and other records for research purposes and as a matter of administrative justice, transparency and accountability.