Risks and RewardsThe Intricate Ending of the Timbuktu Manuscript Training Project

The Timbuktu Manuscript Training Project (DUT) is part of this engagement. This project is related to a two-year training programme, established by the Institut des Hautes Etudes et de Recherches Islamiques Ahmed Baba de Tombouctou (IHERI), which aims at providing young Malians with the skills to conserve, catalogue, and digitise historical manuscripts. To strengthen the didactic structure, contents, and methods of the programme, IHERI solicited the expertise of CSMC. Since 2020, experts of the Cluster and its international network, including the University of Bamako, have been assessing IHERI’s technical and human resources, helping with the acquisition and installation of technical equipment for manuscript restauration and digitisation, and training IHERI’s technical staff as well as the future instructors of the training programme that will equip the younger generations with the skills and the knowledge to preserve the country’s cultural heritage. The project has been carried out in cooperation with MINUSMA, which provided funds and security support, and the UNESCO as an implementing partner.  

The time schedule had to be adapted repeatedly to the conditions on site. ‘Initially, the future instructors were to complete their training by our experts first’, Maria Luisa says. ‘Only after that were they to teach students themselves. However, due to security reasons, visa issues, and other complications, we had to reschedule many of our courses at short notice. Coordinating this was an immense challenge. With every change of plans, flights and security arrangements with MINUSMA also had to be rearranged.’

A lot has happened in Mali since the project began: The military government, in power since 2020, demanded an end to the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, which most recently had around 12,000 soldiers as well as additional police officers and civilian staff in the country. The military leaders, while increasingly turning to Russia – claimed that the mission had not been able to provide effective support. On 30 June, the UN Security Council decided to withdraw completely from Mali by the end of 2023. This also has a direct impact on the work of Maria Luisa and her colleagues: ‘We had to complete all the planned courses by the end of July instead of the end of the year. Because of that, the last few months have been extremely demanding, but at the same time also very rewarding: we are extremely proud of what we have achieved here over the last few years despite the adverse circumstances.’

What are the future prospects for CSMC projects in Mali after the end of MINUSMA? ‘A lot depends on the development of the security situation in the next months, which directly impacts the presence of our international staff. The situation on the ground remains volatile, and many foreigners are leaving the country. It requires flexibility and additional attention to security measures, which I am taking care of.’ At the same time, CSMC’s presence in Mali is not limited to international staff: ‘We have steadily and consistently established strong connections in Mali by working with local institutions and people. The Malian team members of the DFG Ajami project work in Bamako, Djenné, Timbuktu, and they will keep doing that. I also keep in touch with many of the instructors who have attended our courses and with our partner institutions. It is important to protect the network that we established over the years.’

Hope for the future is inspired by the students who enrol in the manuscript training programme at IHERI. There are about 30 per cohort. ‘It’s great to hear from them why they chose this course. Many of them say that they care about the cultural heritage of their country and want to do their part to preserve it. But many also give less idealistic reasons, saying, for example, that they want to progress personally and professionally, and they see this course as an opportunity to get ahead. I’m not frustrated by this rather pragmatic approach, on the contrary: young people see a real perspective for themselves in a course on manuscripts – that’s very encouraging!’