KumbuKumbu

Wales, with her own history of colonialization, and the continuous experiences of keeping memory, language and place names alive, can be a place of solidarity and experimentation in the reworking of history. We propose to create a website which combines mapping, storytelling and augmented reality to create ‘Kumbukumbu’; a layering of our mutual Welsh-African memories across the land.

Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, we are interested in Welsh-African heritage and culture. We define this as any link between Wales and Africa, including the history or people of African descent in the Caribbean and the history of people from Wales in Africa. We are interested in a broad historical scope, ranging from early Roman times to contemporary culture. The heritage we collate must be in some way connected to landmarks such as buildings, sites, statues, objects, roads, ports, etc.

We want to include histories that are challenging, joyful, painful, inspiring and more, with users of the app being able to apply filters and tailor their experiences. Examples include:

Africans in the Roman legions, Roman sites
‘Black Jack’
The Africa Institute of Colwyn Bay and the burial sites of the ‘Congo Boys’
Key monuments as highlighted in the recent review of Welsh statues and places linked to slavery