‘The world’s memory’: why Nigeria is burying its history under a mountain in Svalbard
Nigeria has made history as the first African nation to safeguard its valuable data within the Arctic World Archive. This unique storage facility, located deep beneath the Arctic permafrost in a former coalmine on Svalbard, is dedicated to preserving a vast array of records, from cultural traditions to pivotal historical moments. It might seem an unusual location to find Indigenous narratives and literary works from rural Nigeria, yet this secure vault now houses a significant collection from the West African country.
The Arctic World Archive (AWA) enables organizations and individuals to deposit information onto specialized digital film known as Piql, designed for an astonishing lifespan of up to 2,000 years. On February 27th, Nigeria officially joined this global initiative, entrusting its archives to a site 300 meters inside a mountain, where the naturally cold, dark, and arid environment offers ideal conditions for long-term preservation.
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