Chevening 2023 Western African Manuscripts Crowdsourcing Project Fellowship

Published: 08 Aug 2022 1,811 views

 The Programme is of international prominence in its mission to preserve documentary heritage at risk of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration. EAP funds projects from all over the world, to create digital copies of collections and deposit these both locally and within the British Library.

The Chevening Fellow will develop a community crowdsourcing project to improve the discoverability of approximately 10,000 digitised West African manuscripts in Arabic script. The EAP team is keen to ensure these manuscripts are assigned Arabic titles within the Library’s catalogue, making them more accessible to local communities. There is a current imbalance between titles being in original script, English or non-standard transliterations. The Library’s Digital Research team will provide guidance to the Fellow on all aspects of setting up and overseeing the crowdsourcing elements of the project.

The Fellow will oversee and promote the crowdsourcing project, drawing upon their already established contacts and developing new ones. The Fellow’s understanding of West African manuscript culture and interested communities will bring expertise, support and guidance to the project, harnessing contributions from the crowdsourcing project and preparing the integration of the new data into the Library’s catalogue.

Chevening Fellowship Program

Benefits of Chevening Fellowship Program

• 12-month period of project-based activity at the British Library
• Living expenses for the duration of the fellowship
• Return economy airfare from home country to the UK
• Up to £1,000 from the British Library for approved project-related expenses
• Access to a programme of cultural events and activities organised by the FCDO and the Chevening Secretariat
• Access to a highly regarded global network of over 50,000 Chevening Alumni

Requirements for Chevening Fellowship Program

• Fluency in reading Arabic/Ajami script
• Demonstrable knowledge of Islamic manuscript culture
• Strong computer skills and familiarity with Excel spreadsheets
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Familiarity with using social media

Application Deadline

How to Apply