Mulenga Kapwepwe, the creator of the Women’s History Museum of Zambia, posed a thought in 2022 to a small assembly of younger tech aficionados in Zambia: Could an entity known as “blockchain technology” provide any fresh utility for safeguarding history? She had initiated a fresh program focused on digital humanities, and involving young individuals thrilled by technology who might wish to apply their skills within the realms of arts, culture, and history. The collective of developers, designers, and artists she collaborated with expressed their excitement for “web3”, and together they examined several characteristics and functionalities of blockchains. Thus, she began contemplating how they might utilize it to tackle a genuinely daunting issue for African Heritage: the repatriation of artifacts.
Historically, numerous areas across the globe have had their tangible cultural heritage stored in European and American museums, prompting intricate inquiries about ownership, history, and identity. In the context of Africa, this dilemma is especially pronounced: an estimated 90% of Africa’s tangible cultural heritage is presently situated in the West, as indicated by the 2018 Sarr and Savoy report The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Toward a New Relational Ethics1. While dialogues regarding physical repatriation have continued for years, geopolitical and logistical intricacies frequently hinder practical advancements toward solutions.
The group conceived an idea: if the physical repatriation of artifacts is excessively entangled in geopolitical, cultural, and logistical hurdles, it may be feasible to create a digital representation of the artifacts as a viable alternative. By associating a digital artifact with its physical counterpart, this method could encapsulate and evoke a parallel connection to heritage, creativity, history, and the precious knowledge and lessons from the past that museum visitors experience in person, while also providing a fresh perspective on the physical artifacts—forming innovative routes to engage with cultural heritage. With the appropriate support technology, African artifacts currently confined to European and American museums could become available to Africans whose forebears contributed to their creation.
Virtual and augmented reality technology has progressed sufficiently to allow for high-fidelity scans of tangible items, making it possible for them to be exhibited on screens, projectors, or VR headsets in a museum setting. However, the scanned items still require that crucial attribute of uniqueness to have a significant sense of provenance linked to the original. If artifacts stored in distant museums could be scanned, minted, and showcased as unique, provenance-verified digital entities, researchers, curators, and museum visitors could interact with the artifacts in novel ways. Moreover, social coordination surrounding these digital artifacts could facilitate meaningful interactions, permitting communities and experts to collectively manage, share, and investigate cultural heritage in new manners.
Envision ticket proceeds from an exhibit on southern African masks in Brussels (or Paris, or London) directly benefiting communities in Lusaka (or Harare, or Pretoria)—communities with genuine, tangible ties to the artifacts. For many members of these communities who may never have the chance to view the objects in person, this digital access could empower them to contribute personal memories or distinctive cultural contexts that researchers and anthropologists may have previously overlooked. Such contributions could assist in “recontextualizing” these artifacts, restoring significance and relevance to items that have been frequently displayed without incorporating the voices and perspectives of those most intimately connected to them.
Through the sparks of inquiry that originated with this question, the team established the initial foundational elements of a new method for cultural preservation: one that links the heritage of the past with the technology of the present, bringing it to those who hold it most dearly.
A History Machine
Venkatesh Rao, during a presentation titled “bloodcoin”, characterized blockchains as “a history technology”. They provide a lasting, accessible medium to record history on a ledger that does not diminish or alter over time. This makes blockchains an ideal instrument or technology for museums and anthropologists. Blockchains also happen to be a proficient means to implement “currency” and other systems that operate as mediums of exchange, units of account, and stores of value. These attributes may allow blockchains to become a medium capable of “injecting history” into records of value and ownership to preserve and recognize narratives of historical debts and reparations.
To explore this potential, Mulenga Kapwepwe, alongside Thomas Gondwe, Nhyira Amofa-Sekyi, and Mario Jere, co-founded SummitShare. Together, they endeavored to create innovative, digital strategies to confront the intricate realities of history. SummitShare’s methodology prioritizes interactive, participatory, and educational experiences—bridging the past with a digitally engaged audience and providing substantial connections to cultural heritage through contemporary technology.
In a parallel manner to how the internet radically altered the distribution of information, blockchains may revolutionize the way history is preserved, offering a form of temporal permanence. By generating digital representations of artifacts and documenting their provenance — their journey through societies and periods — SummitShare democratizes access to cultural heritage. Numerous artifacts in European museums today lack full provenance, but living communities may possess critical context (songs, stories, memories) that could enrich comprehension and restore significance. Digital representations of artifacts ensure this context is maintained while also enabling heritage communities to partake in the advantages these objects yield.
Proof of Concept: Origins with the WHMZ
Through a partnership facilitated by the Women’s History Museum of Zambia, theSummitShare crew collaborated with the Swedish Ethnographic Museum to gain access to their catalog and digital asset repository. This collaboration supplied SummitShare with essential materials, encompassing access to digital documentation containing provenance details and initial 3D reproductions of items in the Swedish museum’s inventory. Utilizing these materials, the team commenced the design and modeling of a 3D virtual exhibition showcasing artifacts enriched with historical narratives from Zambia and southern Africa. In addition to the digital modeling, the initiative also suggested tokenizing these items to encode and safeguard their provenance, marking a notable advancement towards the establishment of a decentralized digital repository.
Advancement and Expansion Within Ethereum’s Next Billion Fellowship Program
In 2023, Mulenga (as the head of the SummitShare team) joined the Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion Fellowship Program, which enabled them to enhance the project. The initiative received significant open-source contributions for smart contract and initial subgraph design from a pseudonymous contributor, as well as from Hanan Haj Ahmed, a Palestinian designer who contributed early work under considerable difficulties in Gaza. Daniel Tembo, a talented 3D artist with expertise in game design, functions as the mastermind behind SummitShare’s virtual environment and developed virtual exhibition spaces to animate artifacts in an immersive digital format.
The Leading Ladies Exhibit: An Example of Digital and Physical Cooperation
Throughout 2024, the SummitShare team has been preparing for its first exhibit, enhancing research on local repatriation initiatives and establishing key partnerships, including with the Octant Accelerator to grow the platform. This exhibit, titled Leading Ladies, centers on the lives and artifacts of six Zambian women—pioneers from various societal roles, including generals, political activists, and tribal leaders. These artifacts yield distinctive historical perspectives and inspiration for contemporary society.
With SummitShare, museums and galleries can create exhibitions incorporating both physical and digital elements, each interconnected through smart contracts. This facilitates unique synergies, such as ticket sales for European exhibitions funding cultural programs in Africa, blending digital artifacts with tangible advantages for heritage communities.
An exhibition on SummitShare is not merely a collection of images and models of artwork or items – they are linked to a series of smart contracts that assign a unique identifier to the object and enable it to be represented on the internet of value. Through SummitShare’s smart contracts, we gain the provenance and individuality required for a meaningful connection to a digital artifact.
Furthermore, the platform also employs the same set of contracts to manage ticket sales along with interactive aspects of the exhibit that relate to the digitized items. Curation fees, proceeds, benefits, and their interrelationships are all organized to return value to all stewards of heritage and cultural worth, both historically and geographically.
The Leading Ladies exhibit has a special connection to Zambia’s Gwembe Valley community, emphasizing the cultural origins of the artifacts. The aim is to ensure that the Gwembe Valley community directly benefits from the exhibit’s earnings and involvement.
Prior to the launch of this exhibit, the SummitShare team consulted with leaders from Gwembe Valley to comprehend their preservation techniques, governance, and information-sharing practices, which guided how the platform incorporates traditional governance into decision-making frameworks.
The Gwembe Valley’s support reaches out to 150 communities within their jurisdiction, presenting an exceptional opportunity for SummitShare to connect with a wide, interconnected audience.
Visionary History
SummitShare is not solely focused on African heritage, but aims to apply human collaboration to address the worldwide challenge of cultural disconnection. By positioning history and culture on-chain, we forge an unchangeable record and a link between the past and present, safeguarding legacies while empowering heritage communities.
At its foundation, SummitShare prioritizes provenance (information) and people. These guiding principles propel its mission to close gaps in access, knowledge, and representation. This venture is characterized by research, experimentation, and the creation of systems that facilitate democratized access to cultural and economic resources that have long remained unattainable.
The Leading Ladies Exhibit is currently accessible for early engagement by supporters. If you wish to participate in the SummitShare initiative and contribute to the Gwembe Valley community, you can discover more about the virtual exhibit and secure your access prior to the official launch on December 13th, 2024, on the SummitShare website.
If you are involved in the museum, university, or cultural heritage sector and wish to learn more about SummitShare, or explore collaboration on an exhibition, please reach out to info@summitshare.co or contact nextbillion@ethereum.foundation.
Together, let’s transform cultural heritage for a connected, decentralized world—one that cherishes shared narratives and inclusive innovation.
If you’re a leader, creator, or builder addressing human-centric challenges, we want to hear your story! You can now submit your application for Cohorts 5 & 6 of the Next Billion Fellowship. Applications for Cohort 5 will be accepted until 12 January 2025
