International cooperation: France donates audiovisual archives of colonial times to its former colonies in Africa

To mark 50th Independency anniversary of former French colonies in Africa, France donated to these countries audiovisual archives of the colonization period. The French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) has digitized and donated the collection of television materials and radio broadcasts archive spanning the time from 1940 to 1968. The ceremony took place in Brazzaville, capital of Congo: Ambassador of France Jean-François Valette presented 12-hour records of audiovisual archives to the Minister of Communication and Information of Congo Bienvenu Okiemy.

The Minister expressed gratitude to the French side and stressed that those archives were connected with great moments in the history of two countries and represented an invaluable cultural and historical heritage. Thus, archives will remind about those terrible days of the Second World War when the French resistance turned Brazzaville into the stronghold of free France, resisting Nazi.

Congo is not the only one colony to receive historical archives from France. Several years ago they were presented to Algeria, Senegal and Madagascar. Archives of two latter countries appeared to be the most massive.