Judith Opoku-Boateng is the Archivist in charge of the J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. She holds formal qualifications in Sociology and Archival Studies from the University of Ghana, as well as specialized certificates in Audiovisual Heritage Preservation (AHP). Preceding her current position, Judith engaged with the International Centre for African Music and Dance (ICAMD) as an ethnographic researcher documenting music and dance forms from indigenous communities in Ghana. She won the Jim Linder Grant for Cultural Heritage Preservation in 2011 and became a US State Alumni (IVLP 2011) in the same year. She has presented papers at conferences, symposia and workshops on Audiovisual Heritage Preservation locally and globally and served as a private consultant for the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) from October 2015 to February 2017, as well as a resource person for ICCROM’s SOIMA programme in July 2017. She is the current Chair of the Diversity Task Force of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), as well as its ambassador for Ghana and West Africa. Additionally, she serves on the Research Archives and Programme Committees of IASA.
Judith is a member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), a member of the AV Think Tank – an initiative of Netherlands Sound and Vision Institute and a Technical Committee Member for SOIMA (ICCROM initiative). She has published articles and offered training programmes in Audiovisual Heritage Preservation. Judith has recently been involved in archival activism - advocating for current and future preservation of audiovisual materials especially in her region.
- Post Graduate Certificate in Sound and Image Heritage Preservation – International Centre for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) (2013)
- Advanced Certificate in Sustaining Sound and Image Heritage – ICCROM (2015)
- Master of Arts: Archival Studies – University of Ghana (2006)
- Bachelor of Arts (Hons): Sociology and Political Science – University of Ghana, (2001)
- Audiovisual Archiving and Cultural Heritage Communities
- Archival Activism
- Cultural Synthesis and the Archives
- Knowledge Transfer within Archives
- International Standards and Networks in Archiving
- Digital Preservation Vrs the current trends in Archives
- Audiovisual Archives: For Inspiration, for Creativity – An ongoing project with the AV Think Tank Group https://www.beeldengeluid.nl/en/knowledge/hub/av-think-tank
- Indicators for Information Preservation Sustainability – An ongoing project with the UNESCO Office in Dakar
- “Share That Knowledge” – Knowledge Transfer/Sharing within different types of institutions holding archival knowledge
- Magnetic Tape Alert Project – UNESCO and IASA joint initiative project (Yet to take off)
- International Minimum Standards in Records Management – Project to prepare Ghana for the Right To Information (RTI) Act. 2020 –
- Making African Academic Resources Accessible (MAARA) from 2014 to date
- Traditional Medicine in Ghana – Oral History Project 2019 to date
- Documentation of the Burial and Final Funeral Rites of the late Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem II, Queenmother of Ashanti – January 2016 and December, 2017
- Final Funeral Rites of the late Apagyahene of Ashanti - 2015
- Hiplife and Highlife transcriptions and translations for the Popular Culture Project under the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) – 2008-2010
- J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives @University of Ghana – Outlook, Current Projects. Presented at the Goethe Institute, Accra/Ghana, under the theme: Heritage in Perspective. Date: March 3-5 2020.
- “Audiovisual Archives - For Inspiration, for Creativity…….” Panel presentation, as a member of the AV Think Tank, at the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives Conference, 2019, on the theme: “Imagine the Future”, in Hilversum-Netherlands, from October 1-4, 2019.
- Keeping Memories Alive: The Benefits of Audiovisual Collections to Research – J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives in Perspective Akrofi Christaller Institute of Theology – Keynote at the Doctoral Seminar. March 2019.
- Adding to the Archive: Field Recordings and their Afterlife – Akrofi Christaller Institute of Theology – 2nd Keynote at the Doctoral Seminar. March 2019
- Audiovisual Documentation and Preservation of Ceremonial Celebrations and Oral Narratives – The Ghanaian Experience - Presented at the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives Annual Conference (IASA) 2017 on the theme: Access and Accessibility – Archival Policies and Barriers in the Age of Global Information Exchange. October 2018
- Keeping Memories Alive: The J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives in Perspective – Presented at the Ghana National Museum during the Week-long programme on the theme: Museum Dialogues. December, 2018.
- Archives and The Public Good – 70 Years of UG’s Contribution to Unifying Ghanaian Cultures: J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives in Perspective – Public Lecture delivered to commemorate UG @ 70 Celebrations, organised by the School of Information and Communication Studies, University of Ghana. May 2018.
- Digitize me, I am a Precious Sound Document: The Practice and Problems of Selection and Appraisal in an African Audiovisual Archive - Presented at the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives Annual Conference (IASA) 2017 on the theme: “Integration and Innovation, Bringing Workflows and Formats Together in the Digital Era – Berlin-Germany, September, 2017.
- “Making African Academic Resources Accessible: The Story of the Kwabena Nketia Archives, 65 years on” - SCOLMA International Conference on the theme: “How Digitization Aids Research in Africa”, Scotland, September 11, 2017 – Virtual Presentation with Korklu Laryea (UMAT)
- “J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives – Bridging Ghanaian Indigenous Cultures” - One day Public Symposium on the theme: Sound and Image Heritage, for Creativity, Peace and Development. Organised by ICCROM and IAS as part of the Two weeks International Training Workshop (July 21, 2017)
- “Preserving the Kwabena Nketia Archives at the University of Ghana, Legon” Presented at The Arts Council of the African Studies Association - ACASA 2017 – At the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. August 2017
- Academic Resources at the J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives, presented at the Training and Orientation workshop for Librarians in the University of Ghana Library System. – Balme Library (June 28-30, 2016)
- –“MAARA- Preserving the J. H. Kwabena Nketia Recordings” New York University Special Invitation Presentation on MAARA Project Report – At the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis – April 5, 2016
- “Audiovisual Preservation Exchanges – MAARA: Making African Academic Resources Accessible”- Joint presentation with Professor Mona Jimenez, APEX Team Leader – At the 10th Orphans Film Symposium under the theme: “SOUND”- Packard Campus, National Audiovisual Conservation Centre, Library of Congress, Culpepper, Virginia, United States, April 9, 2016.
- “Applying the ‘Baby Nursing Model’ in Under-resourced Archives; the Journey with the Nketia Collections at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon – Presented at SOIMA 2015 International Conference under the theme: Unlocking Sound and Image Heritage, Brussels – Belgium, September 3, 2015
“What do we do with Audiovisual Carriers after Digitization?” – Panel Member
Parallel Sessions on Institutional Strategies – Session Moderator
- “Local Preservation of a Global Heritage, International Co-operation and the Digitization of Written and Non-Written Material at the University of Ghana, Legon” – Presented with Barfi Adomako at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association ALA/IRC/Africa Subcommittee under the theme: “Transforming Our Libraries, Ourselves” – San Francisco, United States. - June 27, 2015 – Virtual Presentation
- “Sharing the Experience with the Management of the Nketia Collections at the University of Ghana :” – Presented at the Pre-conference workshop of the Fourth International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives (ICADLA-4), University of Ghana, Legon. - May, 2015
- ‘Challenges of a West African Audiovisual Archive and possible solutions through International Exchange’ – Association of Moving Archivists Conference, Savannah Georgia, United States – October, 2014.
- CFI – Ghana 2014- Promoting Archives: how, why and for whom?:– presented at CFI workshop for audiovisual content producers and caretakers in Anglophone and Francophone West African countries. May, 2014.
- ‘Digital Archiving at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon’, - Joint presentation with the Director of IAS (Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo), at the Digital Humanities Workshop, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, United States – November 2-14, 2014
- “Teaching Resources at the Institute of African studies, University of Ghana – Panel, Presented at the International Congress of the Institute of African Studies, to mark its 50th anniversary celebrations. – October, 2013
- ‘Fifty years of Institute of African Studies Audiovisuals, challenges and prospects’ – Seminar Series to launch the Institute of African Studies 50th Anniversary: March 2013, University of Ghana, Legon.
- ‘Sound and Image collections at Institute of African Studies’ – Presented at SOIMA 2013: Safeguarding Sound and Image Collections Conference at Nairobi Kenya under the theme: Sound and Image collections: Current Challenges and Strategies for their Conservation and Long-Term use. September, 2013.
- Library Conversations Workshop on Orality – Organized by Ghana Library Association and Goethe Institute. November 27 to 28, 2019.
Role played – Participant/Contributor
- Theorizing African Political and Social Thought for Knowledge Production. Organized by Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Accra. November 21 to 22, 2019.
Role played – Participant/Contributor
- Regional Workshop to Devise the Preliminary Indicators for Information Preservation Sustainability. Organised by UNESCO office in Dakar – Senegal, September 11 -13, 2019.
Role played – Participant/ Contributor.
- International Networks on Sound and Image Heritage Preservation. Paper presented at the Workshop on the Theme: Sound and Image Archiving and Memory of the World Register for Audiovisual Heritage Workshop. Organised by the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO – Lilongwe – Malawi. December, 2018.
Role Played – Resource person.
- SOIMA 2017: ‘Sustaining Sound and Image Heritage’ – International Training Workshop organized by International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and hosted by the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon - Accra – (July 9 – 22, 2017)
Role Played: Local Organiser/Coordinator, Resource Person.
- Training and Orientation for Librarians in the University of Ghana Library System – Balme Library. (June 28-30, 2016)
Role Played: Resource Person
- SOIMA 2015 ‘Sustaining Sound and Image Collections’, ICCROM and KIK-IRPA: (August 27 – September 2, 2015), Brussels – Belgium.
Role Played: Participant
- Digital Humanties Workshop, “African Studies in the Digital Age” University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States. (November 8-19, 2014),
Role Played: Participant, Presenter
- CFI International Workshop: Memory, Conservation and Development of audiovisual archives; FSP Images of Africa – Training (5th-13th May, 2014), Accra, Ghana, National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).
Role Played: Participant, Resource Person
- “UG-Space/University of Ghana Institutional Repository workshop for audiovisual caretakers at University of Ghana”; Organised by the Academic Computing Unit of the Balme Library, University of Ghana. (March, 2014).
Role Played: Participant
- “SOIMA 2013: Safeguarding Sound and Image Collections”, International Workshop organised by ICCROM and the Tara Trust for African Rock Art, Nairobi – Kenya.(September 23 - October 16, 2013). Role Played: Participant
- “FIAF School on Wheels” - Audiovisual Training Workshop organised by the Federation of International Association of Films in collaboration with National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), Accra, Ghana. (August 2012) - Role Played: Participant
- International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP): “Cultural Heritage Preservation – A Multi – Regional Project”, Organised by the United States Department of States, Bureau of educational and Cultural Affairs, at Washington D.C, New Mexico, New York and Savannah Georgia, United States of America. (June 27th - July 16, 2011).
Role Played: Participant
- “Imagining Access to Audiovisual Heritage” ; Organized by the Audiovisual Preservation Exchange (APEX) – New York University, in association with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation(GBC) and National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), Accra, Ghana.
(May 9 – 13, 2011). – Role Played: Participant
Journal Article
Opoku-Boateng, J, Cann, E., Ntewusu, S., & Owusu, S. (2020). The J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archive at the University of Ghana – Legon. History in Africa, 1-8. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-in-africa/article/jh-kwabena-nketia-archive-at-the-university-of-ghana-legon/B41CAE015A2B13CD491950934CB2EA5D
Harper, C., & Opoku-Boateng, J. (2019). Renewing Cultural Resources and Sustaining J.H. Kwabena Nketia’s Vision for an African Music Archive in Ghana. International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) Journal, (50), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.35320/ij.v0i50.101
Opoku-Boateng J. (2018), Its your Story, Don't Lose It - Using Sound and Image Heritage to Bridge Cultures - International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) Journal (48), 10-15
Book Chapter
Opoku-Boateng J. (2017) Applying the 'Baby Nursing Model' in Under-Resourced Audiovisual Archives in Africa; the J. H. Kwabena Nketia Archives at the University of Ghana. - In 'Unlocking Sound and Image Heritage’ - Selected Readings from the SOIMA 2015 International Conference. ICCROM/Presto Centre Publication. Page 121 – 127. https://www.iccrom.org/sites/default/files/2017-12/00_soima_unlocking_sound_and_image_heritage_0.pdf
Co-Editor
'Unlocking Sound and Image Heritage - Selected Readings from the SOIMA 2015 International Conference. ICCROM/Presto Centre Publication – October, 2017 https://www.iccrom.org/sites/default/files/2017-12/00_soima_unlocking_sound_and_image_heritage_0.pdf
Newspaper Publication
Opoku-Boateng J. (2016) - The 'Baby Nursing Model' as a Recommended Management Principle in Under-resourced Heritage Institutions - Daily Graphic Publication. Page 10
Online Publication - (News)
Opoku-Boateng J., Abbazia D., Tandon A. (2017) - Sustaining Sound and Image Collections (SOIMA 2017). Modern Ghana Publication https://www.modernghana.com/news/789230/sustaining-sound-and-image-collections-soima-2017.html