WHO ARCHIVES AFRICA?
COLONIALITY AND DIGITAL MEMORY
Keywords:
african memory, information coloniality, digital preservation, informational sovereignty, Information ScienceAbstract
This study analyzes how information coloniality manifests itself in contemporary processes of preservation and digital circulation of African memory. It assumes that the expansion of digital environments increases possibilities for recording, preservation, and access, while it may also reproduce historical inequalities related to the representation, visibility, and legitimization of African knowledge. The objective is to analyze these manifestations by considering asymmetries in representation, infrastructure, and informational control. This qualitative, exploratory, and analytical-interpretative study was conducted through bibliographic research based on a structured search and selection strategy, complemented by documentary analysis. The bibliographic corpus was constructed through a search of the Scopus database covering the period from 2019 to 2026. After filtering, deduplication, and eligibility procedures, ten articles were submitted to Content Analysis. The results revealed four interdependent dimensions: epistemological invisibilization and hierarchization; coloniality in archives, metadata, and digital representations; dependence on external infrastructures, platforms, and technologies; and informational sovereignty and African participation. The study concludes that digitally preserving African memory requires community participation, critical revision of representation practices, and greater decision-making capacity over collections, data, and information infrastructures.