Cape Town - University of the Western Cape Professor Bradley Rink is among the recipients of the prestigious 2021 Royal Geographical Society Wiley Digital Archives Research Fellowship award.
Rink, who is Associate Professor at UWC’s Department of Geography, Environment Studies, and Tourism was the only South African among the 11 recipients chosen, and one of only two fellows from Africa.
Rink described the project that secured his win as a “reboot” of the notion of air mindedness in Africa in the 1950s and 1960s.
“My work will focus on the emergent Jet Age when the notion of being able to travel around the world from what was then still perceived as the dark continent of Africa gained momentum. With the introduction of super-modern aircraft, it became possible to link Lusaka and London,” said Rink.
The prestigious research Fellowships were awarded by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to make their pre-1945 Collections accessible to a wider audience.
A partnership with the Wiley Digital Archives (WDA) means that researchers such as Rink can access the material remotely via the WDA platform, a significant benefit while lockdown restrictions are in place.
“The digital archive contains more than 150 000 maps, charts, and atlases, as well as manuscripts and field notes, spanning four centuries, dating from 1478 to 1953. It is representative of the largest private collection of geographical material, dating back to the 1400s, that is held by the RGS in London.”
The Fellowship will create opportunities to present at local and international conferences, and published in one of the Royal Geographical Society’s journals.
This would also open up an opportunity for Rink to add his work to the esteemed collections, which include contributions from other influential geographers such as David Livingstone and Edmund Hillary.
Cape Argus