The written heritage in the city’s libraries, also part of the UNESCO World Heritage, was acutely threatened, and around 4,000 manuscripts were destroyed. The marauders deliberately destroyed monuments protected by the UNESCO. In the summer of 2012, Islamist terrorists took over large parts of the north of the country, including Timbuktu. The CSMC has been active in Mali for almost ten years. These manuscripts from the 15th to the early 20th century are one of the most important testimonies of the West African literary tradition – but the unstable situation in the country is endangering their future. And once in Timbuktu special security measures are needed.’ While the security situation in Mali, especially in the north, is steadily deteriorating, she had to coordinate the completion of a training programme that aims to contribute to the long-term preservation of a cultural treasure of inestimable value: the manuscripts of Timbuktu. ‘Travelling by car or boat is too dangerous. ‘For international guests, travel between Bamako and Timbuktu is only possible by plane’, she says. There and in Timbuktu, 1000 kilometres away in the north of the country, she had a stressful time this summer. As Field Manager, she heads the CSMC’s branch office in the capital of Mali. Maria Luisa Russo is calling in from Bamako. While the security situation in the country worsens, the final courses of the ‘Timbuktu Manuscript Training Project’ took place this summer. Since 2014, the CSMC has been working on site to preserve them. The manuscripts of Timbuktu are irreplaceable documents of the cultural history of West Africa. Prospective continuing education studentsįrom Timbuktu to Bamako: aerial view of Gao in the north-east of Mali.

Hamburg Center for University Teaching and Learning (HUL).Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Academic Skills.Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability.The Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts.The Cluster of Excellence Quantum Universe.Office of Affairs for Students with Disabilities or Chronic Diseases.Katalogplus – Catalogue of Hamburg Libraries.

Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science.

Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences.

Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

Timbuktu manuscripts csmc