Living Libraries

When an old man dies in Africa, it is like a whole library burning down. —Amadou Hampaté-Bâ, Malian writer

Living Libraries is our free digital publishing platform aimed at people with unique, specific or specialized knowledge in the various disciplines of the Angolan, African and Afrodescendant arts, culture and creative industries who are invited or wish to publish their papers, projects, studies or research, also accepting contributions from other parts of the world.

The concept of Living Libraries refers both to the platform and its authors. We seek works that nurture and reflect our ancestral and contemporary arts, languages, thinking, stories, beliefs and customs. Its authors are like the trees that fill the forest, and their knowledge, the pillars that sustain the production of arts and culture in our society.

We aim to situate knowledge of African origin, generating our own episteme. Our worldviews matter. We believe that wisdom has neither age nor gender, and that valuing it while alive is more important than celebrating it after death. If you have valuable knowledge that is meaningful, has significant cultural impact or forwards new perspectives, join us. We support the free digital multimedia publishing of your work, in a format ready for print, possible with the support of a sponsor.

A Living Library is a custodian of knowledge. What you know can enrich other lives. Share your knowledge. For more information, please read our guidelines for publishing. Submit your interest in publishing @ submit proposals. Thank you!

The Living Archive supports the multimedia digital publishing of the works, which become freely available for consultation and download, all rights reserved. The works are selected for their artistic, academic or cultural significance, giving primacy to those disseminating innovative projects, (re)thinking our realities or sharing ideas or knowledge relevant to our context.