Nelson Mandela University: Khoi San heritage sites research presented in Italy

Mandela University’s Dr Magda Minguzzi from the School of Architecture was recently invited to present her documentary co-authored with the First Indigenous Peoples of South Africa leaders at Iuav University in Venice, Italy.

The 40-minute documentary “Origins and investigation into Khoi San heritage sites”, has been produced as a conclusion of her three years of research under the National Research Foundation of South Africa-Community Engagement Funds.

Dr Minguzzi is also a researcher at the University’s Institute for Coastal and Marine Research.



The documentary contains 10 interviews of the First Nation Leaders, on their places of belonging, together with a visual exploration of their territories. It is an original and exceptional investigation of the meaning of Indigenous heritage and the sense of belonging of the KhoiSan Peoples, today, says Dr Minguzzi.

Drs Jacopo Galli and Giovanni Vio coordinated the event, which elicited a long discussion thanks to the vivid interest of the students, professors, and professionals present.

Architect Stefano Doardo, vice president of Studio Terre in Venice, said “it was a particularly interesting presentation and documentary both for the in-depth content and for the attention to the photography and editing.

“There are also many ideas for a “critical” reading of our social and anthropological contemporaneity, from the uprooting of indigenous peoples to obstacles to rooting in our western based cities where for some communities the denial of spaces and places of identity sometimes prevails”.