Alma Mekondjo Nankela

Alma Mekondjo Nankela is a quaternary and prehistorian specialist at the National Heritage Council of Namibia. She is responsible for the development of heritage policies and programmes while overseeing the integration and compliances of 1972 UNESCO Conventions and other internationally recognized laws into Namibia’s national heritage resources policies. Nankela advises the Council on appropriate measures towards research, conservation, management and promotion of Namibia's heritage resources. She works closely with local communities in order to strengthens, encourages and promotes their involvement in the overall preservation and management of cultural heritage properties. Nankela liaise and collaborates with regional, international heritage professionals and other bodies relating to the scientific research across Namibia.

Alma Mekondjo Nankela
Born
Kwanza-Sul, Angola[1]
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisRock Art and Landscape: An empirical analysis in the content, context and distribution of the rock art sites in Omandumba East and West, Erongo Region-Namibia (2017)
Doctoral advisor
  • David Pleurdeau, Luiz Oosterbeek, François Sémah [2]

Early life and education

Nankela was born in exile in Kwanza-Sul, Angola, during Namibia's liberation struggle.[1] She has six siblings. She was raised in northern Namibia by her parents Penda Nankela, a retired physician from Outapi District Hospital and her mother Maria Hamulo, a clinical pathologist from Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) in Oshakati. Her mother worked alongside Nickey Iyambo at Cambuta Health Centre in Cuanza-sul.[1]

Nankela completed her primary school at Oshakati Combined School in 1999 and later attended high school at Okalongo Secondary School majoring in history and geography. She then pursued a bachelor's degree in History and Geography from the University of Namibia and thereafter taught history and development studies at Delta Secondary School Windhoek. She earned a joint master’s degrees in quaternary & prehistory from the University of Ferrara and the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris in 2011, and in 2017 obtained a double titled PhD in quaternary & prehistory through the Erasmus Mundus joint study programs, in France and Italy.[4]

Awards and accomplishments

Her most notable discovery to date has been the April 2008 find of a 16th century Portuguese shipwreck in Oranjemund.[5]

In 2013, Nankela secured funding of U$10,000 American Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) through the American Embassy in Windhoek, towards the restoration of the Spitzkoppe heritage sites in Erongo region.https://na.usembassy.gov/education-culture/ambassador-fund-cultural-preservation/

In 2014, Nankela secured European Union funding for the scientific research of archaeological heritage in Erongo Mountains, Namibia.https://sites.google.com/a/unife.it/idqp/

In 2016, Nankela was runner up for researcher of the year by the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology of Namibia.[6]

in 2017, she founded her small consulting company called 'Welwitschia Archaeological Heritage Solutions cc', which operates on part-time basis

Committee

Nankela serves as the Chairperson for the Namibia National Committee for Human Remains in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture Namibia. The committee is responsible for the review of Namibia’s current practices for claiming and repatriation of human remains (and associated objects) and heritage objects of Namibian origin held in foreign institutions as well as the development of comprehensive set of national guidelines and a national policy for the handling and managing the remains and heritage objects in Namibia.

Professional associations

Nankela is a professional member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) https://www.icomos.org/fr/ the Associations of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA) http://asapa.co.za/ and the Namibia Scientific Society (NSS) http://www.namscience.com.na/

Selected works

References
  1. Solomons, Jonathan (2015-10-20). "From Refugee to Leading Female Archaeologist". The Namibian. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  2. Mekondjo Nankela, Alma (2017-03-23). "Rock Art research in Namibia: a Synopsis". Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  3. "Rock Art and Landscape: An empirical analysis in the content, context and distribution of the rock art sites in Omandumba East and West, Erongo Region-Namibia". 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  4. Mungoba, Tunohole. "For the Love of Heritage". Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  5. Neill, Peter; ContributorDirector; Observatory, World Ocean (2013-11-19). "The Oranjemund Shipwreck". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  6. "National Commission on Research, Science and Technology Report 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  7. Nankela, Alma Mekondjo (2017-03-23). Rock art and Landscape : an empirical Analysis in the content, context and distribution of the rock art sites in Omandumba East and West, Erongo Region-Namibia (Thesis).
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