STANDING tall and already 70% complete, the Museum of African Liberation is fast rising into the skies of Harare, not just as an architectural landmark, but as a powerful symbol of Africa’s past, present and future.
Conceived as a continental shrine to the liberation struggle and Africa’s long march to self-determination, the museum is now being spoken of in even broader terms, as a potential cornerstone of Africa’s digital and artificial intelligence (AI) future.
As Zimbabwe accelerates the implementation of its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, experts and policymakers are increasingly arguing that this is the most opportune moment to expand the vision of the Museum of African Liberation beyond bricks and mortar, to transform it into the data heart of Africa, a living digital repository of African history, culture, knowledge and experience.
The museum, once complete, will already house vast collections of artefacts, documents, photographs, audio recordings, films and historical records from across the continent.
These materials tell the story of African resistance, liberation movements, Pan-Africanism, cultural renaissance and post-independence nation-building.
Digitised, structured and properly curated, this treasure trove represents not just a cultural archive, but one of the richest potential AI training datasets anywhere in the world.
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At a time when AI is reshaping economies, societies and power relations, data has become the new strategic resource.
Nations that control large, high-quality, locally relevant datasets are able to build AI systems that reflect their own realities and values.
Those that do not are forced to rely on foreign technologies trained on foreign data, often ill-suited to local contexts, just like what most African countries are doing now — relying on Western Data.
Zimbabwe’s decision to develop and implement a National AI Strategy signals a recognition that the country must not be left behind in this global transformation.
But as technologists repeatedly emphasise, AI strategies succeed or fail on the strength of their data foundations.
This is where the Museum of African Liberation presents a historic opportunity.
Rather than functioning only as a static exhibition space, the museum can be deliberately designed and equipped to operate as a continental digital knowledge hub, a place where Africa’s historical, cultural and intellectual data is systematically digitised, structured, preserved and made available for responsible use in education, research and AI development.
Such a move would position Zimbabwe not only as the custodian of Africa’s liberation memory, but as the steward of Africa’s digital heritage.
For decades, African stories have been collected, stored and interpreted largely outside the continent.
Many of the most extensive archives on African history are housed in Europe and North America.
As a result, even modern AI systems that generate content about Africa often rely on datasets created and curated elsewhere, reproducing external perspectives and biases.
Transforming the Museum of African Liberation into the data source of Africa would represent a decisive reversal of this historical imbalance.
It would mean that African narratives, languages, philosophies and experiences become the primary training material for future AI systems that speak about Africa.
Imagine AI models trained on authentic liberation speeches, oral histories from freedom fighters, writings of African intellectuals, traditional folklore, music, poetry, political documents and contemporary African scholarship.
Such systems would not only answer questions about Africa more accurately, they would reflect African worldviews.
This vision aligns closely with Zimbabwe’s broader development aspirations.
Vision 2030 seeks to build an upper-middle-income economy driven by innovation, industrialisation and human capital development. Artificial intelligence, data science and digital technologies are central to that ambition.
By anchoring part of this digital transformation in the Museum of African Liberation, Zimbabwe would be fusing culture with technology, heritage with innovation and memory with the future.
The museum could host high-capacity data centres dedicated to African heritage data, secure digital laboratories for digitisation and preservation, and research facilities for historians, linguists, technologists and AI specialists.
It could serve as the headquarters of a Pan-African Digital Heritage Programme, working with museums, archives and universities across the continent to aggregate and standardise datasets.
Such an approach would create a powerful multiplier effect.
Culturally, it would ensure that African history is preserved in perpetuity, protected from physical decay and political upheavals.
Educationally, it would provide schools and universities with unprecedented access to primary source material.
Technologically, it would supply the raw material needed to train Africa-focused AI systems.
Economically, it would create new industries around data curation, digitisation, AI development, digital publishing and cultural technology.
The timing could not be better.
Zimbabwe is already laying the groundwork for digital government, smart infrastructure and innovation-driven growth.
The implementation of the National AI Strategy provides a policy umbrella under which a Museum-centred data initiative can thrive.
Instead of building isolated data projects scattered across institutions, Zimbabwe has the chance to create a flagship continental platform with global visibility.
Critically, this would also strengthen Zimbabwe’s soft power.
Just as countries like France, Britain and the United States derive global influence from being custodians of major museums and archives, Zimbabwe would gain stature as the guardian of Africa’s collective memory and digital heritage.
Tourism would also benefit.
The Museum of African Liberation would not only attract visitors interested in history, but also scholars, researchers and technologists from around the world.
Conferences, hackathons, research fellowships and cultural festivals could be hosted within its precincts, turning the museum into a vibrant living institution rather than a static monument.
For this vision to materialise, deliberate policy choices will be required.
First, the museum’s design and infrastructure must include advanced digital facilities, not as an afterthought, but as a core function.
Second, government must establish a clear governance framework defining data ownership, access, privacy and security, ensuring that African data is protected and used ethically.
Third, partnerships must be forged with African Union institutions, regional economic communities, universities, cultural organisations and technology firms.
Fourth, sustainable funding mechanisms must be put in place, combining public investment, private sector participation and continental contributions.
Importantly, this is not about commercialising African heritage in exploitative ways.
It is about ensuring that Africans control how their stories are told, preserved and used in the digital age.
As the Museum of African Liberation rises from the ground, brick by brick and steel by steel, it symbolises the sacrifices that delivered political freedom.
The next frontier is cognitive and digital freedom, the freedom to define ourselves in the technologies that will shape tomorrow.
By making the museum the data source of Africa, Zimbabwe would be declaring that Africa’s future intelligence will be built on African memory.
In doing so, the country would firmly entrench itself as the home of the African story not only in history books and exhibition halls, but in the algorithms and digital minds of the future.
Such a legacy would endure far beyond any single generation, securing Zimbabwe’s place at the heart of Africa’s technological and cultural renaissance.