Each day offers an opportunity to capture a critical part of Zanzibar’s intellectual heritage. While books preserve written knowledge, oral insights remain unique to their holders, and documenting Professor Sheriff’s reflections now will ensure that his valuable perspectives are shared and accessible for future scholarship.

His voice, seasoned by years of research and reflection, offers not just facts, but wisdom: how historical understanding develops, what is often misunderstood, and how global histories intersect with local experience. Recording these reflections is essential for:

• Creating a lasting record of Zanzibar’s intellectual history;
• Supporting authentic educational and heritage materials;
• Strengthening public historical understanding and reducing misinformation;
• Providing future researchers with critical reflections on historical methodology;
• Honoring the legacy of both Professor Sheriff and the late Mr. Salum Suleiman,
  who co-developed this project and whose passion for oral history helped shape
  its vision.

Objectives

1. To document and preserve the spoken reflections of Professor Abdul Sheriff
   through recorded interviews.
2. To examine how historical interpretations, evolve over time, offering younger
   scholars’ insight into the intellectual journey of a senior historian.
3. To make oral history accessible to researchers, educators, and the public via a bilingual digital repository.
4. To counter historical misinformation, especially in the tourism and education sectors, through authentic and scholar-led narratives.
5. To honor and sustain Zanzibar’s intellectual legacy, starting with Sheriff and continuing with other oral historians in future phases.