First released on National Heritage Day, the Origins App, created by local digital marketing agency Avatar, seeks to put young South Africans back in touch with the origins of their family tree.
The Origins App is the brainchild of Avatar CEO Zibusiso Mkhwanazi and Avatar creative director Veli Ngubane. According to them, as society has transformed, cultural history is getting lost. The new mobile app preserves one of the cornerstones of South African culture - identity.
The app allows users to enter their surnames into a search, and then learn about their origins and clan names.
"The American culture and heritage has been packaged so perfectly through their music and fashion, and that's what we have come to consume. As Africans, we haven't yet found a way to turn our culture into something that we can export to the rest of the world," says Ngubane.
The app was initially launched on Android on 24 September, and Ngubane says that, due to popular demand, Avatar has had to rapidly develop apps for other platforms, including BlackBerry and iOS. According to Ngubane, the overwhelming response to the app shows a hunger for information about local cultural heritage.
Thought-starter
"We even underestimated the use in business. For example, if you address me by my clan name, which is Mbomvu, it just means so much more and I'm more likely to listen to you. So it goes to the core of rethinking how we do business, and even how we relate to each other," says Ngubane.
"People have shown such eagerness to upload their surnames and different variations of the same surname if they don't find it on our database. We obviously can't possibly cover every variation of every surname, so we want it to be like a repository or thought-starter, so that people can put their own surname in the database and basically contribute to preserving their own family name."
Ngubane explains that while users are free to upload data about their origins, all submitted information is checked and double-checked across the existing database. "We also have a team of academics from UKZN dealing specifically with African languages, who basically audit the information to ensure accuracy."
A sharing mechanism is also built into the app, so once users find the history of their surnames they can upload and share it on social media platforms. "I think that automatically gives it a multiplier effect, so your other friends will see it and will be intrigued to find out where their own surname is from," says Ngubane.
Bringing heritage to life
According to Ngubane, the Origins App is just the start. "We want to bring out a heritage app every year. We've identified a lot of exciting things that we can do just to give South Africans a better understanding of who they are.
"What we're particularly interested in is an app for our heritage sites, or developing an app that actually helps us to understand our heritage. For example, with the changing of street names most of our young South Africans don't know who the people are behind the names. So we'd like to be able to bring those street names to life. We want to always bring out innovation that preserves something about our South African-ness."
Ngubane adds that another idea in the works is an app about South African sporting history. "We've got a lot of great history and heritage even in our sport, and I think it's been a great unifier for the country."
The Origins App is available for free from the Google Play store, and is expected to be available for BlackBerry and iOS by Monday (1 October).
Spirit of Ubuntu
According to Ngubane, the business model behind the app for Avatar is simple: "As Avatar, our founding principle is that you cannot communicate and market to people that you don't understand.
"It's about learning about the markets that we market to. So, at the end of the day, it's about learning where those people are from. We always want to go deeper in understanding our market, and this is just one way of doing that.
"I also think being a proudly South African company, especially for such important days like Heritage Day, it is important for corporates to get involved. Not only for profit, but to preserve something that is 'us'.
"This country has given us so much, and to give back is a good thing and it underlines the spirit of Ubuntu. The idea that you can do something without gain, for the better of the country."
Share