The Present State of the Project
The goals and procedures as originally conceived have been somewhat modified as the project evolved. The main geographical area of concentration remains sub-Saharan Africa, but North African sources are by no means to be excluded. On the other hand, the project will not concern itself with materials for Egyptian history except in so far as they relate more widely to the African continent. Critical texts will remain the basic norm, but translation will be into either French or English according to the working language of the editor. The chronological framework remains the same. The existing focus on sub-Saharan Africa and indigenous African history should be maintained. Emphasis should be laid on pre-colonial and colonial periods and as far as the latter period is concerned, only on "African voice". The greatest potential for future work in the context of the Fontes Project lies in cooperation with local scholars doing work in Arabic, Geez, Amharic and many other African languages. Original text should be published with a parallel translation into a European language (preferably English or French.