A partnership between the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) and the Google Cultural Institute has brought forth an extensive digital archive of Nelson Mandela’s life. The archive covers Mandela from his early life, to his decades in prison, his presidency, and his later years as a statesman.

One year ago, Google announced on its Africa blog that it would donate $1.25 Million dollars to the NMCM to help preserve its archives in digital form.

Today on the Google Official Blog it was announced that the archive was finally online. The post said that Google had worked closely with the NMCM to create an inspiring interactive experience.

The entrance to the archive is split into seven sections: My Moment with a Legend, Early Life, Prison Years, Presidential Years, retirement, Books for Mandela, and Young People.

The My Moment with a Legend section is a series of recollections in which Mandela meets with celebrities and ‘ordinary people’ alike. Books for Mandela contains information on books that have been given to Mandela as gifts over the years. The Young People section shows Mandela engaging children and describes his easy rapport with them.

Other, similar initiatives from Google include the Art Project, which aims to digitize works from museums around the world; digitization of the Dead Sea Scrolls; and digitizing the Yad Vashem Holocaust materials. These and other projects can be browsed at the Google Cultural Institue page.