Archival Platform: Provincial Dialogue Forums
In the previous gazette, the Archival Platform reported on the successful launch of its State of the Archives: an analysis of the national archival system, and the National Dialogue Forum that preceded the launch. This month Archival Director Jo-Anne Duggan reports on Provincial Dialogue Forums convened during April and May in Mpumalanga, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and North West.
These Forums are intended to bring archivists, records managers and other stakeholders together to discuss issues of common concern, consider a vision for the future and devise ways to achieve this through collective action.
While the programme of each Forum has followed a slightly different agenda in order to accommodate the circumstances and needs of each province, they have all included a focus on two important issues.
The first issue concerns the imminent commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act No 4 of 2013 and the implications of this for archivists and records managers. A draft document, Towards a Code of Conduct for the Archival Sector has been prepared by Andre Landman of UCT Libraries for the Archival Platform to share with stakeholders.
The draft document is intended to inform two separate documents: a code of conduct, developed in accordance with Section 61 of the Act; and a guide to the Act. Those with whom we have met have raised many concerns about the implications of the Act, and alerted the Archival Platform team to potential problems and issues on which clarity is required.
The second issue concerns the challenges and opportunities arising from the findings made and conclusions drawn in the State of the Archives analysis. While this analysis details the mandates of the institutions which collectively comprise the national archival system and outlines many shortcomings, the Forum meetings have focussed on building on the commitment of archivists and records managers to consider what archives and records management services should be doing in the 21st century, what archival legacy practitioners would like to leave for future generations and how to work collectively to achieve that vision.
While part of each meeting is taken up with presentations, plenty of time has been allowed for participants to ask questions and make contributions individually and in small groups. The Archival Platform team has been inspired by individual responses to the request to participants to explain why they are passionate about archives and records management. This has provided us with a whole range of new reasons, and some very good examples, to explain why archives matter! We have also been humbled and heartened by the response of participants, working in small groups, to spell out a vision and a way forward.
It is common knowledge that our national archival system is plagued by challenges. What these Provincial Dialogues have proven to us, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is that the country is blessed with a corps of dedicated and committed archivists and records managers who do their best even though they are working under difficult conditions. They deserve our respect and our support!