Archives at the Crossroads 2007 - Nelson Mandela Foundation

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while the Constitutional Court, the educational/skills development sector (outsidethe universities) and digitisation projects each made up 0.7%. A full list ofparticipants is attached as Appendix 3.In the report that follows we sound a very serious warning regarding archives.We identify key problem areas and attempt to show what is at stake if they arenot addressed. Throughout we seek to identify where the Department of Artsand Culture and government need to act and what needs to be done. We alsoflag areas where archival professionals and archival stakeholders can make acontribution to addressing problems. The Conference supported the formationof an inter-institutional, inter-project, regional Archival Platform, with a five-yearagenda of promoting interaction amongst the Platform collaborators gearedtowards responding to the issues identified in this report. A summary of thedraft proposal for the formation of the Archival Platform is attached as Appendix 4.It is important to note that the report that follows is not a commissioned researchreport that systematically sets out to delineate the archival system and thebroader archival sector, and all the germane legislative and policy frameworks.Rather it identifies the key problems in the system and the sector, and theconcerns of the personnel and stakeholders who operate within those frameworks.It does this from the position of the concerned intellectuals - the practitionersand users located throughout the system and the sector - who confront theseproblems in their daily practice and who recognize their implications, bothimmediate and long-term.The Role of Records and Archives in a DemocracyIt is a fundamental tenet of democracy that government must be accountableto the electorate. Records management and archiving are key tools in fulfillingthis responsibility. But records management is not only about holding governmentaccountable. It is of direct benefit to government in the efficient conduct of itsday-to-day business, and underpins planning and the development of policies.However, the Conference noted a failure in the culture of government to prioritiserecord-keeping and archives. The sad fact is that participant after participantreported that registries are typically regarded as dumping grounds, for both staffand texts. Record-keeping across government is largely without active managementand personnel are untrained and unmotivated, though a few exceptions werenoted – for instance, encouraging developments in Limpopo Province show whatcan be achieved where there is a will.4 |“National System, Public Interest” Open Report
Electronic records management in both the state and private sectors presentsfurther challenges. While physical documents do get consigned to the registriesalbeit in an often haphazard fashion and while few staff have the requisite skillsand knowledge effectively to implement the existing manual systems, electroniccommunications are at much greater risk of complete erasure. Electronic recordspersonnel require intensive continuing training, ongoing skills updating as wellas strategies for the long-term maintenance of digital records, involving soft andhardware migrations, not to mention the introduction of much-needed “industry”standards.The state has been provided with legislative tools that are amongst the mostpowerful available world-wide to enable and audit government record-keeping.These tools are not, however, wielded with purpose and effect. Independentresearch conducted by the Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) as part of itsODAC/SAHRC Openness and Responsiveness Awards programme, inauguratedthis year, substantiates and elaborates on the points made above.This state of affairs effectively is in breach of record-keeping requirementsdetermined ultimately by the Constitution and enshrined in the principles ofaccountable government, administrative justice and access to information. Thisis an ethical issue that the Archival Platform will be obliged to address actively.Ideally it would be best if the Department and the Platform could collaboratein this.This amounts to deeply worrying signs that archives are not being recognizedand given status in government. This point was also noted by the Truth andReconciliation Commission (TRC), which suggested that archives needed to belocated in the Presidency in order to be appropriately prioritized.Lack of Access to the ArchiveThe lack of public access to the archive has been repeatedly addressed inconferences, reports and in the media, yet remains a persistent and especiallytroubling matter. The culture of locking up materials in the archive persists evenin the wake of the TRC, which so forcefully made the case for an open andaccessible archive as fundamental for social justice.It is a matter of national concern that the full TRC record is still not publiclyaccessible despite the Commission’s own request that the record be available forpublic consultation. The access provisions of the Promotion of Access to InformationAct (PAIA) need to be reconciled with the public interest in access to this archive.Archives at the Crossroads | 5
Page 1: Archives at theCrossroads 2007Open
Page 5 and 6: ContentsSummary ...................
Page 7 and 8: SummaryThe triggers that led to the
Page 9: “The archive” is a conceptual t
Page 13 and 14: Yasmin Sooka, Foundation for Human
Page 15 and 16: archives are vital in anchoring cit
Page 17 and 18: Lack of resources: The Conference d
Page 19 and 20: ConclusionWhile the current situati
Page 21 and 22: Justice Albie Sachs| 15
Page 23: | 17
Page 26 and 27: Tuesday, 24 April 200709h00 - 09h30
Page 28 and 29: Institution Last Name First Name Co
Page 34 and 35: Appendix 4: Regional Archival Platf
Page 36 and 37: The interaction is aimed at improvi
Page 38: AcknowledgementsConference Organisi

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