Archives at the Crossroads 2007 - Nelson Mandela Foundation

SummaryThe triggers that led to the holding of the Conference, various contributionsto the Conference, and the discussions that ensued, point unambiguouslyto an archival system that is under severe strain and to a wider archivesector urgently in need of support.The problems lie in three areas:The political and social role of archive and archiving in a democracyand in facilitating the work of building social cohesion in a diverse andhistorically-fractured society is still not recognized sufficiently, nor is it activelyand systematically fostered in and by government and indeed, in the broaderpublic sphere. Furthermore, many of the varied forms and sites of archiveand archiving go unrecognized.Archival work is seriously under-resourced because its significanceis largely unacknowledged.Lack of recognition and under-resourcing result in inadequate andunintegrated planning; a low skills-base among personnel; inadequate recordsmanagement in government departments; absence of clear career-paths forstaff; poor service delivery; inadequate conditions of preservation; in short,an archival system under strain and not serving South Africa as it should.Unless remedial action is taken soon, there is the potential for furtherdeterioration, even collapse.The records of government are a key instrument of efficient administrationand planning, and the means by which citizens hold governments accountableto them. The archive and archiving are further central tools of reconciliationand of the recognition of our common humanity embracing all our diversity.They are sites for the ongoing reconsideration of the past in order to enablea better future.We are at a crossroads. Right now there is a unique opportunity both to fixthe problems in the system and to use a rethought, 21 st century, postcolonialconcept of archive to underpin the urgent national project of social cohesion.On the other hand, there is a danger of the national system being reducedto an observer of poor governance and a loss of historical memory. What isat stake is not simply the survival of the inherited documents of the past, butour hard-won democracy itself and our possible future as a cohesive society.Archives at the Crossroads | 1