Issued by the Department of Sports Arts and Culture
The National Archives and Records Services of South Africa and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture hosted the National Archives Awareness Week from Monday, 05, until Friday, 09 June.
The commemoration was celebrated various programmes in Kimberley and surroundings within the Frances Baard District. Deputy Minister for Sport, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu and her Northern Cape counterpart MEC Desery Fienies officiated some activities. The theme for this year is: “Leave No One Behind: Archives In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence”.
The National Archives Week originates in the appointment of a Chief Archivist for the union of South Africa in 1919 and the promulgation of the first Archives Act in 1922. The International Council on Archives (ICA) decided during the 2007 International Congress that countries celebrate Archives Week Annually in their respective countries. Furthermore, the date, 9 June, was chosen to commemorate the day.
The aims is to popularise the profession and engage communities around the importance of archives in the preservation of societal memory. During a week-long programme, members of the community were given access to archival buildings to witness their essential functions and services. The programme also promoted national symbols and flag hoisting at some identified schools within the district.
In South Africa, archives have been deliberately obscured due to the previous dispensation’s machinations. Collection policies under the apartheid regime were biased and aligned with the political agenda of the time. They excluded large parts of the population, ignoring the proper demographic makeup of the country. The existing collections not only have gaps in the overall collective memory of the country but reflect a very Western perspective where some facts could have been distorted, brimming with derogatory language as it was promoted then. The Celebration of the Annual National Archives Awareness Week intends to encourage the use of Archives and the profession in general, the services archives offer to the public, and the processes needed to access classified information.
The department intends to amend the National Archives and Records Service Act of 1996 as revised to keep up with challenges to address 4IR, updating of terminologies, increment of penalties and the need to establish cooperation with newer bodies such as the Information Regulator.
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