PARBICA 11 Programme Takes Shape

Evelyn Wareham, Director of Studies, PARBICA 11

The programme for PARBICA’s 11^th biennial conference is shaping up to offer a rich and stimulating series of interrelated sessions that will offer food for thought and practical advice for every participant. The PARBICA Bureau is particularly delighted to have confirmed the participation a number of special guest speakers and newcomers to PARBICA from Fiji and further afield, including:

o         Dr Anne Thurston, OBE, Director, International Records Management Trust

o         Hon. Marieta Rigamoto, Minister for Information, Communications and Media Relations of Fiji

o         Mr Abel Caine and Mr Mali Voi, UNESCO Pacific States Office (Apia)

o         Ms Mahfuzah Yusuf and Mr Azemi Aziz, National Archives of Malaysia

o         Ms Helen Onopko, Recordkeeping Consultant, South Australia

o         Mr Eroni Vatuloka, Auditor General of Fiji

o         Mr Semiti Ravatu, Pacific Islands Forum

o         Mr Ikbal Jannif, Founder of Transparency International Fiji Chapter

o         Mrs Verenaisi Bavadra, Fiji Human Rights Commission

There will also be many familiar faces. The PARBICA Bureau would like every member to participate actively at PARBICA 11, so that all have the opportunity to share their experiences and to develop recommended approaches to problems together. In this way, participants can draw on the knowledge of colleagues, both from institutions that are just starting out or are facing challenges, and also from better established recordkeeping programmes.

The programme is shaped around the theme “Recordkeeping for Good Governance”. As professionals, archivists need to assume important responsibilities in public administration in the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia, as leaders in the creation, management and disposal of records. This role is a crucial complement to their archival role as the custodians of history and memory. PARBICA 11 will bring together directors and staff members of archives institutions and records services across the Pacific and Australasia, to strengthen their knowledge of contemporary archival theory and practice, in order to ensure that their archival institutions are enablers of good governance.

The programme for the week will kick off with a keynote address on how archival institutions around the world need to reposition themselves to support recordkeeping for good governance, followed by an overview of current initiatives to improve governance across the Pacific region. We’ll then focus in on some of the key areas where recordkeeping can support good governance – transparency and accountability, access to information, digital strategies and electronic government – and we’ll hear about best practice for recordkeeping and the impact of the International Standard for Records Management (ISO 15489). After these presentations, participants will discuss their experiences of public sector reforms, roles and activities of archives authorities, and visions for archives and records management in their countries, states and territories.

Following this broad introduction to the theme, there will be a series of interactive workshops offering an opportunity for exchanging experiences and developing practical guidance and recommendations. Workshops will focus on:

o         Assessing the State of Recordkeeping – Experiences from various countries, the role of audit authorities, tools for assessing records management capacity, how to use the results as a basis for policies and action plans.

o         Advocacy to Support Recordkeeping – Strategies for getting leaders to listen, success stories, scenarios played out in dialogue, approaches and materials for raising awareness of the benefits of recordkeeping.

o         Training for Recordkeeping across Government – How to promote records management and train staff at different levels across government.

o         Emergency Planning and Response for Records across Government – the role that should be taken by archives in emergency planning and response for records across government, and the development of strategies and disaster plans.

Plenty of time has also been set aside for considering Strategic Issues for PARBICA’s Future, including those raised in recent issues of Panorama and the proposed University of the South Pacific(USP) training programme. Starting on Monday afternoon, PARBICA member representatives will discuss current developments in their countries, states and territories, including both achievements and challenges. We will then look at the strategic issues that PARBICA should examine as the professional organisation for archives across the region. The PARBICA President will appoint members as ‘rapporteurs’, who will be responsible for gathering participants’ views on what PARBICA should do in the areas of: training and education; communications; governance and secretariat; and others identified as of strategic importance. On Wednesday morning, USP representatives will join us to discuss the proposed training programme on records and archives.

Most importantly, on Friday morning we have reserved time to convert the ideas and recommendations that have developed during (and outside!) the week’s sessions into concrete plans for action at individual, national, regional and international level. The PARBICA Bureau hopes that participants will come away from Nadi with an agreed strategic declaration and action plan to support recordkeeping for good governance, as well as with a clearer sense of PARBICA’s future direction and how they can contribute.

The PARBICA Bureau is very thankful for the generous assistance granted for PARBICA 11 by AusAID, NZAid, the Commonwealth Foundation, Archives New Zealand, UNESCO, the Australian Society of Archivists and the Fiji Government, as well as a number of other sponsors.