2023-10-12 19:34:41
There is no doubt, we live in need of numerous volumes of data and information to work and, at the same time, space or place for its storage, whether physical or virtual.
Both are as essential in any office as having a computer, mobile phone, work table or chair. Not as vital as breathing, eating or sleeping, but: how much we depend today on USB drives, external hard drives…
Let’s check our everyday bags, even the luggage we use to go on a trip; We will surely find some of these supports, capable of protecting our most precious information, which can be very varied: photos, music, movies, books.
That, among other reasons, brings together archivists, librarians, documentation center specialists and researchers from more than 135 countries in this capital at the Congress of the International Council of Archives (ICA).
Without a doubt, “save” is one of the most used commands on machines and “archive” is no longer one of those verbs swallowed by modernity, tormented by the excess of documents in paper format and not having the essential resources to protect them.
On the contrary, overnight, necessity and science, as united as ever, found the digital formula to process and store the most important of the large accumulations of information generated.
Likewise, with digitalization, society began to sleep more peacefully, as a way was found to better protect and preserve its memory, a global concern given the gradual deterioration of many historical documents.
It is no less true that many archival collections are currently in danger due to the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and intense weather phenomena.
Also due to the difficult economic situations that many countries are going through, mostly the poorest, restrictions that limit the financing necessary to guarantee the sustainability of conservation programs and access to archives.
The 75th Congress of the ICA takes place in a world marked by crises, conflicts and great challenges, intensified in this post-Covid-19 pandemic period, challenges that also affect archives, both national, regional and personal.
Pillars of peace and international tolerance
These days, specialists from all over the world draw attention in Abu Dhabi to the relevance of archives and documentation and information centers, described as pillars of peace and international tolerance.
In her welcoming remarks, ICA President Josée Kirps highlighted the role played by archives in the preservation and access to government and institutional records and multimedia documents of each nation.
“These archives constitute reliable proof of the decisions and achievements, and are part of the memory of our society,” he noted at the meeting in which delegates from more than 135 countries participated.
In many parts of the world, national archives are considered the memory of the nation. However, such repositories are neither silent nor passive, they constitute the voice of knowledge, which is why they contribute to the enrichment of societies and countries.
According to specialists at the event, it is a public truth that, over time, all documentation will be digital. In the same way that parchment replaced stone as a means of written expression, digital media will replace enormous piles of paper.
Although it is no less true, also, that there is still some doubt among scientists about what technologies are necessary to produce authentic, reliable, unalterable, durable and usable digital documents.
Its defenders affirm that there are already tools to produce authentic digital documents, so their implementation would only be a matter of decision and budget. However, not a week goes by without the media talking about global interruptions of one digital service or another.
Even so, more people see promising prospects in this large-scale metamorphosis towards digital, which they consider inevitable and necessary.
Whether we like it or not, the move towards that world began a long time ago and whether from Artificial Intelligence, blockchain or machine learning, the potential contribution of emerging technologies to documentation, data records and archives is indisputable.
Will emerging technologies be a source of solutions or new headaches? Archivists and documentation managers also exchanged information on this topic at the meeting in the Emirati capital.
The event is, without a doubt, a broad space to share testimonies and various examples of good practices, experiences and lessons learned about the use of emerging technologies in the field of archives and document management.
Sustainable knowledge, sustainable planet
There is no sustainable development without sustainable knowledge. And the latter is impossible to promote and achieve without modernization strategies to expand the reach of archives.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, for example, recognizes that the achievements of this ambitious global action plan depend, to a large extent, on the continuous availability of reliable and accessible information that helps public debate, teaching, scientific research and the development of government policies.
Its importance is greater in this era of constant questioning of the integrity of the information generated and received, taking into account the avalanche of fake news (fake news), hackerdisinformation and cyber attacks that we receive daily.
The need to have reliable evidence (documentary records, information, data, among others) is increasingly relevant. And in this new “war” archives have the duty to maintain the public’s trust.
On the other hand, the evidence stored in the archives has great intergenerational value, and the institutions that treasure them must continue to be able to faithfully transmit the documented memory from the past to the future.
Congress warned that the probative value of archives is constantly threatened by technological obsolescence, administrative negligence, intentional destruction, conflicts, looting and illicit trafficking.
For Josée Kirps, also director of the National Archives of Luxembourg, the challenges of the 21st century in terms of information not only concern archives and document management professionals, but they concern everyone.
No wonder, access to archives is a right, not a privilege, and it is their duty to preserve existing knowledge and play a social role to share collective memories necessary to create more capable communities.
And despite difficulties such as abuse and non-recognition of their use in a multitude of formats, particularly on digital platforms, access to files, whether electronic or physical, is one of the main instruments for the enrichment of societies. .
(Text and photo: taken from PL)
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