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PARBICA welcomes member contributions for this section of the website. Please send any News items to the Treasurer.

Current News

PARBICA 14 held in Apia, Samoa, August 22 – 27

The 14th PARBICA conference concluded on Saturday August 27, after a week of workshops, presentations, discussion, resolutions, laughter, cultural events, a few special birthdays, and more!

The theme ‘Evidence and Memory in the Digital Age’ proved timely and appropriate, with delegates from across the Pacific sharing their experiences working with archives and records in their home countries. Happening only once every two years, the conference provides a vital opportunity for delegates to learn from each other, and build valuable networks and relationships in the Pacific.

Stay tuned for a full update on the conference, coming soon. In the meantime, you can find the workshop presentations from the Conference on the Conference page, and the Toolkit Guidelines numbers 12 – 19 on the Resources page.

Conference delegates during the group photo.

PARBICA Toolkit training in Tonga

Between 24 and 27 May, PARBICA Treasurer Helen Walker, Emma Buckley (Assistant to the PARBICA Treasurer), and Anna Gulbransen (Assistant to the PARBICA Secretary-General) met with representatives of the Government of Tonga to deliver messages on the benefits of good recordkeeping. This included a 2 ½ day training workshop based on guidelines from PARBICA’s Pacific Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit (both existing guidelines, and new guidelines from the most recent phase of the Toolkit, which focuses on managing digital records).

A representation of the 117 workshop participants with presenters’

The workshop sessions, which looked at key elements of creating and managing records, included:

• Introduction to recordkeeping
• Recordkeeping capacity
• Writing a recordkeeping policy
• Managing email
• Undertaking digitization projects
• Digital readiness
• Choosing the best strategy

Emma, Anna and Helen on a visit to the Palace Archives’

This was the first time PARBICA had delivered recordkeeping training in Tonga, and we were overwhelmed by the level of interest. Almost 120 participants registered for the workshop and attendance for each day was very high. The sessions on managing email and undertaking digitisation projects were particularly well-received, with a number of ministries already investigating the possibility of digitisation for storage and disaster recovery purposes.

Workshop venue and participants

At the end of the workshop, Helen gave a presentation to CEOs of Government Ministries. The fourth day was spent visiting Ministries and providing comment on existing records management arrangements and practices.

Highlights of the visit include dinner with Lord Vaea, Minister for Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries and long-time supporter of PARBICA; a visit to the Palace Archives and quick peek into a wing of the Palace; and a meeting with Mishka Tu’ifua, Chairperson of the Tonga Public Service Commission who was very supportive of the recommendations and has agreed to present a submission to Parliament recommending the establishment of a national archive for Tonga, supported by legislation. We were also fortunate to have a wonderful host in Salote Vuki of the Tonga Public Service Commission, who escorted us to a night of traditional Tongan food and music on our last evening.

Emma enjoying afternoon tea with participants

The new Toolkit products will be launched at PARBICA 14 in Samoa in August.

New Treasurer for PARBICA

We are pleased to let you know that Helen Walker has been appointed to the position of Director, Strategic Relations ( Adrian ’s old position), starting this Thursday May 12. Helen started with NAA in 1997, after completing a Graduate Diploma in Archives and Records Management at Monash University . She has worked in diverse functional areas at NAA, including reference, arrangement and description, transfer, appraisal, public events and management of the NAA Advisory Council and CAARA (then COFSTA). Helen has spent the last six years in senior management roles at NAA, which have included the usual responsibilities for strategic planning, financial management and staff development.

PARBICA 14

Invitiations to attend the upcoming PARBICA 14 conference in Apia , Samoa (Monday 22 August to Saturday 27 August) have been sent to members by email and post. Please find links to the program and forms on our Conference page.

Farewell to Adrian Cunningham

On April 21, Adrian Cunningham left the National Archives of Australia to start a new role at Queensland State Archives. Adrian also finishes up as PARBICA Treasurer. PARBICA would like to thank Adrian for his commitment, support and enthusiastic sharing of knowledge while in his role at PARBICA, and wish him the very best up in Queensland !

 

Adrian in action. Left to right: Jeannine Daniel, Helen Onopko, Adrian Cunningham .

PARBICA 14 dates announced

The PARBICA 14 conference will be held this year from Monday 22 August to Saturday 27 August in Apia, Samoa. Stay tuned for more details!

PARBICA Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit workshop, Rarotonga Cook Islands, December 1-3

The PARBICA Toolkit Reference Group met this month in Rarotonga, Cook Islands for the second workshop of Phase 5 of the Toolkit. Over three days, the reference group discussed, took apart, and put back together again a number of draft products providing advice on digital recordkeeping. These products will be redrafted and sent out again for comment to the reference group in the next few months.

The beautiful tropical setting, the valuable input provided by the reference group, and the amazingly warm hospitality shown by the locals and the host Cook Islands Ombudsman’s Office all helped make the workshop a truly enjoyable and productive experience.

Back row, left to right: Salote Vuki (Public Service Commission Office, Tonga), George Paniani (National Archives of the Cook Islands), Naomi Ngirakamerang (Bureau of Palau National Archives), Adrian Cunningham (National Archives of Australia), Helen Onopko (Records and Archives Service, Australia), Anna Gulbransen (Archives New Zealand), Salesia Ikaniwai (National Archives of Fiji), Emma Buckley (National Archives of Australia), Tukul Kaiku (University of PNG), Torika Cakacaka (Reserve Bank of Fiji), Jacob Hevelawa (National Archives and Public Records Service, PNG), Vaveao Toa (Ministery of Education, Sports and Culture, Samoa).

Front row, left to right: Tui Tupa (National Archives of the Cook Islands), Jeannine Daniel (Office of the Ombudsman, Cook Islands).

PARBICA wins ASA Award, October 2010. PARBICA is most excited to announce that it has won an Australian Society of Archivists’ Mander Jones Award for the Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit, in category 1A: 'Publication making the greatest contribution to the archives profession in Australia written by or on behalf of a corporate body'.

The judges congratulated PARBICA for its 'Very useful and practical publication’ which ‘could be a model for other similar works/projects’, calling it a ‘splendid Tool Kit that could be used to good effect right across Australia '. 

The award was presented during the welcome reception for the ASA's Annual National Conference on Thursday 14 October 2010 at 6.00pm at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Federation Square , Melbourne . 

A copy of the award may be viewed here.

Tukul Walla Sepania Kaiku - ICA Archivist of the Month, June 2010. Congratulations to PARBICA member Tukul Walla Sepania Kaiku from the University of Papua New Guinea. Tukul has been awarded the prestigious title of ICA Archivist of the Month, and details of her career can be viewed by clicking here 

PARBICA Toolkit Phase 5: Recordkeeping for Good Governance.  Work has begun on the next phase of the PARBICA Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit. The focus for this phase is to assist organisations in the Pacific region to put in place appropriate and sustainable solutions for digital recordkeeping. Look for more information regarding the Toolkit Phase 5 in the next edition of Panorama.

PARBICA 14 Conference – The Government of Samoa, through the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, are delighted to announce that the Samoan Cabinet have agreed to host the PARBICA 14 Conference in Apia, Samoa, in 2011. More details will be announced shortly. 

Train the Trainer workshops – On 13 October 2009 those PARBICA members who were able to travel to Brisbane for the PARBICA / ASA / ARANZ joint conference were introduced to the latest toolkit module: GUIDELINE 11: Training Pacific Island Government Official in Using PARBICA's Toolkit - Train the Trainer.

Developed with financial assistance from AusAID, this new guideline has been developed to assist Pacific archivists in talking to government officials about the benefits of PARBICA’s Toolkit. Guideline 11, along with the other Toolkit guidelines can be found by clicking here.

The program and PowerPoint slides to support the Brisbane workshop can be found by clicking here. 

A report summarising the pilot Train the Trainer workshop held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 14 and 15 September, 2009 can be found by clicking here.

PARBICA 13 Conference – PARBICA, the Australian Society of Archivists and the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand joined forces to hold a joint conference titled Voyaging together – Memories, Integrity and Sustainability in Brisbane, Australia from 12 to 17 October 2009.

2009 PIALA 19th Annual Conference – to be held in Pohnpei, FSM 16 – 21 November  2009: "Pacific Visions: Finding, Selecting, and Using Resources for your Libraries, Archives, and Museums" Click here for more information.

Archival Statistical Questionnaire – Dianne Macaskill, Chief Executive and Chief Archivist, Archives New Zealand, Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga is pleased to release the results of the statistical survey that was undertaken by PARBICA countries at the end of 2006 and the first few months of 2007.  The survey was sent to 17 countries and 15 replied - an excellent response rate!  Thank you to all who contributed. The survey is an excellent benchmark for measuring progress in recordkeeping across the region.

Toolkit Workshop, Vanuatu – Members are encouraged to read the one page report about the Toolkit workshop held in Vanuatu 9-10 February 2009. This was the last workshop for Phase Two of the Toolkit - drafts are now being finalised for PARBICA's Model Recordkeeping Policy and Administrative Record Plan. Click here for report.

Archived News

PARBICA 13 Conference, Brisbane, Australia – PARBICA, the Australian Society of Archivists and the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand are joining forces to hold a joint conference in Brisbane, Australia titled Voyaging together – Memories, Integrity and Sustainability. PARBICA members are encouraged to notionally set aside the dates 12-17 October 2009. More information will be made available as the arrangements are finalised – for more information, please contact a member of the PARBICA Bureau.

ASA / ICHORA4 Conferences, Perth, Australia – PARBICA, the ASA and ICHORA generously supported 1 PARBICA representative to attend the 2008 ASA / ICHORA Conference in Perth in August 2008. Ms Salesia Ikaniwai from the National Archives of Fiji represented PARBICA inviting delegates to attend the 2009 combined PARBICA / ASA / ARANZ Conference to be held in Brisbane in October 2009. Sale has prepared the following report for PARBICA. Click here for report.

Toolkit Workshop, Suva – The National Archives of Fiji hosted the most recent Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit Workshops in Suva. This workshop was the second of four Phase Two workshops. The focus of the Phase Two workshops is to develop a functions-based administrative Record Plan that can be adopted by public sector bodies throughout the Pacific to help improve the recordkeeping capacity of governments. Two National Archives of Australia staff, Dani Wickman, Director Asia and Pacific Projects and Mark Semmler are coordinating this project.

The Workshop participants outside the newly opened National Archives of Fiji building:

Merewalesi Veitayaki, Reserve Bank of Fiji; Dani Wickman, National Archives of Australia; Naomi Ngirakamerang, Palau National Archives; Laititi Belford, Ministry of Education, Sports & Culture of Samoa; Charmaine Scotty, Secretary for Home Affairs of Nauru; Jacob Hevelawa, National Archives of Papua New Guinea; Bela Norman, Vanuatu Cultural Centre; Mark Crookston, Archives New Zealand; Opeta Alefaio, National Archives of Fiji; Tukul Kaiku, University of PNG; and Mark Semmler, National Archives of Australia.

National Archives of Fiji – new building opened – The National Archives of Fiji’s new building was officially opened on 2 October 2008.

The newly opened National Archives of Fiji building.

PARBICA Audit – An audit of PARBICA’s finances for year 07-08 was performed by an independent Certified Practicing Accountant. You can access the results here.

PARBICA Workplan 2008-2010 – View PARBICA’s Strategic Work Plan for period 2008-2010.

ICA Congress – Archives should seek ‘natural allies’ – Speaking at the 16th International Congress on Archives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ross Gibbs, Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, spoke to archivists across the world encouraging them to develop close links with ‘natural allies’ to encourage better recordkeeping across their public services. To view the session speaking notes see: http://naa.gov.au/whats-on/outreach-and-advocacy/forums/allies/

PARBICA’s 2007 Annual Report – access PARBICA’s 2007 Annual Report.

Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit – In response to resolutions made at PARBICA’s 11th General Conference held in Nadi , Fiji in 2005, PARBICA, together with the National Archives of Australia, and with the generous support of AusAID’s Pacific Governance Support Programme, was pleased launch the Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit at the PARBICA 12 conference in Noumea, New Caledonia.

PARBICA 12 – The PARBICA 12 Conference, Archives without Boundaries: Cooperation and Shared Solutions ~ Archives sans frontières : coopération et solutions partagées ~ was held in Noumea , New Caledonia 1 – 6 October 2007. Click here for more details.

In Memory – The PARBICA Bureau acknowledges the life and work of the late Tom Sakias, formerly of the National Archives of Vanuatu. It is with great sadness that we report that Tom passed away on 28 December 2006.

American Samoa Office of Archives and Records Management – Ms Logan has been appointed the Territorial Archivist for the American Samoa Office of Archives and Records Management.

ICA Faces the Future: The Curaçao Consensus 2006 – Select this link to visit the ICA website for more information on the recent Annual General Meeting of the ICA.

Archival Statistical Questionnaire – Dianne Macaskill, Chief Executive and Chief Archivist, Archives New Zealand, Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga has been working on a questionnaire on archives and good governance. The PARBICA region will be the first region asked to complete the survey and it will also provide the opportunity for the region to have an international profile in the important area of archival statistics.

2007 Pacific Islands Libraries and Archives Conference – The University of Hawai‘i Center for Pacific Islands Studies annual conference will be held 15–16 March 2007 at the Imin Center in Honolulu. The conference will focus on Pacific libraries and their collections, with the theme “Hidden Treasures.” This theme seeks to bring attention to materials that are not well known but that have special value, as well as to digitising projects underway that will bring collections to the Internet. An international group of Pacific librarians will gather to share information about their collections and to discuss common concerns. Conference details will be forthcoming. For additional information, contact Karen Peacock, Head of Special Collections and Pacific Curator, Hamilton Library, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2550 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822, e-mail: peacock@hawaii.edu.

Short Professional Courses at the University Of Papua New Guinea PDF 20kb – In pursuant with the University of Papua New Guinea’s goal to impart knowledge to the people of Papua New Guinea and to provide unique specific training skills to meet a specific national workforce need, the Information and Communication Sciences Strand of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences is offering a certificate in Business Recordkeeping and Document Control course.

Solomon Islands and Australian Archives Working Together – A report from Dani Wickman, National Archives of Australia, about her work in the Solomon Islands.

Update from the PARBICA Bureau – May 2006

Update from the PARBICA Bureau – December 2005

PARBICA 11 Conference – The 11th Biennial Conference of PARBICA – Reinventing Archives - Supporting Recordkeeping for Good Governance – was held in Nadi, Fiji from 19 – 23 September 2005.

Niue Archives and Cyclone Heta – Cyclone Heta struck Niue on 6 January 2004 causing extensive devastation across the Island.

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