Archivists and record keepers of major international organizations met at the United Nations African headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday for talks on how to improve management of their vast repositories of information so that the world can derive the maximum benefit of their information resources and knowledge. The week-long gathering of the International Council of Archivists at the 33rd Session of International Organizations was formally opened by Ambassador Inga Björk-Klevby, the Deputy Director of UN-HABITAT. Organizations represented to discuss the theme, Archives for Development, included officials from UN Agencies, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), NATO and the Universal Postal Union. “Records management enables access to timely, accurate and relevant information that is vital to every aspect of an organization’s business and to national economic development. And it is through good information management that access to records that are complete, accurate, and reliable can be achieved,” she said. She said the theme of this year’s session was aimed at raising awareness of how good record keeping supports economic and social development. The meeting would thus serve to highlight the importance of current records and historical archives as a foundation for development work. “Without efficient management of our information and knowledge, it would not be possible to build on past policies, past projects, lessons learnt, or best practices which help us improve on programme delivery. Indeed, in the so-called information age, effective organizational development relies more than ever on a sound information management infrastructure,” she said. |
