Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)

Opening Session / Séance d’ouverture

Opening Session - Séance d’Ouverture- the European region, with projects so far at the National Library in Prague and the Russian Academy of Sciences Library in St. Petersburg (the Radziwill Chronicle),- the Arab region, represented by early 6/7'h century Islamic manuscript collections, mostly held in Sana’a, in the Republic of Yemen, and thirdly,- the Latin American region, with a 19th century newspaper collection.

Other projects are under negotiations. Later on, the program will be extended, so that the permanent loss of rare archival and library collections which represent an irreplaceable part of human kind’s memory can be stopped. This challenging and pioneering program can only be realized with the assistance of the international professional community and we are very pleased that the representatives of ICA as well as those of IFLA have already expressed their keen interest in it. We continue to count on your technical expertise and knowledge to make the Memory of the World program successfully.

In addition to these safeguarding efforts, PGI continues together with competent MGO’s its engagement in solving crucial problems which are facing the archives today. On a more spectacular, but nonetheless most serious level, are efforts for the rehabilitation of the archives irradiated during and after the Chernobyl accident. Other permanent crucial problems are, as you all know, the exponential costs of the documentary mass and the proliferation of fragile media without any standards or shifting standards.

This engagement is closely linked to PGI’s records and archive’s management program (RAMP). The recent evaluation of RAMP has very favorably underlined its importance and capacities, particularly for the development of professional awareness and expertise worldwide. The encouraging main conclusion of the evaluation is that in spite of the limited resources the program has made a significant contribution to the promotion of understanding the values and usefulness of records and archives as basic information resources. The conclusions of the evaluation also underline the importance of RAMP assisting UNESCO member states in the organization and development of records, archives management systems and services and disseminating professional knowledge.

RAMP’s basic philosophy has been taken into consideration in the long term statistic plan for the general information program which has already been elaborated for the next 10 or 12 years. This plan, which has already been endorsed by the Intergovernmental Council, the governing body of PGI, emphasizes the increased necessity of sound information infrastructures in all spheres of live, regardless of national boundaries.

The plan includes four main missions:- safeguarding the Memory of the World,- information for education and learning,- information for human development and- information for environmental management.

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