DILI, 09 june 2021 (TATOLI) – Centro Nacional Chega (CNC) organizes a national conference to celebrate the International Archives Day entitled: ‘The Importance of Document Heritage to the National Development of the Nation.’
In his address at the opening ceremony of the conference, the Executive Director of Timor-Leste’s Centro National Chega, Hugo Fernandes informed that the conference aimed to share information about how archives empower accountability and transparency, through access to information for holding governments to account and ensuring that all citizens would use the archives to make good public policy.
“Today, all around the world, including the International Council on Archives (ICA), the professionals from many archival communities, and other archives institutions celebrate the International Archives Day, to ensure that we preserve and use our rich heritage appropriately, which will benefit the nation. As we know that archives preserve our past information, therefore it is important to learn our history. This year’s theme is empowering archives,” Fernandes made the comments at the Centro National Chega, in Dili, today.
Fernandes informed that the Centro National Chega just began establishing its national archives, saying some difficulties needed to be solved to develop Timor-Leste’s National Archives forward.
“This is what concerns us when talking about the acquisition of the archives from other countries. First, currently, we don’t have a national archives decree-law to protect our archives. Secondly, lack of good facilities and infrastructure, and the last one is human resources investment,” said Fernandes.
He said within the year 2021, Timor-Leste would have a national archives decree-law.
Speaking at the conference, the Vice-Minister of State Administration, Lino de Jesus Torrezão said the archives were the sources for finding evidence of the people and the nation’s past histories, saying Timor-Leste became an independent country because of the contribution of the documentary film, and testimonial evidence.
He said the archives gave true evidence to those people who seek the truth of any historical event.
Torrezão said that archives provided information to the communities about the connection between the past, present, and future.
“Through archives, we will restore and preserve all of our important inherited stuff that had been destroyed during the war,” He said.
During the International Congress of Archives (ICA) in Vienna in 2004, the 2000 participants adopted a resolution calling on the United Nations to create an International Archives Day. At its General Assembly in November 2007, the ICA formalized the International Archives Day on June 9.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
