Botswana: Botswana welcomed the delegates, and while holding them, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Kagiso Kitso Kemoeng, said that the conference was important as Archivists and Records officers will discuss pertinent issues in their work, he said this during the 4th Annual Archives and Records Management Conference which was held in Gaborone yesterday morning.
Kemoeng highlighted that the Botswana National Library Services (BNLS), together with Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BNARS), are at an advanced stage of merging; they will be under one department and one Director without diluting the mandates of the currently existing Departments.
In his address, Dr Peter Mazebe II Mothataesi Sebina, Head of the Department of Library Information Studies at the University of Botswana, shared that archives and records are good sources to analyze situations, evaluate options and make decisions on any given situation.
He said the government is in the process of developing two archive centers that will play a pivotal role in preserving archives and records and joining the digital transformation plans in the country.
Furthermore, Sebina emphasized that the National Archives Records Management Systems (NARMS) will be rolled out in four departments in MYSC and later rolled out to other ministries.
Giving his keynote address, Dr Boemo Nyaladzi Jorosi, Associate Professor at the Department of Library Services within the University of Botswana, explained the conference theme Archives and Records: Enriching Knowledge Societies. He said that in a knowledge based society, knowledge is highly valued and is a key driver of economic growth.
Dr Jorosi offered a records manager’s tool kit:
1. Mindset change
2. Embrace ICT
3. Continuously equip ourselves through learning
4. Ensuring we pass on the right message
5. Form partnerships and not work in silofs
6. Undertake research.
7. Disseminate information about the workings of a knowledge based society.
The two-day conference will end today.