News & Events

"Industrious Kiwis: Archives and Industry"

Records and Archives Week is held during the first week of May and celebrates the importance of records, archives and the recordkeeping professions.

The theme for RAW 2010 is archives and records of industry. New Zealanders are renowned for our ingenuity and clever ideas (our No.8 wire mentality). Archives and records are an important means of preserving our history of industry, innovation, trade, enterprise, research, science, technology and economic development. This is particularly relevant in the current economic state in helping us to reflect on our history of enterprise and ingenuity.

We are hoping that all institutions will find this a rich theme to explore through their collections and through the research undertaken by theirs users. This is a chance to show your stakeholders and the general public the power of records to connect people to our industrial past and how professionals like archivists and record managers can help to do that.

Key themes to consider:

Retaining our archives and records of industry is important to our economic and social history.
The economic development of New Zealand has been based on our primary industries, such as agriculture and horticulture.
Our sense of pride and national identity is linked to industry; from the first export of frozen meat from Port Chalmers in 1882 to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy in 2001-2003
The industries that New Zealand is engaged in is widening and changing from predominantly primary industries into more secondary industries.
We need to be aware of the risk to these records that may be lost to future generations if these records are not retained

Also this year ARANZ Council is happy to announce that each branch is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $500 towards an RAW event. So, start thinking about options for promotion of the value of records and archives management in your area, around this theme, in May 2010. Have some fun with it and feel free to contact us with any ideas and will be in touch with you again as planning continues.

Records and Archives Week: Resources for Contributors

You can find out more by contacting RAW Councillor - Kirsty Cox