19 September 2011
A guided visit to 'The University of Hong Kong Memories from the Archives Exhibition,' jointly organized by HKAS and HKU SPACE Archival Studies, for their members and students is scheduled on 10 March, 2012 a.m. (Sat.)
Please visit here for details.
18 November 2011
Dear All,
I am delighted to be able to let you know about the public forum on the need for archives legislation for Hong Kong that is being co-organized by the Archives Action Group (AAG), together with the Faculties of Arts, Law and Social Sciences and the University Archives of the University of Hong Kong.
The forum, titled ‘Saving Hong Kong’s Public Records’, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on 24 November 2011 at the Council Chamber, 8/F Meng Wah Complex, the University of Hong Kong.
They have a distinguished panel of speakers – Margaret Ng (Member of the Legislative Council), Christine Loh (CEO of Civic Exchange), Peter Cunich (Professor of History, University of Hong Kong) and Vincent Wong (radio and talk show host) – and members of the audience will be asked to participate in a question and answer session after the presentations.
The moderator for the event will be William Waung, spokesperson of AAG and a retired judge of the High Court.
I hope very much that you will be able to join the forum. The issue is one of very real concern for the good governance of Hong Kong and the future of our documentary heritage. Recent revelations by the media regarding the destruction of government records in connection with the relocation of the Office of the Chief Executive and the policy bureaux to the new Central Government Complex at Tamar highlight the urgent need for action on archives legislation.
As they expect a large response to this event and seating is limited, do register now on the University of Hong Kong’s website at the following link:
http://www0.hku.hk/socsc/alaw/
I look forward to seeing you all there!
Simon CHU
Chair
18 November 2011
UNESCO RECOGNISES THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHIVES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
In the one of the most significant developments for archives at the international level for many years, the General Conference of UNESCO has today adopted the Universal Declaration on Archives proposed by the International Council on Archives. This landmark decision is an important step in improving public understanding of archives. It provides a splendid opportunity to raise still further awareness of archives among the general public and key decision-makers.
The Declaration is a powerful succinct statement of the relevance of archives in modern society. It emphasizes the key role of archives in administrative transparency and democratic accountability, as well as the preservation of collective social memory. While not neglecting the traditional concern with meeting the needs of historical research, the Declaration repositions effective archives management as an essential function which underpins modern public administration, good practice in private business, and ready access to information by citizens.
The first version of the Declaration was written by archivists in Québec in 2007. It was then adopted by the Section of Professional Associations (SPA) in ICA, who developed the text and made sure that its key messages were understood across languages and cultures. It generated many stimulating debates in ICA, before it obtained unanimous approval at the AGM in Oslo in September 2010.
Since then the international archival community has worked tirelessly to have the Declaration adopted by UNESCO. Today’s decision is the culmination of intense efforts led by Papa Momar Diop, the Ambassador of Senegal at UNESCO and the former National Archivist of Senegal. He has been ably supported by Jens Boel, Head Archivist at UNESCO, and activists in the ICA network throughout the world.
The challenge now is to use the Declaration to maximum effect, so that archives emerge from the ghetto, in which they are still all too often confined, and take their rightful place as a major player at heart of public administration and the centre of social memory.
7 November 2011
Seminar at City University, 9 November 2011:
隨着政府搬遷至新政府總部以後，有傳媒報道不同局方藉此消毀大量政府文件。而根據立法會的口頭質詢顯示，於4月至9月，十四個遷到新政府總部的政策局和辦公室，獲檔案處批准銷毁1,181直線米的政府檔案，估計有355 萬張紙。
在沒有檔案法規管的情況下，政府每年銷毁大量文件，令人擔心很多重要決策的機要文件、有歷史價值的文件都已被銷毁。檔案處有二十五名職員，並只有六位歷史檔案主任，能否勝任現時資訊爆炸及官僚系統架構的膨脹甚為成疑。由於香港沒有檔案法，檔案處沒有法定的職責和權力去保護公共檔案，即使輕率批准各部門銷毁檔案，亦無須承擔任何後果。
美國、英國、澳國、新加坡等多個國家以至內地及澳門都已制訂法例，規管政府及法定機構的公職人員如何處理檔案。社區發展動力培育將舉辦研討會，探討上述問題，誠邀公民社會團體及公眾參與。
日期： 2011年11月9日(星期三)
時間： 下午7時30分至9時正
地點： 香港城市大學LT-9
主講： 朱福強 前香港檔案處處長
嘉賓： 潘文翰 職工盟組織幹事
盧曼思 香港記者協會新聞自由小組召集人
主持： 歐贊年 社區發展動力培育董事
報名： 請按這裡
查詢： contactus@cdiorg.hk (電郵) ; 2123-1700 (電話)
19 September 2011
Seminar co-organised with HKU Space:
'A Dialogue Between IT and Records Management Professionals: A pathway from misunderstanding to understanding to co-operation'
Seminar and registration information below:
Date: 28th September 2011
Time: 7.00pm – 8:30pm
Venue: Room 613, 6/F United Centre, 5 Queensway, Hong Kong. (Exit D, Admiralty MTR Station)
Speakers: Mr Simon Chu & Mr Allen Cheung
Language: Cantonese
FREE admission
Enquiries: 2587 3227 infolis@hkuspace.hku.hk
More information and registration here.
03 August 2011
The cover story for this month's 'Hong Kong Lawyer,' the official journal of the
Law Society of Hong Kong, concerns good good governance, the role of archives, and why Hong Kong needs archival legislation.
The article, authored by William Waung, can be read here.
10 May 2011
The Hong Kong Archives Society together with HKUSpace is pleased to present the following free public seminar on 4 June 2011:
The Role of Archives in Strengthening Democracy
When a country emerges from conflict, citizens demand that perpetrators be held accountable for past violations of human rights; that the governmental system be reformed to prevent a future recurrence of past repressive practices; that the truth be told about what really happened, both in personal terms (such as learning the fate of a loved one) and in terms of how the society came to be what it was; and that reparation be made for the moral and material loses suffered during the period of oppression. Archives are essential to meet these demands, and in this lecture Trudy Peterson will discuss examples of using archives for accountability in countries around the world.
Speaker: Trudy Peterson, a former Acting Archivist of the United States, is presently the chair of the Human Rights Working Group of the International Council on Archives. She advised the police archives in Guatemala, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, among others. Her books “Final Acts: Preserving the Records of Truth Commissions” and “Temporary Courts, Permanent Records” were published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Date & Time: 4 June 2011, 10am - 12 noon
Venue: Room 204, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong
Language: English
FREE ADMISSION
More information and registration
here.
10 May 2011
Seminar:
Transforming archives in the Digital Age
Speaker: Prof. Darwin Stapleton, (Professor, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Department of History; Executive Director Emeritus, Rockefeller Archive Center; Certified Archivist)
Date: 9th June 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Venue: Hong Kong Central Library Activity Room 1 (66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong)
Language: English
FREE admission
Organizers: Jointly organized by Hong Kong Library Association, Hong Kong Baptist University Library & Modern History Research Centre, HKBU
3 May 2011
各位會員：
香港檔案學會誠邀各會員於2011年5月13日 (星期五)參加廣州一日遊，參觀廣東省檔案館及新建成廣東省博物館。行程包括早上由香港出發至廣州，參觀新建成廣東省博物館，午飯後，參觀廣東省檔案館，約在傍晚達港結束，來回巴士接送。
請於2011年5月9日前登記：
hkas.info@gmail.com
費用: 待定
Dear Members,
The Hong Kong Archives Society would like to invite its members to join a day trip to Guangzhou to visit the Guangdong Provincial Archives and the new Guangdong Museum.
The day trip will be run on Friday 13 May, and will include transport by coach from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (in morning), visiting the Guangdong Museum, followed by lunch, and a visit to the Guangdong Archives in the afternoon. The coach will then return to Hong Kong in the evening.
Please register your interest to join the day trip at the address below by 9 May :
hkas.info@gmail.com
Price: TBD
3 May 2011
On 16 April 2011, Frederick Y.L. Ng (吳業立), Director of the Hong Kong Archives Society gave a talk on Church archives management at the Chinese Christian Churches Union. More information about the talk can be found at website of Christian Weekly (in traditional Chinese).
22 April 2011
The Hong Kong Archives Society together with HKUSpace is pleased to present the following free public seminar on 7 May 2011:
Archives Don’t Lie, You Do ! (Seeking Truth Through Archives) 歷史檔案不會說謊 , 說謊的是你 (檔案尋真)
"The Archival record is different. It is the direct, uninterrupted and authentic voice of the past: the primary evidence of what people did and what they thought;….The Archival record is the foundation on which are built our histories and their many and varied voices.” (Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: Report of the Archives Taskforce [UK], March 2004.
That said, archives can be misused; don’t historians sometimes just select whatever facts they need to support their own interpretation? How then can we tell if historians are telling lies, either deliberately or inadvertently?
In this seminar, Mr. CHU will talk about the nature of archives and its unique and unrivaled evidential quality in historical research. Demonstrating through an example, Mr. Chu will show you how to tell if historians are not telling the TRUTH !
Date & Time: 7 May 2011, 10am - 12 noon
Venue: Room 204, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong
More information and registration here.
21 February 2011
Recruitment advertisement:
Corporate Archives Specialist (Part-Time) with Manulife.
Job details and application information here.
31 December 2010
Please continue to support the Hong Kong Archives Society by renewing your membership for 2011.
Membership renewals form here.
29 December 2010
The importance of corporate archives in documenting Hong Kong's past was the subject of an article by Christopher Wolf, which appeared in the South China Morning Post on December 12 2010. The full article can be read here.
26 December 2010
Invitation to 香江有情：東華三院與華人社會 展覽 at the Museum of History
If you wish to join the HKAS group visit to this exhibition, please reply by email to
hkas.info@gmail.com on or before 6th January 2011 for co-ordination.
東華三院今年慶祝成立140周年，東華三院文物館特別與香港歷史博物館共同籌劃「香江有情：東華三院與華人社會」展覽，展期由2010年10月27日至2011年1月17日。透過精選的二百五十項歷史文物和圖片，我們期望從醫療、賑災救濟、教育、社會服務、海外華工原籍歸葬及文物保育等各方面，介紹東華三院140年來對香港社會的工作，以及香港在聯繫內地和海外華人社會的重要角色。多年來，東華三院致力保存、研究和整理本身的歷史，其所保存的歷史文獻和文物，被本地史專家認為是研究香港史、中國近代史、世界華人史及世界史的重要資源。
貴會一直致力推廣歷史檔案的保存，現誠邀 貴會會員於2011年1月8日（星期六）上午11時30分至下午1時參觀「香江有情：東華三院與華人社會」展覽，一同分享東華的經驗及交流保存歷史檔案的心得。當天我們可接待貴會會員約40人，並提供特別導賞服務。煩請於2011年1月6日（星期四）或以前與本人聯絡（電話：2770 0867），落實參觀人數及有關細節。隨電郵附上展覽資料謹供參考，謝謝！
預祝聖誕快樂，新年進步。
東華三院檔案及歷史文化總主任 史秀英
二０一０年十二月二十日
http://www.tungwah.org.hk/upload/CH/hongkong/index.php
22 December 2010
The Hong Kong Archives Society Annual General Meeting: the AGM meeting will be held on the 19th February. Time and venue to be announced in due course.
15 December 2010
'Sailing through Time from 1881 Exhibition,' an exhibition exploring the Hidden History of Tsim Tsa Tsui and Hung Hom opened on the 13 December at 1881 Heritage.
More information here.
9 December 2010
Members of the Business Records Group, a sub-committee of the Hong Kong Archives Society were recently featured on RTHK.
More information here.
22 November 2010
MOW seminar: From Memory, Archives to Heritage: The Unesco Memory of the World Programme
Distinguished speakers from the International Advisory Committee of UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MOW) Programme will talk about how the MOW Programme promotes the identification, preservation and sharing of documentary heritage of world significance. The importance of archives and archives legislation in supporting the MOW Programme will also be highlighted.
The seminar is organized by the Archives Action Group, co-organized by HKU SPACE and sponsored by the Hong Kong Archives Society.
