04 Jun 2026

International Archives Week, slated for June 8 to 12, will seek to highlight the critical significance of archiving.

Speaking in an interview with BOPA on Tuesday, Senior Lecturer at the University of Botswana’s Department of Information and Knowledge Management, Dr Tshepho Mosweu said the week accorded the global archival community an opportunity to engage the public on why archives matter.

Unpacking the concept, she explained that archiving was the professional process of identifying, preserving, and making available records of enduring value.  

These records, whether paper-based or digital, document the activities of governments, organisations, and communities over time, she said.

Dr Mosweu explained that archives were increasingly recognised not just as historical resources, but as instruments that supportted human rights, transparency, and accountability. To this end, she noted that without well-preserved records, it becomes difficult to prove claims, defend rights, or hold institutions accountable.

"For Botswana and the broader region, the week is also about visibility. It provides an opportunity to highlight the work of archival institutions, stimulate public interest, and encourage better recordkeeping practices at both institutional and individual levels, especially as more records are now created in digital environments,” she stated.

She noted that poor recordkeeping often led to gaps in accountability, inefficiencies, and, in some cases, loss of important national memory.

"From a long-term perspective, archives enable societies to document their own narratives. They allow future generations to understand how decisions were made, how institutions evolved, and how historical events shaped the present,” she said.

Highlighting the best strategies for archiving, she opined that a starting point was recognising archives as strategic national assets and emphasised need to invest in both archival institutions and building capacity. 

She believed that as the profession was increasingly shaped by technological change, there was a need for constant training. 

She further noted that archiving should not be seen as a purely technical function but should be integrated into organisational culture, where recordkeeping was understood as an essential part of accountability and service delivery.

Pointing to the economic and historical benefits of archiving, she said archives held tangible national value.

"From a historical perspective, they provide the evidence base for reconstructing past events and understanding national heritage. But beyond that, they also have direct economic and strategic implications," she said.

She cited as a case in point, a well-known example in Botswana: the Sedudu Island case. In that instance, archival records, including historical maps, survey reports, and colonial correspondence were used as evidence in an international dispute. This illustrates how archives can influence territorial outcomes and, by extension, economic interests,” Dr Mosweu said. 

In addition,  she underscored the need for Africans to contribute more visibly to global archival advocacy by supporting initiatives such as the Universal Declaration on Archives, which promotes the value of archives in good governance, accountability, and the preservation of identity.

 This year's theme is: #Archives For Justice: Rights, Memory and Future. ENDS