ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS Preamble We the participants to the 20 th Biennial conference of the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives wish to the thank the Government and People of the Republic of Namibia for their hospitality and friendship experienced by the participants during the above conference. The participants further wish to thank the Director and staff of the Namibia National Library and Archives for the excellent arrangements made during the conference.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 1Recognizing that Information Communication Technologies have ushered in new potentials and opened up new challenges in the manner in which information is collected, stored, retrieved, accessed and finally disposed off, and

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 2Bearing in mind the unique position of archivists and records managers as custodians of documentary heritage, and further

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 3Being desirous to embrace information communication technologies into the core business of records and information management we do hereby:

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 4Encourage all ESARBICA Member States to fully exploit the opportunities created by the introduction of Information Communication Technologies especially through the use of Open Source software which is becoming readily available.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 5Encourage ESARBICA member states to work in partnership with other stakeholders (Including international professional associations such as IFLA and UNESCO) to review and amend copyright laws within their respective countries with a view to addressing areas not adequately covered especially those which relate to indigenous knowledge systems.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 6Acknowledging the increasing number of digitization projects in the region, and being mindful of the fears expressed by the participants that these projects may result in the loss of copyright control and access rights to cultural heritage, this conference urges ESARBICA member states to:

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS Consult widely with all the stakeholders prior to the implementation of local digitization project Ensure that the digitization programmes are conducted in a comprehensive manner to ensure authenticity and completeness. Encourage collaborative digitization initiatives between local institutions and foreign based institutions. Ensure that all original digitized source material remains within the country of origin.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 7Noting that archival institutions and the facilities they provide remain under-utilized by the vast majority of the societies around them, this conference urges archival institutions to take appropriate steps to publicize their holdings particularly through the use of ICTs

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 8Recognizing the lack or absence of IT Skilled personnel among archivist and records managers this conference recommends that archival institutions should establish mechanisms for the acquisition of IT skills.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 9Bearing in mind that several archival schools have been established in the region, this conference urges archival institutions to collaborate among themselves as well as with archival institutions to ensure that their training programmes remain relevant and meet the needs of archivists and records managers in the region.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 10Taking note of the problems experienced by archival institutions, this conference urges the National Archives to seek assistance from regional as well as international partners.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 11Bearing in mind the increasing number of digitization projects in the region, this Conference ESARBICA member states to collaborate and share information on such projects with the rest of the member states in the region.

ESARBICA RESOLUTIONS 12. Taking not of the essence of communication, this Conference urges our ESARBICA Board to improve communication with the membership.