What's New from the PARBICA Bureau

December 2005 Update

Warm Pacific Greetings! Bula vinaka! Kia ora tatau!

It is my pleasure to greet you all on behalf of the PARBICA Bureau 2005-2007, and to give a quick update on our activities since PARBICA 11.

New and Expanded PARBICA Bureau

The Bureau elected by the General Conference in Nadi, Fiji on 23 September 2005 comprises:
Setareki Tale (Fiji), President;
Albert Tui’vanuavou Vaea (Tonga), Vice-President;
Evelyn Wareham (New Zealand), Secretary General; and
Adrian Cunningham (Australia), Editor.

Following tradition, as our first action, we reconfirmed John C. Wright (Hawaii) as Editor. As a result of the Nadi General Conference’s call for an expansion of the PARBICA Bureau to increase its capacity and representation, we also co-opted Jacob Hevelawa (Papua New Guinea) and Salesia Ikaniwai (Fiji) to continue to work on the Bureau. In addition, we were very pleased to appoint Karin Brennan (Australia) as the new PARBICA Co-Editor.

Following PARBICA 11

The new Bureau has met twice by teleconference since Nadi, on 20 October and 15 December. We have been busily tying up the various loose ends that result from our biennial conference (finances, budgets, evaluations, sponsor reports, website updates, etc.). We have also started to look at how we can make the most of the significant discussions and resolutions at PARBICA 11 on “Recordkeeping for Good Governance”. A submission to the Pacific Island Forum on the Pacific Plan has been developed (this will be published as an open letter in Panorama). We are currently considering establishment of a major project to develop a “Pacific Recordkeeping Resource Kit” of guidelines and information on good practice records management targeted to the Pacific Islands.

Planning Ahead

The Bureau has also started to consider other PARBICA projects and initiatives to be undertaken in the next two years. With our new Co-Editor on board, we are looking at expanding the content of Panorama and introducing an annual supplement on education and training opportunities. A proposal has also been developed for a Pacific Archives Reader to celebrate PARBICA’s 25^th anniversary in 2006 – this would bring together historical pieces on the development of archives administration in the Pacific Islands, current reflections by institutions and individuals, and a Pacific archives bibliography. We are continuing to consider possibilities for a Pacific archives education programme, following the intensive discussions on this topic in Fiji.

New Members

With the PARBICA President’s support, the Tonga Traditions Committee has been accepted as a category A (national archives) member of the ICA and also of PARBICA.

 The Bureau was delighted to welcome several new members. We have approved membership applications from:

• Oceania Marist Society – Fiji (category C, archives institution)
• Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat – Fiji (category C, archives institution)
• Nicolas Dubuisson – New Caledonia (category D, individual member)
• Helen Patricia Onopko – South Australia (category D, individual member)
• Kataloto Lopati Ponton – Fiji (category D, individual member)
• Karina Taylor – New Zealand (category D, individual member)

We have also been approached by a number of professional associations interested to become more involved in supporting archives and recordkeeping in the Pacific.

Time has passed amazingly fast since our wonderful conference in Fiji, and the New Year is now only a short time away. This is a time for reflection on priorities and promises, both for PARBICA and its members as institutions and individuals. We wish you the very best for success with your resolutions for the coming year!

Evelyn Wareham