Last week. Chris Evans MP hosted the event for the Campaign for Records – Democracy and Rights in the Digital Age, as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Archives and History.
The campaign, by the Archives and Records Association and the Information and the Records Management Society, aims to highlights the need for better records management in public life and calls for more resources, modern law, better regulation and improved freedom of information and access to public records.
During the event in Parliament, Mr Evans spoke about the importance of preserving records and archives to fight against the era of misinformation and ‘fake news’ which dominated the period between 2016 to 2020.
Mr Evans said that ‘archives have a pivotal role to play’ and praised archivists, and others that work in the sector, calling them ‘the holders of truth’. He also called for appropriate investment in the recordkeeping sector to ensure that digital records across the public sector can deliver the vital records and evidence required by the public to rebuild and sustain trust in government.
On the night, Mr Evans was joined by speakers from the sector, including
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Reynold Leming, Chair of Information and Records Management Society
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Gary Tuson, Vice Chair of the Chief Archivists in Local Government Group of the Archives and Records Association
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Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian in the University of Oxford
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Lord Parkinson, Minister for Arts and Heritage.
Chris Evans MP said:
‘I was pleased to hosted the launch event for the Campaign for Records – Democracy and Rights in the Digital Age.
I believe that the collection and preservation of Archives and Records is vital for assessing historical ‘truths’ and the way we have remembered events.
Archives and Records aid us in connecting with our personal, local, national, and global pasts and help us to understand our present.
It is vital we continue to protect archives and records for generations to come, so they too can learn from the past and to continue learning from our shared histories.’
