Proceedings of the First Meeting of the SWARBICA Executive Board,

11^th Dec. 1976, New Delhi

   The first meeting of the newly constituted Executive Board of SWARBICA was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on Saturday, the 11th December 1976 at 12.00 noon. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Cyrus Parham, Chairman of the Board. The following members were present:

Mr. Cyrus Parham                                                Chairman

Mr. A. Dewaraja                                                   Vice-Chairman

Dr. K.M. Karim                                                   National Delegate from Bangladesh

Dr. S.N. Prasad                                                     National Delegate from India

Mr. Shaphalya Amatya                                         National Delegate from Nepal

Dr. N.H. Kulkarnee                                              Secretary-General

Mr. Ranbir Kishore                                             Treasurer

   Mr. Charles Kecskemeti participated as the official representative of the Inter­national Council on Archives. Mr. Hedayatullah Akram from Afghanistan, Dr. Morris Rieger and Dr. Heinz Boberach participated in the meeting as Observers.

   Also present in the meeting were the delegates to the inaugural meeting : Dr. Sirajul Islam from Bangladesh, Mr. M.P. Dash, Prof. R.S. Sharma and Dr. A.R. Kulkarni from India, Prof. Iraj Afshar from Iran, Mrs. S.M. Rana from Nepal and Mr. Jayantha Uduwara from Sri Lanka.

Welcoming the new members of the Executive Board, the Chairman expressed the hope that all the member countries of SWARBICA would extend their full cooperation in fulfilment of the objectives laid down in the Constitution and would also work in close collaboration with each other. He also hoped that other countries in the region, parti­cularly Afghanistan and Pakistan, would soon join the organisation.

Before the main business of the Executive Board was taken up, Mr. Charles Kecskemeti drew the attention of the Board that according to the Constitution of the International Council on Archives, the Chairman of SWARBICA would represent the organisation in the Executive Committee of the International Council. This was noted.

   Mr. Kecskemeti then proposed that SWARBICA should have a Regional Rapporteur to co-operate with the Committee for Archival Development (CAD). It was unanimously agreed that the Secretary-General should also function as the Regional Rapporteur.

 

Preparation of regional and national projects for archival development

The Chairman first took up item 2 of the Agenda. He proposed that preparation of a composite plan for development of archival activities in the region should be given urgent attention.

On the request of the Chairman, Dr. S.N. Prasad made the following suggestions:

(i)   Collection of detailed information about the archival situation in each country in the region,

(ii) Framing of projects to meet national and regional requirements, giving more emphasis on regional needs.

Mr. Charles Kecskemeti made the following suggestions in order of priority:

(a) Setting up of a Regional Training Centre for training professional and
technical experts on archives administration and archival science. A proper machinery should be set up to survey the national and regional requirements and developments,

(b) Conducting study on the legislation or regulations on archival problems undertaken in the countries in the region, particularly about access to records,

(c)                    Undertaking compilation of a Guide to the sources of Asian history and culture in the region, a project sponsored by the UNESCO,

(d)         Compilation of a file of the drawings, plans and photographs of all the new archives buildings in the region.

Dr. Morris Rieger said that while preparing projects, emphasis should be given on such items as would attract funds from prospective donors.

            The meeting was thereafter adjourned to 12th December, 1976.

The Executive Board resumed its meeting which was held at the Committee Room of the National Museum on the 12th December 1976 at 12.00 noon.

            Resuming the discussion on item 2 of the Agenda, the Chairman said that in view of the top priority of archival training it would be appropriate if a symposium were organised in 1977 to exchange ideas on professional and sub-professional matters relating to training, and that SWARBICA could approach CAD for some financial assistance for the purpose.

Dr. Rieger as the Chairman of the CAD explained the current financial position of the International Archival Development Fund and suggested that active private founda­tions like Asia Foundation, German Foundation and Ford Foundation could also be approached for financial assistance. Mr. Kecskemeti said that $ 5,000 could be obtained from the ICA or International Archival Development Fund for organising such symposia without much difficulty since UNESCO's budget had already been prepared and it was rather late to request it for funds.

It was agreed that it would be advantageous to combine the proposed symposium with a meeting of the Executive Board, and that a working paper for the symposium should be produced emphasising the current and prospective needs and programmes in the region including curricula.

The Chairman said that a Co-ordinator might be selected for inviting requisite information regarding training.

Dr. Prasad was of the opinion that the questionnaire method was not likely to produce the desired results. A person could be deputed to collect the information from the member-countries but this would involve heavy expenditure.

Dr. Rieger said that an important project like the proposed symposium which could result in the establishment of a Regional Training Centre would certainly attract aid from UNESCO. He cited the example of one of the Regional Branches and said that UNESCO could fund the travel of a person to the concerned countries for collecting relevant data.

The Chairman proposed that some individual from within the region or outside it should be entrusted with the job of collecting and co-ordinating relevant data from the member-countries on the basis of which the working paper for the symposium could be prepared by the Coordinator. Dr. Prasad enquired if Dr. Karim would spare some time for this work but Dr. Karim said that, due to heavy pressure of his normal work, he was not in a position to accept the responsibility. The Chairman then suggested the name of Mr. R.C. Gupta, Deputy Director of Archives, India who was also in charge of the Institute of Archival Training, New Delhi, to act as coordinator. This suggestion was accepted unanimously. It was also agreed that the number of participants to the symposium should be between 16 and 20 with provision for some specialists from outside the region.

As regards the venue for holding the symposium and the meeting of the Executive Board, Mr. A. Dewaraja said that Sri Lanka Government might agree to host them and provide local hospitality. The Secretary-General was authorised to take necessary steps to request the money from the Fund for this purpose in consultation with Mr. Dewaraja. Mr. Kecskemeti was also requested to use his good offices in securing financial assistance from UNESCO, just in case the Fund's contribution was not sufficient.

 

SWARBICA News Letter

            It was decided that SWARBICA should bring out its News Letter periodically, highlighting the important archival activities in the countries in the region as also of the organisation itself. The Executive Board felt that the first issue of the News Letter could be brought out immediately containing the information about the Inaugural Meeting. The Secretary-General was authorised to do the needful in this connection.

            As regards the subsequent issues, the Secretary-General was requested to collect necessary information from the member countries.

 

Delegation of financial and other powers to Chairman, Secretary-General and Treasurer

            Before discussion on the above item was taken up the following membership dues for SWARBICA proposed by the Chairman, were agreed to by the Executive Board:

National Member                             Indian      Rs. 3,000 annual

Institutional Member                                       Rs.     500 annual

Individual Member                                           Rs.     100 annual

The following financial procedures were agreed to be adopted:

(a)          All cheques/drafts issued on behalf of SWARBICA should be jointly signed by the Secretary-General and the Treasurer, and in the absence of any one of them, another member of the Executive Board should be authorised to sign on his behalf.

(b)         Donations received in hard currency from ICA, UNESCO and other countries in the region or outside, should be credited separately so that the same could be utilised for the specific purpose for which such donations were received. If necessary a separate account should be opened for the purpose. The Treasurer should consult the appropriate authorities in this connection.

(c)          

 

Rules of Business/Regulations of SWARBICA

            The Chairman proposed that the Secretary-General should be authorised to draft Rules of Business and Regulations for Executive Board and the General Conference and circulate the same to the members. These would be finalised after comments were received.

 

Date & Venue of next meeting of Executive Board

            As proposed earlier, it was tentatively agreed that the next meeting of the Executive Board be held in Sri Lanka sometime in 1977.