Roadtown, Tortola - The Archives and Records Management Unit reached a significant milestone in the work of their unit yesterday with the launching of their new website.

The website, www.nationalarchives.gov.vg was officially launched by the Deputy Governor Mrs. V. Inez Archibald with the cutting of the ribbon and declaring the site launched at a brief ceremony that was held in the unit’s office.

Mrs. Archibald delivering brief remarks at the ceremony spoke about the exemplary work a unit of its size has been producing and the importance of record keeping and proper planning.

“I am very pleased and grateful to the staff of this unit under the leadership of Mrs. Moll for the hard work you have been putting in to bring this to fruition.  It is a tremendous responsibility to assign to any person the selection and preservation of our history,” Mrs. Archibald added.

Permanent Secretary in the Deputy Governor’s Office Ms. Julia Christopher told the gathering, “As we become more advanced in our Government provided services, technology demands that we provide more accessible services to our customers.”

“This website is another step towards improving our services and bringing our customers around the world closer to us.  This milestone offers an opportunity for us to enhance our relationship with our customers, locally and internationally and will enable us to operate more efficiently as it pertains to the transfer of information,” Ms. Christopher said.

 
“This website will be instrumental in the promotion and public sensitisation of the Territory’s public and private archives.  It will enhance public awareness on the preservation and safe-keeping of all documents, as well as encourage, educate and expose the local public to the many uses of the archives,” Ms. Christopher added.

Chief Records Management Officer Mrs. Verna Penn Moll explained that the website will provide a direct route to the Archives and Records Management Unit on the internet.

“While the website is very basic right now it is a start in establishing our presence on the World Wide Web.  The website will grow and expand and we are already preparing a heritage, cultural and history page where information about our local trees, flowers, birds, foods and recipes, heroes and biographies of our people will be displayed,” Mrs. Moll said.

She added, “We believe that the knowledge of such symbols will help to foster a sense of pride and identity among us and especially our young people; and will assist in nation-building.”
 
Government Archivist Mr. Christopher Varlack chaired the ceremony and spoke about the design and future plans of the website.

The Archives and Records Management Unit was formed to lay the foundation for establishing and developing an actively functioning archives institution which is a fundamental infrastructure for national development.