International Archives Week in June

International Archives Week will be held from 9 to 15 June as a public awareness programme on the preservation of audio-visual archives, including archives of intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka, according to a statement issued by Dr. Nadeera Rupesinghe, Director General, National Archives.

International Archives Week is held annually, since 1979, in terms of a decision taken by the International Council on Archives in 1978. The member countries of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) celebrate this event.

The chief guest at the opening ceremony will be the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Somaratne Vidanapathirana with the special participation of veteran musician Dr. Rohana Baddage and veteran film actress Dr. Malini Fonseka on June 9, 2024, at 1.30 pm at the auditorium of the Department of National Archives. The online index of the National Archives will also be launched on this day.

The Ceylon African Manja Band of Puttalam, Sirambi Adiya, will perform on the opening day, which is also International Archives Day, on June 9. A short video programme on the Duva Easter plays will be screened as well.

Awareness programmes on audio-visual archives and the archiving of intangible cultural heritage have also been organised throughout the week, including a film festival of selected black and white films of the Sinhala cinema recently digitised at the Department of National Archives. Entrance is free for the film screenings, which will be at 5 pm on June 9 and 3.30 pm from June 10-15.