PARBICA 14th GENERAL CONFERENCE
Orator Hotel, Apia, Samoa, August 27 2011
Draft Agenda
A. Opening
Opening of the 14th General Conference by Ms Dianne Macaskill, PARBICA Vice President at 10.00am
Dianne noted Setareki Tale PARBICA president was absent from the meeting and acknowledged his contribution to PARBICA.
B. General Business
1. Opening
1.1. Apologies
Setareki Tale (Fiji)
1.2. Assessment of Quorum
13 voting members were represented.
It was agreed that the meeting had a quorum in accordance with the PARBICA Constitution.
1.3. Adoption of Agenda
The agenda was presented by Dianne Macaskill (New Zealand)
Acceptance of the agenda was moved by Helen Walker (Australia) and Seconded by John Roberts (New Zealand)
Agenda was accepted.
1.4. Admission of Observers
Observers were formally admitted to the meeting.
2. Confirmation of the minutes of the 13th General Conference, held in Brisbane, Australia in October 2009
Dianne Macaskill reported on the minutes from PARBICA 13th General Conference. The minutes were presented to all members.
Karin Brennan (Australia) noted that Jackie Bettington’s name is incorrectly spelt in the minutes. Anne Naupa (Vanuatu) noted that her name is also incorrectly spelt in the minutes.
Confirmation and acceptance of the minutes was moved by Anne Naupa (Vanuatu) and seconded by Naomi Ngirakamerang (Palau)
3. Activities of PARBICA 2009-2011
Dianne noted that there is not currently a President’s report due to Setareki Tale’s absence. Mark to ask Setareki to supply a report. When received the report will be attached as a supplementary report to the minutes of the General Conference.
3.1. Secretary General’s Report
Presented by Mark Crookston (Secretary-General, New Zealand). A full copy is attached as appendix 1.
Mark especially noted the work of Terrence Janssen (Australia) in the conference organising. In particular he thanked Terrence for his work arranging conference travel.
Mark noted the importance of Category C Members and that individual membership continues to grow.
Mark announced that he will be stepping down from the position of Secretary-General. He recorded the privilege he felt for the work he has done for PARBICA. Mark gave special thanks to his PARBICA mentors, Evelyn Wareham, Adrian Cunningham and Setareki Tale. He thanked his Assistant-Secretary Generals Aaron Braden and Anna Gulbransen and New Zealand’s Chief Archivist Greg Goulding for his continued support.
Dianne thanked Mark for his contribution to PARBICA. Moria Enetama (Niue) thanked Mark and recorded the member’s appreciation for Mark’s work.
3.2. Treasurer’s Report
Presented by Helen Walker (Treasurer, Australia). A full copy is attached as appendix 2.
Helen noted that the 2010-11 report is currently unaudited. It will be audited in the near future.
Helen noted:
· She stepped into the role of Treasurer in May following Adrian Cunningham’s departure
· She acknowledge Adrian’s contribution
· She will be undertaking a review of the policies and procedures used manage the treasurer position within the National Archives of Australia
· She is looking for a bank with support in the Pacific region.
· Financial reserves have fallen below $40k
· One of the possible financial reserves falling below $40k maybe due to changes in the way the President’s travel is paid. President’s travel is now being covered by PARBICA. The ICA dues of PARBICA members, now stay with PARBICA and are used to cover travel rather than being transferred to ICA. Helen will investigate if this is a balanced and fair approach.
· There will be some income and expenditure from the conference which will need to be factored into PARBICA statements.
· Tax return – still not complete confirmation. Still under investigation. Will be reported on asap.
· We will need to investigate funding for PARBICA delegates to ICA congress. Helen wanted to set realistic expectations about the number of attendees from the Pacific. She estimates it will be between 12-15 participants.
· Helen noted PARBICA 14 is not likely to make a significant impact on the accounts presented. Helen noted this was largely due to the contributions of the Samoan Government and aid partners.
· Helen thanked Emma Buckley, Terrence Janssen and Wendy Veenstra for their work in supporting the Treasurer position.
Comments from the floor were:
· Dianne noted the Bureau should look at processes to ensure our overall financial reserves do not continue to drop.
· Need to clarify whether official travel reimbursement situation is bi-directional.
· John Roberts (New Zealand) asked for clarification around the figures for membership dues. He asked for information on what membership dues were covered by this figure. Helen noted that she believed the membership dues were for PAMBU. Bureau to look at relationship with PAMBU to ensure that the benefits of membership are being realised.
Dianne passed on the thanks of the membership and thanked Helen and her team at the National Archives of Australia for the running of the Treasurer position.
3.3. Editor’s Report
Presented by Karin Brennan (Australia). A full copy of the report is attached as appendix 3.
Members applauded Karin’s efforts. Dianne thanked Karin for her work.
4. Discussion on and adoption of Proposed Resolutions of PARBICA 14
Draft resolutions were circulated.
Dianne Macaskill led the discussion and outlined the process for developing the resolutions. Dianne thanked John Roberts and Evelyn Wareham for their support drafting the resolutions.
Each proposed resolution was walked through and there was discussion from the floor. Mark made comments and alterations to the resolutions as comments were received.
Acceptance of the resolutions was moved by Helen Walker (Australia) and Seconded by Amela Silipa (Samoa)
5. Declaration/Election of Office Bearers
The nominations committee was Karin Brennan (Australia), John Wright (Hawaii), Salesia Ikaniwai (Fiji)
The results of were:
President: Amela Silipa (Samoa)
Vice President: Dianne Macaskill (New Zealand)
Secretary General: Anna Gulbransen (New Zealand)
Treasurer: Helen Walker (Australia)
General Members of the Bureau:
Julian Chonigolo (Solomon Islands)
Naomi Ngirakamerang (Palau)
Misiwaini Qereqeretabua (Fiji)
6. Honorary Membership
Prior to attending to the matters of honorary membership the PARBICA membership observed a minute of silence in memory of PARBICA members and friends.
Sam Kaima
Bruce Burne
Judith Hornabrook
Dr. Karen Peacock
Dianne Macaskill read a letter from Jacob Hevelawa addressed to Judith Hornabrook’s family. Thanking her for her contribution to recordkeeping and archives in Papua New Guinea. The membership acknowledged and thanked Jacob for his words. The letter will be sent to Judith’s family.
Karin Brennan announced that there had been two nominations for honorary membership under section III of the constitution. Details of the nominations are attached as appendix 4.
Setareki Tale (Fiji) was nominated and comments of support by Evelyn Wareham (New Zealand) and John Wright (Hawaii) were read.
Acceptance of honorary membership for Setareki Tale was moved by John Roberts (New Zealand) and seconded by Naomi Ngirakamerang (Palau)
There was unanimous support for Setareki Tale’s nomination from voting members.
The Bureau will contact Setareki
Ewan Maidment was nominated for honorary membership and comments of support by Evelyn Wareham (New Zealand) and Tukul Kaiku on behalf of the Papua New Guinea Delegation (Papua New Guinea) were read.
Acceptance of honorary membership for Ewan Maidment was moved by Moira Enetama and seconded by Ane Teilauea (Tuvalu)
There was unanimous support for Ewan Maidment’s nomination from voting members.
The Bureau will contact Ewan.
7. Location of PARBICA 15
Julian Chonigolo announced that PARBICA 15 will be held in the Solomon Islands in 2013. She welcomed members to attend and enjoy a Melanesian experience.
The incoming bureau will work with Julian to plan PARBICA 15.
8. Other business
Vicky Puipui on behalf of Papua New Guinea Government and Archives presented two gifts to the Bureau and the Samoa Government.
C. Closing
The new PARBICA President Amela Silipa thanked the membership for electing her. She noted that election was a significant personal achievement and declared her commitment to work with ICA and Archives around the Pacific to develop and support broader ideals.
Amela thanked Mark as an outgoing Bureau member. Amela thanked the PARBICA family for their support. Amela thanked the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture and the organising committee of PARBICA 14 for their commitment and dedication.
Amela declared PARBICA 14 officially closed.
The meeting closed 1.30pm
Page 15 of 15
Appendix 1 - Secretary General’s Report
PARBICA 14th GENERAL CONFERENCE
Apia, Samoa, 27 August 2011
Secretary General’s Report
It has been another excellent two years for PARBICA, with a lot of activity around developing guidance and running workshops. Special thanks must go the energy of our members and support of sponsors and partners. In particular, we must thank AusAID, New Zealand AID, National Archives of Australia and Archives New Zealand for their ongoing support for our activities.
The Secretary General’s role is to plan and coordinate activities, administer Bureau meetings, manage memberships (jointly with the Treasury) and maintain relationships with members.
Bureau
PARBICA is a regional branch of the International Council on Archives (ICA) managed by a volunteer Bureau. The PARBICA Bureau has met regularly, with fourteen meetings held over the period. All meetings were conducted by teleconference, which continues to facilitate good collaboration and make it possible to make decisions quickly and efficiently with full.
The Bureau membership over the past two years since PARBICA’s 13th General Conference, has included four elected Bureau members:
· President: Mr Setareki Tale (Fiji)
· Vice-President: Ms Dianne Macaskill (New Zealand)
· Secretary General: Ms Evelyn Wareham (New Zealand)
· Treasurer Mr Adrian Cunningham – replaced by Helen Walker in 2011 (Australia)
In addition, the Bureau has co-opted the following individuals to expand its capacity and representation of members’ interests:
· Member: Ms Amela Silipa (Samoa)
· Member: Ms Julian Chonigolo (Solomon Islands)
· Member: Ms Naomi Ngirakamerang (Palau)
· Editor: Ms Karin Brennan (Australia)
· Assistant Treasurer / Membership Officer / Webmaster: Ms Emma Buckley (Australia)
· Assistant Secretary General: Mr Aaron Braden and Ms Anna Gulbransen (New Zealand)
In early 2011 we farewelled an excellent Bureau member and friend, Adrian Cunningham. Adrian was the PARBICA Treasurer for nearly six years and I thank him for his superb contribution. There were also additional contributions to the Bureau made by Aaron Braden (New Zealand), Liz Nannelli and Terence Janssen (Australia).
I mentioned that the Bureau is managed by volunteers, however the institutions that our Bureau members work for must be acknowledged for providing their staff with time and support to make this valuable contribution.
Membership
PARBICA currently has xx members, comprising:
2011 / 2009 / 2007· xx Category A (national, state and territory archives authorities) / 16 / 21
· 3 Category B (professional associations) / 3 / 3
· Xx Category C (institutional members) / 15 / 17
· xx Category D (individual members) / 19 / 15
· xx Category E (honorary members) / 10 / 9
Membership is growing in categories C and D, giving PARBICA a diverse membership for an ICA branch.
I am happy to report that we have welcomed the return of financial members from the Cook Islands and Tonga. However it is regrettable that a number of countries’ national, state or territory archives are no longer financial members of PARBICA (Guam, Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Kiribati) or are now more than one year overdue with fees (Tuvalu, Northern Marianas). We need to work more to bring these countries back into the PARBICA family, and special efforts are needed to engage the northern Pacific countries and territories more in PARBICA.
Panorama / listserv
Business Plan 2010-2012
We developed a simple business plan in early 2010 with the aim to deliver actions in the priority areas identified by our members at the General Conference in Brisbane, October 2009. The Bureau has reviewed this plan during the period and is satisfied that it is still relevant for the membership
The PARBICA business plan covers four areas:
1. Professional Development and Education
2. Co-operation and Advocacy
3. Recordkeeping for Good Governance
4. Governance and Membership
Activities
1. Professional Development and Education
· A significant numbers of PARBICA members and potential members have been able to attend this conference in Samoa. There are 98 registrations overall, making it by far the biggest PARBICA conference to date. The biennial conferences continue to be our key professional development activity. Many thanks to our sponsors and hosts, especially Ms Amela Silipa who has been an excellent and relaxed conference organiser – a delight to work with.
· PARBICA is very fortunate to have an ICA Congress hosted in our region (Brisbane, Australia) in 2012. An ICA Congress is a significant event where our members will be able to gain excellent training opportunities through an expansive range of conference sessions and workshops. We must work to maximise our participation in this event.
· Another two years have gone by without a tertiary training course being established at the University of the South Pacific (USP). The Bureau will continue to take note of any opportunity to make this happen, however we need to work better on connecting PARBICA members with tertiary education programmes in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and less formal education programmes via our funding partners.
2. Co-operation and Advocacy
· Our recordkeeping for good governance work continues to be the mechanism through which we have closer links with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the United National Development Programme, the Pacific Ombudsmen’s Alliance, the Pacific Public Service Commissioners and other public sector manager networks.
· Archives New Zealand and the National Archives of Australia continued to develop partnership relationships with NZAID and AusAID respectively, on behalf of PARBICA. IN 2010 we established a good relationship with the Commonwealth Pacific Governance Facility, based in Honiara, Solomon Islands. This agency has a priority on supporting good governance through strong justice, land and identity records management programmes.
· The PARBICA Bureau continues to maintain close links with UNESCO. It is encouraging that several new UNESCO Memory of the World (MOW) national committees have been established in the region. In addition, the first Pacific documents were added to the international register – the records of indentured labour held in the National Archives of Fiji. This is an important programme for Pacific archives and we encourage more countries to establish national committees. I thank Ray Edmonson for his valuable contribution to this conference.