International Archives Day Booklet (7.17MB)
International Archives Day 2023
It is with immense gratitude that we celebrated the joyous occasion of International Archives Day. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Hon. Minister Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Secretary to the Ministry and Director General National Archives for their support and encouragement in this task.
We sincerely appreciate the efforts of ICA and UNESCO for their invaluable contribution to the development of the Universal Declaration on Archives. Today, we proudly launched the Sinhala and Tamil translations of the declaration, ensuring that its principles resonate with all members of our diverse society.
I thank the organising committee for their tireless efforts and the entire team who have supported me and worked diligently to make our celebrations a reality. Our heartfelt thanks also go out to all our sponsors, and the media, both print and electronic, for their invaluable support in spreading awareness about the importance of archives.
Last but certainly not least, I would like to express my gratitude to all participants and attendees who graced this occasion with their presence. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to the success of this event. Thank you all, and may our archives continue to illuminate our past and guide us towards a brighter future.
Bimal Abeysekera
Senior Archivist
Archivist and member, National Archives Advisory Board, Nigel Nugawela addressing the audience in English on the topic ‘Who is the Sri Lankan Archivist?’
Audience
Audience
Subject minister Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka, Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe, Secretary of the line ministry Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Somaratne Widanapathirana
Damith Fonseka, Actor and film conservator signing the register of the UDA
Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe addressing the gathering
Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe gifting a plaque of the UDA in Sinhala to subject minister, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka.
Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe gifting a plaque of the UDA in Sinhala to Secretary of the line ministry Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Somaratne Widanapathirana
Former Director General Saroja Wettasinghe, Her Excellency Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Bonnie Horbach, Hon. Minister of State for Arts, Culture & Heritage in the Maldives Mr Mohamed Thoriq, Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mr Vidura Wickramanayaka, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Arts, Culture & Heritage in the Maldives Shammun Hameedh, Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mr Somaratne Widanapathirana, Prof Emeritus J B Disanayaka, member of the UDA translation committee, Prof Sandagomi Coperahewa, member of the UDA translation committee.
Dr Tanuja Thurairajah, Executive Director of the Collective for Historical Dialogue and Memory address the audience in Tamil on the topic ‘Reflections on Oral Histories as Praxis’
Master of Ceremonies Arun Dias Bandaranaike addressing the audience.
Subject minister, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka conversing with Ambassador of the Netherlands Bonnie Horbach.
Nalaka Gunawardena, science writer addressing the gathering in Sinhala on the topic ‘Who is afraid of Digital Archiving?’
Nigel Nugawela speaker and UDA translation committee member receiving a UDA plaque and gift from National Archives Assistant Director Chamila Priyangani.
Prof Emeritus J B Disanayaka signing the register of support for the UDA helped by Mahinda de Lanerolle while school boys of Royal College look on.
Prof Emeritus J B Disanayaka, member of the UDA translation committee receiving a UDA plaque and gift from National Archives Assistant Director Dilini Liyanage.
Prof Emeritus J B Disanayaka, member of the UDA translation committee looking on from the audience.
Prof Nirmal Dewasiri, member of the UDA translation committee receiving a plaque of the UDA and gift from the National Archives Assistant Director Himali Weerakoon
Subject Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka addressing the audience
Staff of the National Archives reciting the first paragraph of the UDA in all three languages
Subject Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka signing the UDA register while Director General National Archives Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe look on
Secretory of line ministry Somaratne Widanapathirana signing the UDA register while Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka & Director General National Archives Dr Rupesinghe look on
School boys of Royal College signing the register of the UDA
Picture credits: Dhanu Egodawatte, Chief Archival Reprography Officer; Ruwan Kumara, Archival Reprography Assistant; Shalitha Isuru Kumara, Archival Reprography Assistant
