Archives, politics and the citizen

This paper does not deal about technical issues regarding records management - storage - and conservation techniques or how to decipher old writings, but about the larger importance of archives for society. Archives matter to the public authorities, to the private sector and to the citizen. Rights derive from archives and archival documents serve as basis for research. This “point of view” first and foremost exposes the relevance of archives, the manner in which various actors of society handle archives, and the ideological, political, social and cultural significance of archives. Furthermore, light is shed on the structures and characteristics of today’s Belgian and Flemish archives sector, about the political agenda regarding archives at international and Belgian level and especially about the challenges that the archives sector faces, namely: ensuring and promoting accessibility to reliable information and implementing a sustainable digital access, contributing
to the interests of society concerning open access to information and governmental transparency and improving the digital provision of services.