RIM Practitioners Urged To Recommend Systems To Maintain Integrity Of Records

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, is calling on records and information management (RIM) practitioners to recommend systems that will maintain the integrity of the records in their custody from creation to disposition.

Minister Williams gave the charge as she addressed the opening of the Jamaica Archives and Records Department’s second virtual RIM symposium on Wednesday (April 28).

The regional symposium formed part of activities for RIM Month in April under the theme ‘Managing Records and Information for Posterity: Transparent, Accountable and Inclusive’.

Minister Williams, in her presentation,  expressed the Government’s appreciation of the role played by records and archival institutions in preserving and making accessible, records and documents of permanent value.

“Such records are found to be useful for problem-solving, decision-making in education, government and industries and also in the protection of the rights of citizens,” she noted.

She said, however, that there is “great need for the services of these entities to be more far-reaching, especially in this digital age”.

It is within that context, she said, that the Government approved a new GOJ RIM policy, which provides the guiding principle and framework for all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the implementation of RIM.

Minister Williams said the policy seeks to promote the accessibility and timely sharing of information within and across government, while protecting confidential information. It is based on and aligned to the international records standard ISO 15489.

Implementation of the RIM policy will facilitate accessible, efficient and effective service delivery to the citizenry; data sharing across MDAs;  ease of doing business, research and attraction of investments; increased transparency and accountability through the creation, processing, maintenance, use and disposition of records in conformity with local policies, standards and international good practice; preservation of national and cultural identity; leveraging cultural assets; informing the citizenry; and the overall attainment of national development goals.

The RIM symposium featured presentations from local and regional stakeholders on the topics ‘The benefits of records and information management in the hybrid environment’, ‘Public records not being necessary for all public eyes’, ‘Strategies to identify risks in government entities’, ‘Knowledge management’,  ‘Application of guards to e-RIM’, and ‘Legislation and regulations governing the management of records in today’s digital experiences’.

The Minister encouraged the team of information professionals, friends and other stakeholders gathered to treat with urgency a resolution to reinforce information as an asset.

“It is this asset that when carefully packaged results in developing legacies for generations to come. Without reliable, verifiable, authentic records, decisions, actions and transactions cannot be traced,” she noted.