BARM

The program BARM (= Bangladesh Archives & Records Management) is aiming at creating good conditions for development. The bottom line is: Archives and Records are tools for honest, effective and democratic government and honest history writing, history teaching and journalism. In 1995 a cooperation between archivists and historians from Bangladesh and Netherlands, was initiated giving advise to the National Archives of Bangladesh (=NAB) on improvement of the Archives & Records Management.

Archives and Records are information sources. These information sources are of crucial importance for the creation of transparency and accountability. Government WITHOUT control by parliament or individual citizens is immediately and basically an ideal breeding ground for corruption (in Bangla and since President Iajuddin Ahmed’s speech to the Nation 11 January 2007 as nation wide catch word: Durniti). Openness of Information gives the citizens the “weapon”, a “powerful medicine” against DURNITI. Because officials, politicians etc. who feel that they are CONTROLLED and therefore punishable for their misdeeds and their corruption, will be much more reluctant to practice corruption. So the Right to Information Act (RTI) too, is a key instrument for the citizens of Bangladesh to have this right to information and ask the Government Of Bangladesh (=GOB) on all levels to reply to all complaints and all criticism about what Government or individual Civil servants or politicians, chairmen of paurashava’s etc. are doing.

Once the RTI Act is consented by Government and National Parliament (Jatya Sangsad), the implementation starts. For successful functioning of this RTI there are two main conditions:

Awareness raising amongst citizens and civil service about the need of Right to Information for Good and effective and democratic governance. Civil servants will think this RTO very threatening. We have to make clear that for everyone who is honest, the RTI is a support and certainly NOT a threat. Every citizen has to learn that his or her active controlling of GOB is a MAIN duty and possibility to bring forward the progress in Bangladesh.
Technically: organising a MUCH BETTER and PROFESSIONAL Information management in GOB by setting up real PROFESSIONAL and MODERN Record Management and that is what BARM is all about.

The BARM Centre can help in point 1 and 2. In this BARM Centre, several institutions should cooperate: National Archives of Bangladesh, the history Departments and the ILIS departments of Universities of Dhaka, Rajshahi, the Heritage Archives of prof Mahbubur Rahman in Rajshahi, Jahangirnagar University, private Universities, like North - South University and IUBAT, the Medical Insitute for Public Health Care ICDDR,B , the BIDS, the TIB (= Transparency International Bangladesh), BLAST (= Bangladesh Legal Assistance Trust). We want to set up archival and records courses, stimulate public discussions on Records Against Corruption and advise Government and NGO’s on improvement of Recorded Information Management for creating a modern and prosperous society.

BARM group Rotterdam / Dhaka, 16 March 2008

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