This Friday, 17 August, Kirsten, Cate and Nicola from the Find & Connect web resource team are speaking at the Society of American Archivists’ conference on the theme of Trust and Transparency.
Our talk will cover:
- The background to the web resource, including the multiple inquiries and investigations into out of home ‘care’ in Australia and the 2009 Apology to Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants.
- Dealing with competing and contested histories and how to represent these in transparent ways – providing context for the material we use and quote from, and ensuring that Care Leavers’ voices are included wherever possible.
- Building transparency and proactive disclosure into archival description including documenting records that are known to have been destroyed, and explicitly recognising that archives are not neutral.
- Creating a trustworthy, sustainable public knowledge space where users can find what they’re looking for, including the critical importance of monitoring and maintenance of broken links.
- Discussing our image and language policies, the thinking behind them, and why we share them.
We are delighted to be presented with the Philip M. Hamer–Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award during the conference. In collecting the award, we would like to thank everyone who has supported us and participated in Find & Connect activities over the years: Care Leavers who have been generous enough to share their stories and experiences; the Department of Social Services who fund the Find & Connect program; our Chief Investigators; staff from the Find & Connect support services; and all current and past staff of the web resource. You have all contributed so much to the web resource and we appreciate all your support. Thankyou!
