Kick-off digitization project Sri Lanka – the Netherlands

In December 2023, NAN and SLNA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on archival cooperation. The MoU includes agreements for the years 2023-2028 regarding the preservation, digitization, and online accessibility of archives, as well as capacity building and knowledge exchange regarding both analog and digital archive management.

SLNA keeps 310 metres of Dutch records created by the Dutch East-India Company (VOC) on Ceylon, archives that are included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. Most of these records differ considerably from records originating from Ceylon found in the VOC-archives in The Hague or Jakarta and are therefore unique.

Between November 10-14, an i2S SupraScan Quartz A1 scanner was installed in Colombo, enabling the digitization of these archives at the highest quality. Priority will be given to the parts of the archive that have not been digitized (microfilmed) in the past. The installation of the scanner was accompanied by an instruction for scan operators and two training sessions for SLNA staff in the field of collection management and first line conservation (the material preparation of archives for digitization), provided by two senior conservation specialists from NAN.

On November 14, the official handover ceremony of the scanner was held at the National Archives in Colombo, under the patronage of Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, and the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka, Wiebe de Boer. During the celebratory gathering, the course participants received a certificate of participation.

The training week and festive handover of the brand-new scanner mark the start of a wonderful collaboration between the national archives of both countries.