By Charles Noniwa & Symon Ganizani, LCC3

Computer Systems and Security and Business Information Technology second year students from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) on April 5, 2024, visited Malawi National Archives in Zomba to appreciate how information is secured for national heritage.

The students embarked on a tour to enhance their understanding of information management by gaining hands-on experience in both the physical and digital information management and aimed to gain valuable insights into past events and uncover lessons that could be applied to the modern-day digital information security challenges.

An archivist at National Archives of Malawi, Godfrey Banda, made a presentation at Records Management Centre department on how they receive files from original content creators, and how the same is weeded and sorted for preservation.

“In our department, we receive files directly from original creators, and once we have them, only the original content creators can access the files for a period of seven years. After this duration, the files are either destroyed or transferred to the public archives department where they become accessible to the general public,” Banda explained.

He added that there are a number of preservation mechanisms applied to protect files such as proper handling and storage, environmental control, pest management, disaster preparedness and digital reproduction.

Among others, students learnt how to retrieve archived files and participated in an exercise of retrieving some files. They also delved into a crucial task of sorting and categorizing files according to specific criteria such as date, subject matter, and relevance. 

An archivist, Atupele Maulidi, said the Public Archives department keeps government records generated from Records Centre after maturation of files, adding that some of these are kept for eternity only if they have historical, enduring, research and legal values. 

“Our legal deposit library is accessed by the public to complement its mission of preserving and providing access to the country’s documentary heritage which is mandated by the National Archives Act and Printed and Publications Act,” she said.

The students hailed the trip and its significance to their studies, describing it as an enlightening experience that opened their eyes to the practical applications of information security principles. 

 “The trip has been significant to us. We have learned a lot about the importance of safeguarding information, and our programme can contribute to addressing some of the challenges encountered here by developing innovative solutions such as database development,” one student, Nokotelha Sawasawa, said. 

“We have observed a few challenges that the National Archives of Malawi is facing. These include the absence of comprehensive databases, lack of digitization efforts for physical information, limited space due to storage of hard copies and scarcity of equipment for digitization purposes,” added another student, Mphatso Mnyenyembe.

In his remarks, lecturer, Allan Chongwe, thanked the host for allowing the students to visit and appreciate some of the activities done at the institution to safeguard and manage information. 

“We have had previous collaborations with the National Archives of Malawi, so this is not our first time working together. For the students, the trip serves as an eye-opener to help them gain a deeper understanding of the information security, particularly in relation to physical information,” Chongwe said.