Marie-France Azemia, who has worked for 31 years at the Seychelles National Archives and is the longest-serving employee, has been recognised, rewarded and received a special mention.
This was during a short ceremony organised last week by the Seychelles National Archives to mark International Archives Day.
During the ceremony, held at the Roche Caiman community centre, a group of employees who have served more than 20 years were also rewarded for their long years of service.
The ceremony was attended by acting director of the Seychelles National Archives, Terry Nibourette; director of the Seychelles National Archives, Alain Lucas; secretary general of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David Andre; principal secretary in the department of culture, Cecile Kalebi; executive director for conservation, research, and access to information, Julienne Barra; as well as other staff members of the Seychelles National Archives.
International Archives Day is celebrated annually on June 9 to mark the creation of the International Council of Archives in 1948. This year’s theme is ‘Archives are you’.
The ceremony kicked off with a short welcoming address by Mr Nibourette following which
Ms Barra acknowledged the efforts being made by the government to uphold and improve the current situation of the National Archives’ location.
“Maybe in two or three years, we’ll find ourselves back in a new building,” Ms Barra said.
She went on to stress on the importance of the National Archives to help the country record its history and can prove to be very necessary in times of need.
Ms Barra mentioned that the most major challenge they have faced is the fungus infestation which hindered their abilities to provide the necessary service to members of the public.
“We can’t offer our services to the maximum we want to but we are still offering services.”
She further added that they will have an idea of how many documents were affected by the fungus only once they have all been cleaned but for now almost all of them seem to be intact.
“There are things that we want to do, but we can’t because the place where we are is too small,” Ms Barra stated.
She further explained that once they move into a larger space then they will be able to offer all their services.
Source: Seychelles Nation