The challenges of preserving information in the digital age will be one of the topics addressed by local and international experts this week at the Digital Futures forum at Parliament House, Canberra.

Hosted by the National Archives of Australia, Digital Futures has attracted the cream of international recordkeepers and archivists to share their expertise in the hope of finding joint solutions to global challenges.

Digital Futures will cover such topics as creating, managing and preserving digital records, as well as providing access to them for researchers and members of the public.

‘These issues are engaging some of the best mind in the world and it will be exciting to have international experts sharing their findings here in Canberra,’ said Ross Gibbs, Director-General of the National Archives.  ‘We are all looking forward to the collaborative outcomes.’

 The forum is fully booked, with information management professionals from government, business and educational organisations anxious to learn more.  The Digital Futures forum, the third in a series of events the National Archives has organised in the past 12 months, highlights Australia’s leadership role in finding solutions to worldwide problems.

Senator Gary Humphries will open the forum and Senator George Brandis, Minister for Arts and Sport, will give a keynote address on advancing the digital agenda. 

Director-General of the National Archives, Ross Gibbs will join Natalie Ceeney, Chief Executive of the National Archives of United Kingdom and James Hastings, the Director of Access Programs from the United States National Archives and Record Administration to talk about their respective national strategies.

Other international speakers will include senior archival experts from Germany, Malaysia, Sweden and New Zealand.

Digital Futures will be held in the Theatre at Parliament House in Canberra on 18 and 19 September.