Sharon Smith Johns
Permanent Secretary for Information, National Archives of Fiji
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SPEECH AT LAUNCH OF “BACK IN TIME” TV PRODUCTION

MINFO Press Room
Thurs. 1ST May 2014
Suva 10.00am

Media Colleagues,
Friends

Good Morning and welcome,

The launch of the “Back In Time” program is a historic moment not just for the Bainimarama Government, but also for every Fijian – living in any part of the world.

I make specific mention of the phrase “living in any part of the world” because of the evolution of technology in allowing Government to reach the public. In the same breath, technology has played a significant role in bringing back to life, hundreds of hours of priceless Fijian history.

However the road getting here wasn’t easy. Hours of video reels had to be assessed for restoration, digitization and re-preservation. Sadly, due to past mismanagement, a great part of our nation’s history was lost. This of course strengthened our resolve to begin works to restore archival video reels.

To carry out these works, we engaged DamSmart International; a company with a track record in audiovisual restoration and digitisation. The result? Thousands of hours of Fijian history preserved and digitised for the first time for our future generation to view.

We are also encouraged by the strong support demonstrated by the Prime Minister towards reforms carried out at the National Archives of Fiji. Apart from this new program, reforms undertaken at the National Archives have produced results. This includes the recent discovery of the Instruments of Independence that we feared would be lost to the nation forever.

I'd like to acknowledge the staff here at the Ministry for running this project and to make sure we deliver a product that we know will be welcomed by every Fijian. I'd like to also thank Fiji Television for giving us the opportunity to air this program on prime time - and through its Sky Pacific channels, Fijians living within the region can also view this program.

On that note, I invite you to watch the program and enjoy a part of all our history.

Vinaka.