The renowned Chair of the Department of Information Sciences at Unisa, Prof Mpho Ngoepe, has been appointed as committee member of the Society of American Archivists Technical Subcommittee on Encoded Archival Standards (TS-EAS).
This subcommittee is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of encoded archival context for corporate bodies, persons and families, including all schemas and related codes, as well as the development of future companion standards, such as the proposed encoded archival context for functions.
Ngoepe will serve on the committee for the next three years from August 2021.
He says the appointment to TS-EAS offers an opportunity to contribute to global archiving encoding standards. "Being appointed in this position is both an honour and privilege to contribute to the society that can make a difference to the global community," he said.
Ngoepe holds qualifications ranging from a bachelor’s degree and H.DINF both from the University of Limpopo, and a BINF (Hons), MINF, DLitt et Phil all from Unisa.
Over and above contributing towards the generation of standards, Ngoepe is hoping to test the transformation of some of the existing standards. This opportunity is feasible as the Society of American Archivists embraces the archives of indigenous people.
He hopes that associations in Africa will one day be at the level of adding value to grand societal problems rather than merely engaging in conference organisation.
"That can only be achieved if we are able to comment on legislation development, contribute to standard generation, make inputs in the curriculum design and help alleviate weird problems," he said.
Born and bred in the mountainous rural village of Makgabeng in Limpopo, Ngoepe has a remarkable career profile. He has worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund, Auditor-General South Africa, Technikon Northern Gauteng, Bloemfontein Legal Deposit and the National Archives of South Africa, to mention just a few.
He also served in the Southern Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives as the editor of the journals. He also serves on the advisory council of the National Archives of South Africa in his capacity as the chairperson of Gauteng Provincial Archives. He was the director of the African Team for the multi-national, interdisciplinary research project exploring issues concerning digital records called the International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES Trust).
Ngoepe has encouraged those who want to follow in his footsteps to set goals and aim for the best.
"When it is obvious that the goal cannot be reached, we need not adjust the goal, but adjust the action steps. One becomes great not because he/she did not fail but because failure hasn’t stopped that person. In this regard, our greatest glory is not in failing, but in getting up every time we fall. I think we can learn a lot from these words of wisdom from Confucius," he said.
The Society of American Archivists is one of the largest and most influential associations of archivists globally. It plays a significant role not only in the US, but globally through the generation of standards, as well as discourse on archival theories and praxis.
Congratulations, Prof Ngoepe! #TheWinningSchoolofArtsTeam
* By Tebogo Mahlaela, Communication and Marketing Specialist, School of Human Sciences
Publish date: 2021-08-27 00:00:00.0