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It is with great pleasure that I welcome the 3rd scientific conference of the State Archives, which is being held on the occasion of the World Archives Week and in the context of the actions to highlight the tragic anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion. For this reason, the Turkish invasion through archival sources has been chosen as a theme.
The previous week, from 3 to 9 June, was dedicated by the International Council on Archives to archives. Already since 1948, 9 June has been established as World Archives Day, on the occasion of the day UNESCO established the Council.
At the international level, the aim of the celebrations is to highlight the usefulness of archives for society and good governance and to raise public awareness of their importance and value.
In this context, the State Archives has in recent years initiated and has now established the organization of scientific conferences related to archives in Cyprus, in an effort to cultivate archival awareness, both in the public sector and in society at large.
Today's conference, as mentioned above, will focus on archival sources related to the Turkish invasion and its effects. Despite the fact that 50 years have passed this year since the tragic events of 1974, yet little has been studied, mainly due to the few surviving archival sources and the difficulty in accessing them. Through this workshop, an attempt will be made to present various relevant archives, located in Cyprus and abroad, while the legal framework affecting accessibility to them will be presented.
The State Archives, which took the initiative to organise this workshop and which is the largest and most important archival institution in Cyprus, preserves a remarkable number of archives relating to the period of the Turkish invasion and later.
And these constitute only a part of the archival wealth stored in the archives of the State Archives. During its 46 years of operation, it has preserved over 19 kilometres of shelf-length archives, both from the public and wider public sector and private, which it preserves, conserves and digitises to make them accessible to interested parties. It provides important services to both the Government and the general public, serving both electronic and physical requests, with reduced staff and resources, but with the love of its employees for their work. Something I'm sure you all recognize.
In the Conservation and Photoreproduction Laboratories, hundreds of documents are preserved, proactively and completely, annually, the majority of them in poor condition. These documents include maps, pictures, photographs, letters, architectural drawings, etc., which are immediately digitized to avoid further deterioration.
The State Archives Reading Room serves more than 150 individual researchers a year and processes requests for inspection with an annual average of more than 4500 files. The service of researchers is also a priority for our Ministry, since both in the preparation of the Reading Room in the Administration Building of the State Archives and through decisions of the Council of Ministers that we have promoted, such as the recent granting of the right to researchers to photograph the archives free of charge by themselves, with their own means, we try to facilitate their work. We hope that the necessary resources will soon be found in the budget so that with the construction of the new building of the Unified Archives, Administration and Laboratories Building of the State Archives, we can offer even better facilities to researchers in terms of office space and equipment.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Curator of the State Archives, the Officers and the rest of the staff of the Archives for organizing this conference, which has already been established and has become an institution that unites all the archives of our country, with the ultimate goal of their development.
Wishing the conference every success, I declare it open.
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