eArchiving highlights historic voting results

@Pixabay

How can a national archive celebrate the 25th anniversary of its nation’s independence?

This is the question the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia asked themselves to mark the Slovenian 25th Independence and Unity Day in 2015.

The archive team wondered how it could utilise its vast data sources from the past 25 years to create a compelling commemoration of the anniversary. Especially in today’s digital world, the archived (paper) information and documents would have to come alive digitally.

The team decided to take a step back in time. It wanted to visualise the independence voting results from 1990 in an interactive web application. The team looked for a solution that could help digitalise its archive and digitalise the archived voting results.

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) eArchiving building block stepped in as a source of services and knowledge sharing platform to support the archive with this project. eArchiving helped the team merge geographical data from the Surveying and Mapping Authority and voting data from the State Election Commission database, both of the Republic of Slovenia.

With this data the team created an interactive web application presenting the 1990 referendum results. This interactive map encouraged visitors to interact with the digital map that highlights the historical vote. The map became an integral part of a travelling exhibition that travelled across Slovenia.

@The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia 

eArchiving benefits?

The greatest benefit of eArchiving, besides producing an interactive tool, is that it offered the archiving team to develop specific geographical data tools. These tools allowed the team to ingest, analyse, manage and present geodata in their digital form. eArchiving is a vital knowledge sharing resource that Slovenia lacked. Through the eArchiving platform, the Slovenian National Archives team can access and utilize this knowledge to continuously update its National Archive.

What's next for the National Archives of the Republic of Slovenia?

Meanwhile the teams at the National Archive do not stand still.  Ahead of the 2021 Slovenian EU Council Presidency, the Archives team is developing guidance tools for data producers. At a time when many where social media platforms allow users to document every minute of their lives in pictures and videos, public administration is no different. The data recorded throughout the Presidency will have to be archived meticulously and the Archives is working on it to ensure a smooth Presidency in 2021.

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