State Bank of Pakistan Governor Yaseen Anwar has said that archival collections constitute an important part of society’s cultural and intellectual heritage, thereby contributing to the formation of a nation’s collective memory.
“To ensure the preservation of this valuable legacy and to provide for democratic accountability, archivists and records managers (including public records officers) from diverse organizations must work together to administer the records that they hold in trust for future generations,” he said while speaking as a Chief Guest at a Conference on “History through Archival and Scientific Sources” organized by the State Bank’s Museum and Art Gallery Department at SBP Learning Resource Centre (LRC) Auditorium here on Saturday.
He said archives are vital to our society for many reasons and added that archival records serve as instruments of accountability as well as building blocks of collective memory.
Appreciating the paper of the Italian expert at the Conference, SBP Governor said that Prof. Mario Piacentini’s presentation enlightened us on how technical investigations not only assist in writing history, but also solves the riddles of history in an accurate and precise way. ‘The presentation also highlights how rapidly the relationship between history and science is developing and complementing each other at the same time’, he added.
Lauding the paper of another Italian expert, Prof. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, SBP Governor said: ‘In Listening to the paper of Prof. Valeria, I found the subject of archives extremely interesting; the talk evidences the importance of archives not only for writing history but also how Archives are silent witnesses of our past. Imagine if we did not have archives; we would have no witness to our history. Archives provide a key link with which to examine our past and present events’.
Mr Anwar said that SBP Museum is marching forward on the path we charted out for it at the outset and has in a short time left its mark by its publication program, outstanding exhibits, special education program for school children & physically challenged people, arranging events on international days, showing solidarity with international bodies, and also bringing future leaders to the museum.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dean and Director Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, described the State Bank Museum as one of the most outstanding museums of the country.
He said both the SBP Governor and Director Museum and Art Gallery deserve appreciation and congratulations for maintaining this beautiful museum. He said not only the State Bank but also other central banks of the world have numismatic museums. He also appreciated Prof Mario Piacentini and Dr Prof Valeria Fiorani Piacentini for their excellent researched presentations.
Earlier, Dr. Prof. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, Faculty of Political Science, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan Italy, Director of the Athaeneum Centre for Research on Southern System and Wider Mediterranean presented a paper on ‘Silks and precious Merchandise in the 13th Century: Genoa’s Thrust to the Orient. Sindh: Sources in Arabic & Persian, Records from Italian Archives’ while Prof. Dr. Mario Piacentini, Professor of Physics, Engineering Faculty, Laboratory of Non Destructive Analysis and Archaeometry, Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences for Engineering Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy presented a paper on ‘Archaeometry in help to Archaeology/History’.
Mr. Roberto Franceschinis, Consul of Italy also spoke on the occasion. The Director Museum and Art Gallery, State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Asma Ibrahim presented the address of welcome and conducted the proceedings of the Conference.
