Archives Unlocked, which sets out The National Archives' vision for the future of the archives sector was launched with a speech from Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture. This new vision for archives, focuses on the needs and ambitions of the archives sector, while making the case for realising – in practical and tangible terms – their unique potential and relevance in preserving the diversity of our nation’s heritage.
Archives Unlocked is the result of a process of co-creation with the archives sector and a range of funders and partners from the wider culture, heritage and information worlds. It offers a future where businesses, creative industries, arts organisations, academia, and communities can fully exploit a more resilient archives sector, with the UK leading the world in digital transformation.
Themes of Trust, Enrichment and Openness highlight the importance of archives in holding authority to account through scrutiny, in driving innovation and creativity for businesses and across society, and in cultivating an open approach to knowledge accessible to all.
Archives Unlocked is underpinned by a robust action plan that embodies this drive and outlines what we will be doing over the next few years to lay the groundwork to make realistic and meaningful progress.
The vision and the action plan are the result of extensive consultation with our partners and stakeholders from across the archives sector; and from across culture, heritage, the creative industries, local authorities and more.
You can follow the reaction to the launch on Twitter with the #archivesunlocked hashtag.
