Toward a Shared Digital Future: A Digital Archives Management System in Constantine
In response to the lack of physical storage space at city hall and in order to preserve its historically significant archives, the city of Constantine has launched a project to digitize its archives. Following several discussions with the German city of Aschaffenburg, the Algerian city developed a roadmap for the gradual digital transition of its archives office, setting out the approaches to be adopted and the major challenges specific to Constantine’s context.
Tags: Digital Archiving | Digitization | Action Plan | Capacity Building | Urban Management | Constantine | Algeria | Decentralized Cooperation | Aschaffenburg | KWT II | GIZ
Challenges addressed
- Full capacity of the physical archive storage space at the municipal headquarters
- Limited awareness of the regulatory framework governing archives in Algeria
- Limited experience with digital archiving within the department
- Insufficient human and material resources available in the archiving department
- Need to comply with the Algerian regulatory requirements set out in the Official Gazette
- Difficulties in making full use of the available resources due to insufficient digital skills
Main objectives
- Develop an effective and sustainable digital archiving system for the Municipality of Constantine
- Preserve the Municipality’s historically valuable archives
- Develop a roadmap for the gradual digital transition of the archiving office
- Strengthen archivists’ skills in digitization and the use of digital tools
- Ensure that the system complies with national and international archiving standards
- Establish an information access and dissemination tool to support sustainable urban development
Facts
Project Type
Action Plan for the Digitization of Municipal Archives and Capacity Building
Partnership
Municipality of Constantine (Algeria) | City of Aschaffenburg (Germany) | GIZ – “City-to-City Cooperation Maghreb-Germany” regional project” (KWT II) | National Agency for Urban Planning and Land Management (ANURB), Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning, and Cities (Algeria) | Engagement Global gGmbH / Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW)
Funding
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Period
Experience Sharing and Needs Assessment
Action plan and implementation: 1 year | KWT II: March 2020 – February 2024
Location
Constantine Urban Municipality, Constantine Region, Algeria
Scaling up
Follow-up regional project “Urban Adaptation to Climate Change in the Maghreb” (March 2024 – February 2027)
Project description
The Municipality of Constantine, faced with the saturation of its physical archive storage space, has launched a project to digitize its archives in partnership with the German city of Aschaffenburg.
The project began with experience-sharing exchanges between Constantine and Aschaffenburg on conventional and digital archiving methods. These exchanges enabled Constantine to acquire technical know-how and identify similarities and differences in approaches between the two contexts. A needs assessment was then conducted in collaboration with the technical staff of the Archives Office, covering three dimensions: the legal and policy guidelines, working methods and technical approaches, and the human and material resources available.
Based on the study, an action plan was developed around two strategic areas. The first focused on a capacity-building program in digitization for archivists and assistant archivists, featuring targeted virtual exchanges with Aschaffenburg to address the specific needs identified. The second aimed to build on the local archiving context: the Archives office prepared a document detailing its working methodology and the standards used, as well as a summary of the legal framework governing archives in Algeria.
The action plan was implemented over a one-year period. Constantine worked closely with experts from the City of Aschaffenburg to benefit from their expertise in digitization methods, tools and international standards, thereby enabling archiving practices to be progressively adapted to the local Algerian context.
Impact and results
Results Achieved
- 30% of technical staff trained in digitization and digital communication tools.
- Several exchanges held between Constantine and Aschaffenburg on digital archiving methods and processes.
- A comprehensive inventory conducted, covering human and material resources as well as archived and non-archived documents.
- A methodological summary and an updated overview of Algerian regulatory guidelines on archive management developed.
- A detailed roadmap developed, outlining the steps and tools required for effective and sustainable digital archive management.
- First initiative of its kind in Constantine, serving as a reference for other Algerian municipalities.
Lessons Learned
- Build on existing experience: Work closely with German experts to benefit from their know-how in digitization methods, tools and international standards.
- Comply with the regulatory and legislative framework: Refer to the Algerian Official Gazette to ensure consistent archive management that is aligned with national institutions.
- Establish a capacity-building plan from the outset to enable teams to make full use of the available digital tools.
- Adapt the roadmap to the local context: Incorporate international standards while complying with the specific requirements of the Algerian regulatory framework.
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