Kenyan government’s information department the Kenya News Agency (KNA) has set out to digitalise the audio-visual archives currently under its custody.
Ministry of information and communication permanent secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo was present during the unveiling of the project roadmap, he said the digitalisation process will be vital in making the information available to more users as well as improving it.
The process of shifting from analogue to digital will start late this month. According to KNA reports, the department is considered the largest firm in East Africa with more than 70,000 photographs and over 40,000 news articles that dates back to 1940.
The photographs, audio visual and text records under KNA’s custody will be digitised and stored in an organised library that adhere to International standards with a protected online catalogue to allow fast access.
Also, the report recommends that a platform should be created where contributors are allowed to submit their contents, namely text, audio, video and photos in a digital format.
Media experts expect the digitisation process to boost information access. They feel that the KNA has much educative, informative and entertaining content that is however not in effective use.
Following the digitisation, users of information would access the archived files online from anywhere across the globe.
The digitalisation project will be managed by Kenya ICT Board, which was established by President Mwai Kibaki on February 19, 2007 to facilitate ICT penetration in the government operations.
KNA was founded on December 5, 1963 under the department of Information and Public Communication. It has 24 bureaus with information office spread across the country.
Media agencies, including newspapers, TV, and Radio stations, in Kenya are subscribed to the KNA.
