Graphic digitalises archives - 70 Years national records documented

The Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) has hit another trailblazing milestone in the media industry with the launch of its digitalised archives that contain national records and information spanning over 70 years.

The Graphic Digitalised Archives is a reservoir of scanned newspapers and pictures captured by the Daily Graphic and other brands of the GCGL since 1950.

Among other things, the platform chronicles all events ranging from politics, the economy, health, education, arts and entertainment, sports and other aspects of the country’s culture in both text and pictures.

The historic initiative allows people to access information by typing a keyword such as a name, date, event or location to readily obtain any material related to the keyword.

It is further designed with an electronic payment feature that allows people to pay using e-payment platforms and credit cards to access the content.

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who launched the Graphic Digitalised Archives in Accra last Wednesday, congratulated the GCGL on the bold step it had taken to deploy the innovative project.

GCGL showing the way

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said he was particularly enthused about the initiative because GCGL had proved that in the digital era when businesses needed to either innovate or die, state institutions could rise to the challenge with the right innovation.

"When I visited GCGL archives in May this year, I was blown away by how the papers were being preserved.

What even blew me the more was the kind of indexing behind the innovation such that you can search for dates and events for specific information," he said.

The minister said the Graphic Digitalised Archives was revolutionary as it presented an opportunity for academic institutions, the media, brand managers and other entities to access reliable and accessible records.

In particular, he said, the digitalised archives would come in handy for academic institutions to conduct their research.

"To academics and academic institutions, this is a big opportunity for you because you will be able to trace the trajectory of a certain phenomenon with ease.

This is a fantastic repository from which you can get access to information, and I encourage you to sign on to this platform," Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.

Resource for media

The Minister of Information also said the digitalised archives would provide a pool of knowledge from which all kinds of media organisations could get reliable information for their work.

"The media must understand that this is a great platform from which to build background information.

This is a great repository for production," he said.

He added that the decision by the GCGL to invest in a digitalised archive was progressive and would respond to the evolving phase of the media space.

"Content may remain the same but the industry is evolving, so it is great that GCGL has foresight and is investing in the platform," he added.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed that the platform would facilitate the work of brand managers, especially in the political, entertainment and corporate world.

He mentioned, for instance, that persons who managed political figures, artistes and corporate brands could rely on the GCGL's digitalised archives to see how their brand began and evolved.
 

Digital evolution

The Managing Director of GCGL, Ato Afful, said the company’s digitalised archives was in response to the evolution in the digital space.

He said apart from being a milestone for the GCGL, the initiative also reflected the country’s development trajectory because it had records that chronicled national events, spanning the colonial era and the present.

“I am a firm believer in brand Ghana, and I believe that this is a great project for the country.

This information source is inspiring content that people can look in, read and be guided by,” he said.

Mr Afful said the success of the project, which was carried out by local people, had proved that with the right support, Ghanaians could be at the heart of groundbreaking innovation.

He said the GCGL was in a better position to support other institutions with human resource to carry out similar exercises.

“We can even export this resource to other sister institutions such as the Information Services Department (ISD), museums and universities,” he added.

He urged individuals and institutions to make good use of the platform provided by the GCGL to have access to credible information without going through a bulk of materials.