National Archives Pioneer Pamela Wright Honored at 麻豆原创
Pamela Wright dedicates her work to providing digital access to the National Archives鈥 vast collection as the first chief innovation officer of the federal agency.
A pioneer in democratization of digital information, Wright has led the launch of the National Archives鈥 first social media program, launched a Citizen Archivist program, and developed the digitization efforts of the agency鈥檚 records.
鈥淚t is the backbone of democracy to be able to understand what happens in our government,鈥 Wright said. 鈥淭hat idea drives everything I do.鈥澨
Wright鈥檚 work in fostering digital accessibility was honored on November 18鈥痺ith 麻豆原创鈥檚 2022 Outstanding Inclusive Technology Policy Changemaker Award.鈥
麻豆原创 students, faculty, staff, and experts in internet governance, tech policy, and cybersecurity gathered in the Katzen Auditorium to honor Wright and hear comments on the importance of making America鈥檚 historical documents and artifacts accessible to communities whose voices and memories have long gone unnoticed and unheard.
Wright told 麻豆原创 Librarian Jee Davis during a conversation at the event that digitizing the nation鈥檚 paper and other physical records and putting them online 鈥渂reaks all the barriers.鈥澨
鈥淲e have to be where the people are,鈥 Wright said. 鈥淔ederal agencies can be very intimidating 鈥 there are people from various communities who are not comfortable coming into a room and looking at documents. History can be traumatizing at times, and it can be very personal. For us to be able to come to them is very important. Today, we can provide access in ways we never even considered even a decade before.鈥澨
The Citizen Archivist鈥痯rogram engages users in archival pursuits, and the agency鈥檚鈥痙igitization program has resulted in making more than 210 million records available through the organization鈥檚 online鈥痗atalog鈥痑nd shareable on鈥疻ikipedia鈥痑nd Wikidata,鈥疓iphy, and鈥痮n other platforms. The National Archives has more than 15 billion records.
Established in 2021,鈥痶he Inclusive Technology Policy Outstanding Changemaker Award honors individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing inclusive technology policy at the national and global level. Attending this year鈥檚 ceremony was鈥槎乖 alumna鈥疍oreen Bogdan-Martin,鈥痠naugural recipient of the award. On January 1,鈥痵he will assume the role of Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, the first woman to hold that position in the agency鈥檚 157-year history.鈥
鈥淥ne-third of humanity has never ever, ever, ever accessed the internet,鈥 Bogdan-Martin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to make sure that we鈥檙e taking everybody onboard with us and we鈥檙e not leaving anyone behind. We need to bring humanity back to the center, and we need to ensure that technology serves people and not the other way around. Today, we are recognizing another inspiring changemaker and her amazing journey to digitize the National Archives.鈥澨
In her keynote address, Bogdan-Martin spoke of the valuable experiences and knowledge she gained during her time as a student at SIS.听
鈥淚t is in spaces like this at 麻豆原创 where work on social policy design really brings us together," she said. "It鈥檚 that inclusivity that delivers real social impact, improves people鈥檚 lives, and makes our work worthwhile -- while making our goals honorable and tangible.鈥澨
Wright met with 麻豆原创 students after the ceremony to share expertise and hear stories of students鈥 work in the tech policy space.听
Student Keighly Butler, SPA/BA 鈥22, noted that the Inclusive Tech Policy program and the Changemaker award uplift underrepresented voices, particularly women and persons in the Latinx community.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 inspiring to see women like Doreen Bogdan-Martin and Pamela Wright who are trailblazers, who are breaking the glass ceiling every single day. This experience is equipping me with important skills and knowledge that I can use after I graduate.鈥澨
Along with the Outstanding Inclusive Technology Policy Award, ITP announced a winner of its student competition -- students submitted essays about what inclusive technology means to them.听
To Jailen Brown, a senior legal studies major at SPA and winner of this year鈥檚 competition, 鈥淚nclusivity in tech policy looks like different people coming together in a welcoming environment to better the technological infrastructure of the world. To me, inclusivity in tech policy means that I will be able to have a future in the tech space regardless of what I look like and where I come from. I鈥檓 really looking forward to the future of cyber tech.鈥澨
听