(L to R) – Dr. Abel Knottnerus, Secretary General of the Ministry of General Affairs; Stephane Thomas, Department of Records Management (DIV); Fabianus Fliervoet, Program Manager, National Recovery Program Bureau; Stanley Mourillon, DLT Work-Stream Project Manager; Femi Badejo, Head of ICT for the Government of St. Maarten and Project Leader of the Digital Leadership Team (DLT); Prime Minister of St. Maarten Dr. Luc F.E. Mercelina; Rachael Illis, Department of Records Management (DIV); Angela Podgornii, Digitisation Manager, Novian Technologies; and Arturas Milasauskas, Chief Innovation Officer, Novian Technologies.
PHILIPSBURG--The Government of St. Maarten has completed the production phase of its public records digitisation initiative, with 315,206 Archived Public Records (APRs) scanned as part of the Digital Government Transformation Project (DGTP).
The initiative is intended to modernise government services, improve access to information and safeguard national documents.
Prime Minister Dr. Luc F.E. Mercelina said the records form an important part of the country’s documentary history.
“Public records are more than documents. They preserve our country’s history and help people establish their rights and access essential services. Safeguarding them is a responsibility we owe to this generation and the next. This milestone strengthens our ability to protect that history while building a more resilient and responsive government for St. Maarten,” Mercelina said.
The digitisation of physical records is expected to improve efficiency and collaboration, increase accessibility and reduce reliance on physical storage facilities. It is also intended to lower storage cost and free office space for other government uses.
The Civil Registry Department and Department of Records Management DIV carried out the digitisation work in partnership with the government’s Digital Leadership Team (DLT). DIV has completed its quality control and acceptance activities, formally concluding the contracted production phase.
Novian Technologies, the project’s international partner, has completed the handover of the digitised records to DIV. The records will subsequently be imported into government’s Document Management System, where they can be managed and accessed as part of the broader digital records environment.
Government Head of ICT and DLT Project Leader Femi Badejo said the initiative represents an investment in the resilience of government operations.
“This remains a necessary investment in the modernisation and resilience of government operations. The paperless approach was implemented according to international standards, with the assistance of our international partner, Novian Technologies and with the successful completion of the contract,” Badejo said.
DLT Work-Stream Project Manager for the Digitisation of Records Stanley Mourillon said the completion of the scanning phase provides a foundation for making digitisation a permanent government capability.
“For me, this project was never only about reaching a number or completing a scanning exercise. It was about creating the blueprint for something bigger,” Mourillon said.
He said the Digitisation Centre could eventually become part of the government ecosystem, supporting ministries in digitising existing paper archives and preserving historical records.
As part of the transition, DIV staff participated in theoretical and practical training. On-site training at the Digitisation Centre was scheduled for September 28-30 and includes demonstrations, hands-on exercises using the XSCAN system and scanning equipment, and knowledge consolidation.
The training is intended to ensure staff can independently process records from scanning through quality control and establish the capacity to continue digitisation activities beyond the current project.
The project also seeks to reduce the risks posed by hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters that could damage infrastructure and destroy important government documents. Moving records from physical copies to secure digital files is intended to strengthen the resilience of public administration and help preserve confidential government information.
The DGTP is led by the DLT and implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten.
The project is funded through a US $12 million grant from the St. Maarten Trust Fund, financed by the Government of the Netherlands and managed by the World Bank.
