SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 13th August (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Island Government of El Hierro has become part of the Archives Plan promoted by the Canary Islands Government, which offers assistance in cleaning, cataloguing, preserving, and digitising documentary collections.
Miguel Ángel Clavijo, the Director General of Culture and Cultural Heritage, recently visited El Hierro to monitor the projects being implemented on the island, such as the restoration of historical documents that will be included in the Island’s Historical Archive.
Due to a fire at the end of the 19th century that destroyed most of the collections kept at Valverde Town Hall, El Hierro does not have a permanent facility for historical documentation. The existing documents were dispersed across various buildings and chiefly in the former Insular Hospital premises, in inadequate conditions that jeopardised their conservation.
Faced with this situation, the Island Government of El Hierro requested assistance from the Canary Islands Government to recover the Island’s Historical Archive, with the aim of centralising and making all the documentary archives accessible to the public. While a suitable storage space is being prepared, the General Directorate of Culture and Cultural Heritage has assisted in relocating the documents to a temporary site, as well as in cleaning, organising, cataloguing, and digitising the archival materials.
Clavijo expressed, “Our intention is to continue providing support through the Archives Plan,” as he inspected the temporary location of the collections with his team and the Heritage Councillor, Emilio Hernández. He clarified, “This assistance entails assessing the storage conditions and the state of the historical documentation to proceed with its preservation, organisation, cataloguing, and digitisation.”
According to Hernández, “Preserving and sharing El Hierro’s archives, in any form, is a fundamental aspect and goal of our work,” and therefore, “these visits are always productive and beneficial,” aiming to secure additional aid to enrich the island’s cultural heritage.
VISIT TO EL HIERRO
The agenda commenced with a meeting at the island institution’s building in Valverde with El Hierro Island President, Alpidio Armas. Following this, Clavijo and Hernández proceeded to the Temporary Headquarters of the restored documentary collections, which houses the Historical Heritage Unit.
One of the main purposes of this visit to El Hierro was to devise shared policies and strategies to enhance the island’s cultural heritage, with a specific focus on the Cultural Park of El Julan (El Pinar). “We are committed to maintaining this archaeological park in excellent condition,” stated the Director General of Culture and Cultural Heritage, “by developing an updated utilization and management plan.”
This meeting has also led to “establishing new collaborative relationships” to implement projects such as “an archaeological symposium within the facility to enable a review of archaeological investigations on El Hierro Island,” mentioned Clavijo, alongside promoting new initiatives throughout the upcoming year.
Lastly, Clavijo visited Sabinosa (Frontera) to get insight into the activities of the association “Sabinosa, a feeling,” dedicated to researching, recovering, preserving, and disseminating the cultural heritage of the village, supported by the annual financial allocation from the Canary Islands Government for cultural entities across the archipelago.
