To help Niger's judicial system, the country's Ministry of Justice sought the support of 60 UN community Volunteers with the collaboration of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in September 2022. These UN community Volunteers digitize documents and archives of the Ministry of Justice, and its courts in Maradi, Niamey and Zinder.
Seeing the digital trend, Niger's Ministry of Justice decided to opt for electronic document management. This alleviates the issue of storing mass volumes of paper and counters the dearth of space in public administration offices.
The UN community Volunteers ensure all security mechanisms are respected while they digitize important documents and archives. This process will eventually allow all data on the national level to be available in digital formats.
For Mahoussi Angela Missigbeto, a UN community Volunteer at the Court of Appeals in Niamey, it's her desire to act for society and people that amplifies her participation in this community project.
“My greatest achievement is to have made a modest contribution to the method of filing the archives in order to achieve good results,” she says.
Touring the archives in basements, unpacking, and testing the computer equipment to be used were all part of initiating the work. During their UN Volunteer assignments, these community volunteers were responsible for the inventory, and the sorting and filing of documents. Then came the stage to transfer the files to digital formats.
In Maradi, 1887 court decisions were digitized in one month and nearly 2000 files were carefully filed.
“Now the administration of justice is in the 21st century!” — Abdoulkader Hamidou, UN community Volunteer Auditor at the Ministry of Justice, Niger.
This experience is incredibly positive for the community volunteers. A majority of them expressed their pride and joy in contributing to this digital trend in Niger's public administration.
“Thanks to our work, the High Court of Niamey has a usable database that will allow the Niger justice to be more efficient and modern.” — Nouridine Ado, UN community Volunteer in Niamey.
The volunteers feel their contribution is significant for their country. Moreover, it's been an opportunity to learn from each other and volunteer in solidarity with other community members. They could also take advantage of several learning opportunities through UNV's eCampus.
“Digitization documents is my first experience as a UN Volunteer. Meeting and sharing experiences with other UN Volunteers is an honour, and also availing many other learning opportunities online.’’ — Aboubacar Sidikou, UN community Volunteer in Maradi.
Presently there are 180 UN Volunteers serving with in 11 UN agencies in Niger.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Volunteer.
