I have been watching the FISHEN debates with interest, from the extreme
north-west of Scotland.  Whilst they've not always been directly relevant to
work up here, there are analogous issues to be dealt with even this far
north of the Border.  If a wider remit is not developed, I suspect we are in
severe danger of imposing modern political concerns and boundaries on our
interpretation of the past; the lack of communication is a noticeable
problem already between Scottish & English archaeological fora.  Meetings
are, of course, a problem for many of us, simply because of the budgetary
implications of travel to the mainland, but e-meetings and debates function
well, and enable wider participation than might have been practical a few
years back.

Go for it - become FISH

Dr Mary MacLeod
Regional Archaeologist
Arts and Leisure Services
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
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(01851) 703242
-----Original Message-----
From: Grayson, Gillian <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 10 July 2000 13:27
Subject: Invitation to Participate in FISHEN review


>At the last meeting of FISHEN on 22nd June 2000, members discussed whether
>the principal focus of the forum should continue to be England or whether
>the time was right for the forum to evolve into an UK wide body - FISH
>instead of FISHEN. We are now inviting you, as a list member, to share your
>views with us on the forum's future remit and representation.
>
>In January 1999, following a similar discussion at a FISHEN meeting, I
>contacted colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to explore
ways
>of working co-operatively on the development of standards and terminology.
>FISHEN was keen to establish whether colleagues would be interested in
>supporting and particpating in a UK-wide forum or whether they envisaged a
>network of separate groups working in collaboration. The response to our
>consultation was disappointing. Colleagues, although positive about
>co-operation, believed that it would be difficult to establish UK wide
>standards and terminology, and that meaningful participation in meetings
>would be problematic, particularly with limited resources.
>
>In March this year, HEIRNET (the Historic Environment Resources Network)
>disseminated a report which it commissioned entitled "Mapping Information
>Resources" (http://www.britarch.ac.uk/HEIRNET/rep1.html). The report, by
>David Baker, Gill Chitty, Julian Richards and Damian Robinson, was the
>result of an information-gathering exercise intended to inform the
>deliberations of HEIRNET and enable it to make judgements about its future
>direction. One of the recommendations made by the consultants relates
>directly to FISHEN:
>
>"A related task is the development and implementataion of agreed UK-wide
>standards for terminology control, in the form of an adequate integrated
>subject thesaurus for British archaeology, as recognised by BIAB. The
FISHEN
>group provides an appropriate forum but its remit and representation should
>be extended to the UK as a whole (although it must also recognise that the
>borders of interoperability do not stop there)".
>
>It is clear from the success of the e-mail discussion list that FISHEN does
>not consider that interoperability stops at the UK borders. It is partly
>because of the changed nature of participation, afforded by the Internet,
>that FISHEN believes that it is in a strong position to evolve into a wider
>forum both in terms of remit and representation. It now only meets formally
>twice a year and its core business is taken forward principally through the
>e-mail discussion list and e-mail correspondence between individuals
working
>on particular tasks.
>
>The forum is keen to receive your comments on the desirability and
>practicality of changing FISHEN into FISH - the Forum on Information
>Standards in Heritage. We are interested in your views on issues such as
>membership, the frequency of meetings, the format of meetings, the role of
>e-conferences and future priorities. Please participate in the discussion
>over the next two months by sending thoughts and comments to the list.
>Discussion will be closed on Friday 1st September and, based on the
>responses, new terms of reference for the forum will be developed.
>
>Gillian Grayson
>FISHEN Convenor
>
>
>
>



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