The President/Chairman-GC, Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa, Amb. (Dr) Oyedokun Oyewole, has disclosed plans for the commissioning of the first ever Information Management University “The International University of Information Management (IUIM) – USA www.iuim-edu.oline”.
Dr. Oyewole in a New Year message to members of the Institute said that the global project and initiative of the Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA) Foundation shall be executed in collaboration with the Institute of Information Management (IIM), Africa.
“Official Presentation of IUIM will take place during the first-ever Founders day ceremony slated for 12th of May 2019 (Location and opportunities for involvement to be announced later).
“We sincerely cherish all the moments that we shared with you during the year. It means everything to us that you remain confident in our leadership ability to provide you with experience that transcends beyond membership.
“We are ready, willing and able to do more for you and the society in 2019. You are, after all, the reason why we are here (from information to value)”.
Reviewing the past year, Dr. Oyewole said that at the beginning of 2018, IIM Africa set milestones aimed at developing, propagating and creating the necessary awareness concerning the Information Management industry across the globe, coupled with activities aimed at playing a deeper role in the lives and career of the members, providing more value wherever they can and offering greater impact wherever they must.
“Embarking on this cause through the year has brought many memorable moments that we have been very honored to share with you.
“Among these landmarks, achievements include the successful hosting of IIM activities and induction in four (4) new locations (United State, Akwa-Ibom, Ghana, and South Africa) coupled with hosting at other old locations (Lagos, United Kingdom, Port-Harcourt, and Abuja). It is also worth mentioning that our GREAT Institute has been officially registered to operate in the United State of America and South Africa in 2018, while that of the United Kingdom and Ghana has reached advanced stages.
“We are also proud to mention the fact that in 2018 we hosted the RIMA Foundation Awards, aimed at promoting the Information Management Industry and organizational excellence through the pursuit of excellence, efficiency, and efficacy. RIMA Awards is the only emerging leader and largest Enterprise Content/Document Management & Security Awards in Nigeria & Africa, recognized symbols of excellence and innovation in the management of business information and security”, he added.
IIM fiercely contested and valued
However, the President/Chairman in Council said that information management courses are fiercely contested and highly valued within the IT and business world hence the awards are highly coveted for.
“The Awards clearly demonstrate leadership for individual recipients and very sound business proposition for deploying new technology by organizations awarded for well-conceived and highly successful data, information, records, document and archives management products and projects submitted as entries since 2005.
“Another major milestone was the successful hosting of the RIMA/IIM Free Quarterly Training (FQT) (Lagos & Abuja), with other new locations envisaged in 2019. The FQT is a RIMA Foundation programme, aimed at educating members of the public on the management and security of records and information, covering data, Information, records, document and archives management, technology and security topics / issues, for the development, encouragement / enhancement of professionalism among practitioners (professionals and non-professionals) for the enthronement of global best practices in the RIM industry since 2004”.
On the greater targets for the year 2019 as indicated in the Calendar of events and activities, he said, “… we do hope to have you all participate actively in our drive to further promote the frontiers of Information Management across the globe, for the benefit of humanity and the professions in ensuring transparency and accountability which will ultimately pave the way for a better society where issues around unemployment, insecurity, poor governance, poor planning, poor decision making, and unnecessary wastage of resources will be a thing of the past, with effective information management in place in both public and private organizations globally”.