AP18:118
For Immediate Release
July 17, 2018
Contact:
Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
At NASS Conference, Secretary Padilla Elected Western Region Vice President, California Digital Archives Wins 2018 IDEAS Award
PHILADELPHIA, PA - At the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) conference, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla was elected by his peers to serve as the Western Region Vice President. In this role, Secretary Padilla joins the NASS executive committee and will help shape national election policy.
“Elections officials are on the front lines defending our democracy and with confirmed foreign interference in our elections in 2016, the stakes have never been higher,” said Secretary Padilla. “The National Association of Secretaries of State plays a critical role in addressing cyber threats by coordinating the efforts of secretaries across the country who are working to ensure the integrity of our elections. I look forward to representing the western region on the executive board.”
California’s Digital Archives was also selected by conference attendees as the winner of the prestigious 2018 Innovation, Dedication, Excellence & Achievement in Service, or IDEAS Award. Launched in 2016, the California Digital Archives is a unique public private partnership with Google Arts & Culture that brings California’s rich archival treasures online for Californians — and the world — to enjoy.
“The California Archives preserves countless documents, photos, artifacts and digital records that tell the Golden State’s story,” said Padilla. “Prior to launching our Digital Archives, you would have to travel to Sacramento and setup a tour to see our archival treasures. We changed that, creating online exhibits with Google Arts & Culture, so armchair tourists can view exhibits from their smartphones, tablets or computers. The entire Secretary of State staff, including our archivists, are beaming with pride that this public private partnership was recognized with the top award from secretaries of state nationwide.”
Since its launch, the California Digital Archives has published 13 exhibits on the Google Arts & Culture platform covering topics from California’s Missions to Japanese Internment during World War II.
“We were thrilled to partner with Secretary Padilla and the State Archives to bring archive collections onto the Google Arts & Culture platform, and have been even more happy to see the online collection grow,” said Mufaddal Ezzy, Google’s California State Manager for Government Relations. "With over 300 new assets and 13 new exhibits since launch, we're glad to support the State Archives' ongoing work exploring where we've come from and who we are."
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