ABOUT US
OUR MISSION
The Notarial Archives Foundation (NAF) is a voluntary organization set up to preserve and raise awareness about the 600 year old collection of notarial deeds of the Notarial Registers Archive (NRA) that documents the history of Malta, with the aim of making it accessible to researchers, academics, and other interested citizens. The NAF is run by a team of volunteers united by a common goal to ensure that the NRA manuscript collection is preserved and protected in a professional and efficient manner.
OUR HISTORY
The NAF has been pursuing its mission of preserving the NRA manuscript collection since 2005, when it was still operating as the Notarial Archives Resource Council. The NARC was led by Dr Joan Abela, current NAF President and active volunteer for over eighteen years, and its goal was to raise awareness on the bad state of preservation of this priceless national paper heritage. As awareness increased and funding was awarded and donated, the voluntary organisation, which officially became a Foundation in 2017, managed to preserve important historic documents for posterity. It also spearheaded voluntary work projects such as the dusting and sorting of the loose document collection of the NRA and it also involved volunteers in research initiatives targeting, for instance, British notaries and ‘Sea Protest’ documents. Through these initiatives, the NAF managed to build a highly engaged community of volunteers. The NAF has also taken under its wing students, who produced new research based on notarial deeds hitherto unconsulted and thus contributed to the preservation and study of Maltese history.
OUR FUTURE
In July 2023 the NAF was entrusted by the Maltese Government with the management of the operations of the NRA and with transforming it into a centre for excellence in research and conservation. This will ensure that the collection is made available to local and international research communities given that it is an invaluable and unique source of primary data on the social, economic, and legal aspects of life in Malta from the medieval period to current times.
