International Council of Archives

The Universal Declaration on Archives was adopted by the 36th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO on 10th November 2011. The Declaration was developed by a special working group of the International Council on Archives and has been endorsed by the ICA as a key pillar of its outreach and advocacy strategy.

The Declaration is an important step in improving understanding and awareness of archives among the general public and key decision-makers. It is a powerful, succinct statement of the relevance of archives in modern society.

 THE DECLARATION

• Defines archives to include all recorded decisions, actions and memories in all formats including paper, digital, and audio visual;
• Recognises the uniqueness of archives in the way they provide authentic evidence of human actions;
• Emphasises the key role of archives in ensuring administrative transparency and democratic accountability;
• supporting democracy and human rights, and preserving collective social memory.
• Explains the role of archivists as skilled professionals who care for archives and provide access to them;
• Highlights the key requirements for good archival management.

Text of the UDA:  The UDA has been translated into many languages which are available here .

Sign the UDA Register: Declare your support for the Universal Declaration on Archives by signing the UDA online Register .

Print and web versions:  Print and web versions of the UDA poster in English, French, Spanish and Chinese are available below for download and use for promotion purposes.

Template: For those languages where print and web versions are not available a template can be obtained by contacting which can be used with Adobe Photoshop to download the text for printing copies of the poster.

Tanslate the UDA: If you wih to translate the UDA into a language not already translated, please contact first.