FIDA
ICA STRENGTHENS ITS COMMITMENT TO THE DEVELOPING WORLD
FIDA represents a tremendous opportunity for ICA to achieve two goals that have proved difficult to achieve in recent years. Firstly, it refocuses the efforts of the organization on giving support to archive institutions and archivists with the greatest development needs - which should always be at the heart of ICA's mission. Secondly, FIDA gives its Trustees a platform to attract external funding from the private sector and international organizations, which will then be used to serve the needs of archives in developing countries. More generally, FIDA is all about putting into practice the beliefs of ICA members in favour of international co-operation and professional solidarity.
I have agreed to serve as FIDA Chair up to the Brisbane Congress in August 2012. In the longer term FIDA will only survive and indeed prosper if it attracts external funding on a scale which other parts of ICA have not so far managed to obtain. We will only succeed in attracting sponsorship and donors if ICA members demonstrate their commitment to FIDA by making significant donations themselves.
However, the future of FIDA ultimately depends on the support and enthusiasm it generates among ICA members. For those of you based in more prosperous countries, this is your chance to show solidarity in a very practical way with colleagues working every day in conditions much more difficult than yours.
Sarah Tyacke
Chair of the FIDA Board