ICA in Brief

The International Council on Archives (ICA) is a decentralized organisation governed by a General Assembly and administered by an Executive Board. Its branches provide archivists with a regional forum in all parts of the world; its sections bring together archivists and archival institutions interested in particular areas of professional interest; its committees and working groups are engaging the contribution of experts to the solution of specific problems. The ICA Secretariat serves the administrative needs of the organisation and maintains relations between members and cooperation with related bodies and other international organisations.

• ICA is the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival heritage.
• It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organisations as well as individual archivists.

• ICA has a global network of more than 1,400 institutional members in 190 countries, making it truly international. It also has over 200 archivists and records managers as individual members.

• It is a non-governmental organisation, which means that it maintains an independence from the political process and that its members include public and private archive institutions and individuals.
• ICA works closely with inter-governmental organisations such as UNESCO and ICCROM. It also has strong links with other non-governmental organisations.

Secretariat: International Council on Archives
60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 PARIS, France
Tel : 33 (0)1 40 27 63 06
Fax : 33 (0)1 42 72 20 65
E-mail : ica [at] ica [dot] org

The Mission of ICA

The aim of ICA is to promote the management and use of records and archives and the preservation of the archival heritage of humanity around the world, through the sharing of experiences, research and ideas on professional archival and records management matters and on the management and organisation of archival institutions.

The objectives of ICA are to:

• encourage and support the development of archives in all countries, in co-operation with other organisations, including international agencies, governmental and non-governmental
• promote, organise and co-ordinate best practice, the development of standards and other activities in the field of records and archives management
• establish, maintain and strengthen relations between archivists of all countries and between all institutions, professional bodies and other organisations, public and private, wherever located, which are concerned with the administration or preservation of records and archives, or with the professional training of archivists, especially through the exchange of information
• facilitate the interpretation and use of archives by making their content more widely known and by encouraging greater access to them

ICA Strategies and Priority Areas

Adopted Vienna 2004

Strategies Guiding ICA’s Current Programme

Background - ICA History

Early Beginnings

The idea for an international council on archives had long been around (the Institute for Intellectual Co-operation had made a first attempt after the First World War) when it finally became a reality in 1948. There were several contributory factors. The first was the choice of Paris as the site of the headquarters of UNESCO, the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which in the immediate post-war years was concerned with promoting non governmental organizations (NGO) in its field. In 1946, under the influence of an American conservator Chauncey J Hamlin, an international council for museums (ICOM) was set up. Following the establishment of an Experts Group and a first general assembly in Mexico, a general conference met in Paris from 29 June to 3 July 1948 and Georges-Henri Rivière was appointed director of ICOM. On a very similar model, following the distribution of proposals at the international level in the autumn of 1947, and under the influence and tenacity of Dr Buck, then Archivist of the United States, a small group of experts met in Paris and agreed on 9 June 1948 to establish an "International Council on Archives", with the Director-General of the Archives de France, Charles Samaran, as chairman. Charles Braibant succeeded him in 1950. The first assembly of the Council was held following a meeting of the group of experts in Paris, on the 21 and 22 August 1950, at the UNESCO headquarters.

ICA Today

From an association of directors of national institutions, the ICA has evolved towards a more complex organisation bringing together professional associations and individual archivists interested in researching, developing, and sharing their full range of archival expertise. Today, the ICA has become the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival heritage. It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organisations as well as individual archivists.

The activities of the ICA complement those of national associations and institutions and continue to be an exclusive source and channel of professional expertise in those regions where national associations do not yet exist. Through its branches, ICA provides a basis for exchange and common initiatives at the regional level, more closely aligned to specific needs resulting from particular environments. ICA sections, established along professional interests, address other types of concern and stimulate research and information exchange in more specific areas: they bring together in their respective forums leaders of professional associations, archival educators as well as archivists of international organisations, municipalities, businesses and labour bodies, churches, universities, parliaments and political parties as well as those specialised in architectural records. Other sections are currently being formed for specialists in archival standards and best practices, literature and art archives, notarial records, sports archives, military records and sigillography. ICA forms ad-hoc committees and working groups at various levels to work on specific projects and activities in support of its four strategic priority areas: advocacy and promotion; electronic records, records management and automation; preservation and protection against disasters; and professional education and training.

As the leading international non-governmental organisation (NGO) for archives and archivists, ICA continues to work in cooperation with UNESCO and NGOs in related areas to realise shared objectives. ICA's close cooperation with UNESCO is demonstrated by the publication of the RAMP (Records and Archives Management Programme) Studies. Currently, it is supported through regular financial contributions to support various ICA projects.

Governance

The highest decision-making body in ICA is the Annual General Meeting. Between Annual General Meetings, the government of ICA is in the hands of the Executive Board, which includes chairs of all regional branches and most sections, thus ensuring broad representation internationally and professionally. The work of the Executive Board is supported by two commissions:

• The Management Commission is responsible for preparation of Executive Board meetings and for management decisions between meetings of the Executive Board.
• The Programme Commission is responsible for the preparation and execution of the professional and technical programme.

The CITRA Bureau is responsible for the organisation of the annual International Conferences of the Round Table on Archives (CITRA) and draws up the CITRA programme.

The Audit Commission is responsible for the evaluation of the performance of the ICA programmes and of its external and internal communications.

Constitution

As approved by the General Assembly, Quebec (Canada), November 2007.

Code of Ethics

Click here to download the Code of Ethics for Archivists in the download section of this web site.

Secretariat

Secretariat

Conseil international des Archives
60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 PARIS, France

Tel : 33 1 40 27 63 06
Fax : 33 1 42 72 20 65
e-mail : ica [at] ica [dot] org

Secretary General

Mr Joan VAN ALBADA

Tel direct : 33 1 40 27 63 49
e-mail : vanalbada [at] ica [dot] org

Secretary General Designate

Mr David LEITCH

Tel direct : 33 1 40 27 61 37
e-mail : leitch [at] ica [dot] org

Deputy Secretary General

Ms Perrine CANAVAGGIO

Tel direct :33 1 40 27 61 10
e-mail : canavaggio [at] ica [dot] org

Office Manager

Ms Annick CARTERET

Tel direct : 33 1 40 27 63 06
e-mail : carteret [at] ica [dot] org

Membership Officer

Ms Nathalie FLORENT

Tel direct : 33 1 40 27 61 34
e-mail : florent [at] ica [dot] org

Bank account:

BNP PARIBAS
Agence Paris-Rambuteau

48 rue des Archives
75004 PARIS, France

IBAN Code: FR76 3000 4007 7300 0100 5148 049

Bic/Swift Code: BNPAFRPPPBY

Non-resident Officers

Deputy Secretary General

Ms Mahfuzah YUSUF

National Archives of Malaysia
Jalan Duta
50568 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Fax : 60 3 6201 3702
Tel : 60 3 6201 0688 ext. 5923
e-mail : mahfuzah [at] arkib [dot] gov [dot] my

COMMA Editor in Chief

Ms Rosana de ANDRES DIAZ
Directora del Archivo General, Ministerio del Interior

Secretaria General Tecnica
C/ Amador de los Rios no. 7
28071 Madrid, Spain

Fax : 34 91 537 13 12
Tel : 34 91 537 14 19
e-mail : rosana [at] amador [dot] mir [dot] es

Chargé de mission

Mr Ken HALL
e-mail: hall [at] ica [dot] org

Translations into Spanish

Ms Cecilia CAMPIOTTI

Archivo General de la Nacion
Convencion 1474
11.100 Montevideo
Uruguay

Fax/Tel : 59 82 900 7205
e-mail : direccionagn1474 [at] adinet [dot] com [dot] uy

Contact us

International Council on Archives
60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 Paris, France
+33 1 40 27 63 06