ICA Governance meetings were held on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 November in Yaoundé, Cameroon, before the opening of the Annual Conference. Members of the Programme Commission gathered to discuss the Programme’s achievements and its strategy for the future.
Normand Charbonneau, Vice-President Programme announced on this occasion that Programme Officer Jessica Squires was leaving her role at ICA. He also acknowledged her work during the last two years. Maria Paula Garcia Mosquera, who brings with her a wealth of knowledge in the area of programme coordination and management and in organising large conferences and events, will replace her from February 2019.Maria-Paula, who is Colombian, will leave the United-States where she was working to settle in Paris and join the Secretariat office in the French National Archives.
Cécile Fabris, responsible for the New Professionals Programme, was also acknowledged for her excellent work of programme coordination, which grew under her lead to become one of the most prominent programmes of ICA. She will hand over to Sharon Smith, who works at Library and Archives of Canada as a Senior Project Manager. Sharon has a extensive experience as a teacher, trainer and mentor. She serves as chairperson for the Canadian ISO committee for TC46/SC11.
The Programme Commission warmly thanked Jessica and Cécile for their great contribution and welcomed Maria Paula and Sharon.
Branches and Sections reports underlined initiatives and ongoing projects at their level.
The Programme Commission approved the creation of two Experts Groups: the Expert Group on Indigenous Matters and the Expert Group Against Theft, Fraud and Trafficking of Archives.
Margaret Crockett, ICA Training Officer, presented the new ICA online training platform, to be launched in early 2019, and in demonstration at the Annual Conference.
Finally, Normand Charbonneau stated that, to align the Programme Commission with ICA’s strategic priorities, the Africa Programme is to be given more prominence for the year 2019 and additional financial resources will be allocated to it.