The fourth day of ICA Barcelona 2025 began with a session exploring innovation in archival access and governance through artificial intelligence, regulatory frameworks, and standards. The presentations highlighted how advanced technologies, legal guidance, and organizational policies can enhance archival practice and data management. Malcolm Todd and Jean Dryden discussed ICA’s evolving offer on copyright, focusing on resources designed to help archivists navigate complex intellectual property challenges. The session presented the online course Introduction to Copyright for Archivists, and a modular toolkit for institutions and jurisdictions, emphasizing collaboration and practitioner feedback to refine these tools.
During the session “Archives, Guardians of Identities”, participants were invited to confront critical questions around the preservation, visibility, and future of LGBTQI+ archives. Led by Jordi Padilla-Delgado of the ICA Working Group on Sex-Affective and Gender Diversity* Archives & Archivists (SAGDAA-WG), the event brought together speakers from diverse regions and archival backgrounds. The atmosphere deepened in emotion at the close of the session when the speakers and attendees collectively signed a declaration in support of LGBTQI+ archival rights and visibility. Each participant read aloud a portion of the declaration, their voices giving real weight to its principles of inclusivity, respect, and equality. The act was both symbolic and deeply personal, a shared affirmation that archives are not just repositories of the past but guardians of identity and community memory.
Following the morning sessions, the ICA Fellows ceremony honoured outstanding members of the archival community. Recipients included Normand Charbonneau, Henri Zuber, Avril Belfon, Emma de Ramon, and Didier Grange. Each Fellow delivered a short acceptance speech, accompanied by the presentation of their ICA Fellow pin and certificate, acknowledging their exceptional contributions to the profession and celebrating their dedication to advancing archives worldwide.
The Emmett Leahy Award was later presented to Aída Luz Mendoza, recognizing her inspiring contributions to archival science, memory preservation, transparency, and public policy.
ICA Barcelona 2025 concluded on a high note, uniting 2,000 participants from more than 100 countries and positioning Catalonia as a global hub for innovation and development in archival science and records management, fields essential for safeguarding democracy, preserving historical memory, and promoting justice and equality. “There can be no justice or democracy without a documented, preserved, and accessible memory. Archives are the foundation of trust between citizens and institutions,” stated Josée Kirps, President of the International Council on Archives (ICA), during the closing ceremony.
In the same spirit, Joaquim Borràs, Director General for Cultural Heritage of the Government of Catalonia, highlighted “the value of archives as instruments of peace, as guarantors of democracy and respect for human rights. Without archives there is no memory, and without memory, there can be no freedom.” He also emphasized the role of archival professionals as “builders of bridges between generations, cultures, and ways of seeing the world,” underlining the vitality of this sector in Catalonia.
Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, attended the ceremony and reflected on the ethical significance of archives: “In the care and protection of archives lies an ethical declaration, one that relates to memory but also to the values that strengthen our sense of community, and therefore, our democratic health, now more than ever threatened by authoritarianism and extremist denialism.”
Francesc Giménez, President of the Association of Archival and Records Management Professionals of Catalonia, addressed the evolving challenges facing the profession: “We face a world where the political, technical, and social focus lies on data, the smallest unit of information. This shift calls upon us as professionals skilled in handling contextualized information, offering a holistic treatment of information throughout its continuum, from system design onward.”
The Congress concluded with an announcement that Sarawak, Malaysia will host the next ICA Conference in 2027. Josée Kirps emphasized the significance of this transition: “This transition from Barcelona to Sarawak symbolizes what we wish for our community: an ICA that moves forward, opening up to other continents, languages, and professional experiences—an ICA that is truly global.” The handover of the ICA flag, from Spain’s Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun and Joaquim Borras Gomez, General Director of Cultural Heritage at the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, to the Honourable Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts of Sarawak, Malaysia, marked the official passing of the baton to the next host country.
With the handover to Malaysia and reflections on the evolving challenges and opportunities in archives, ICA Barcelona 2025 closed as a vibrant celebration of knowledge, collaboration, and professional dedication. Across four days, participants exchanged ideas, explored innovations, and strengthened global networks, leaving with renewed inspiration to advance archival practice, safeguard memory, and uphold the values of transparency, justice, and cultural heritage worldwide. The Congress not only marked the culmination of a remarkable event but also set the stage for the next chapter of the ICA community, uniting archivists and records managers around a shared commitment to preserving the past while shaping the future.
A full overview of everything that happened can be explored in the official programme.
