Call for Participants: Regional Training Programme “Emergency Response for Documentary Heritage”

In response to the increasing threats facing documentary heritage across the Red Sea region—particularly in Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia—the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation (EHRF), in partnership with Cultural Emergency Response (CER), is launching the third edition of the regional training programme Emergency Response for Documentary Heritage. With support from the Whiting Foundation and in collaboration with the Qatar National Library (QNL) as the IFLA Preservation and Conservation Centre (PAC), the International Council on Archives (ICA), and the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme (EAP), this programme seeks to build critical capacity among stewards of at-risk archives. These collections, which hold the cultural, political, and social memory of diverse communities, are increasingly vulnerable due to conflict, disasters, and under-resourcing—challenges further exacerbated by a lack of preparedness and training. 

This training initiative directly addresses those gaps by equipping participants with both theoretical foundations and hands-on skills in disaster risk mitigation, emergency response, and recovery, with a specific focus on written documentary heritage. Participants will strengthen their competencies through collaborative exercises, practical simulations, and peer-to-peer exchange. Key topics include risk assessment, emergency planning, rescue and stabilisation of damaged materials, and strategies for low-cost digitisation. The programme also includes sessions on resource mobilisation and project management, offering participants the tools to access funding and enhance institutional resilience for the long term. 

The training course ends with a Closing Conference on 4 December, bringing together regional, national and international documentary heritage preservation institutions, experts, funding organisations, to discuss the main challenges and best practices to ensure the preservation of endangered documentary heritage. 

You will find more information on the workshop in the outline document included at the bottom of this page. 

Who can apply?  

• ICA individual members or staff members of ICA institutional members who have the following profile are eligible to apply:  

• • Documentary heritage professionals from Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia  

• • Individuals working as librarians, records managers and archivists in risk-prone areas  

• • Individuals in charge of protecting valuable local, private, religious or national/international documentary heritage collections under threat. 

Please note that the working language of this course is Arabic and English only and no interpretation will be provided.    

Note:   

Applicants must provide their ICA membership number and be in good standing with ICA dues paid. 

New members may not receive their membership number until a few days after payment has been received. New members wishing to apply for the Regional Training Programme must indicate the date of payment and mention “Pending Membership #” in the appropriate field on the application form. 

What is the grant covering?  

Accommodation, meals, travel and visa expenses will be provided by course organisers. ICA will cover the airfare expenses of the selected participants who are ICA members.  

How to apply?  

You can apply by clicking the button below and completing the application form. All answers to the application form should be given in English.  

Questions?      

If you have questions about this call, please email us at projects@ica.org.