Title: John Hocking’s Keynote Speech at the ICA International Congress 2016

Authors: John Hocking

Date: September 2023

Resource Summary         

Why have we selected it?  

With the ICA Abu Dhabi Congress 2023 just around the corner, we have been reflecting on past Congresses and Conferences. In 2016, the ICA International Congress was held in Seoul, South Korea, with a theme of “Archives, Harmony & Friendship”. We had no idea that it would be another 7 years until the international archival community gathered once again at a Congress, with our typical four-year interval being disrupted by COVID. Even though much has happened in those 7 years, including the impact of emerging technologies and climate change, John Hocking’s words are still incredibly relevant to us today.

“As you preserve the past, you are, at the same time, protecting the present and the future. As you appraise records inside a box, you may discover a solution outside the box.” 

What will you find in this resource? 

This resource contains a speech given by John Hocking, who at the time of giving the speech was a senior official of the United Nations, and an Assistant Secretary-General and Registrar of both the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) since 2009, and the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) since 2012.

His speech, titled “Out of the Box, Into the World”, was the keynote speech at the ICA International Congress 2016 held in Seoul, South Korea. His speech is an inspiring address to the entire archival community and contains rich imagery and powerful examples. His call to action still resonates today: “The possibilities are endless when you bring the archives out of the box and into the world.”

Discover the resource here

We would like to thank all the ICA members that submitted applications for the last call of the New Professionals Programme. We received 26 eligible applications from 19 different countries, which were assessed by a group of PCOM members and New Professionals Programme Alumni.

The assessment commenced in September and went through two rounds before the final six were selected. The majority of applications were of a high quality and determining the top applicants was a difficult task.

Priority was given to passionate new professionals who are already informed about the New Professionals Programme, shared a strong interest in supporting the international new professional community, who proposed achievable valuable projects, and clearly explained the benefits of the ICA Abu Dhabi Congress to their professional development. Teamwork, commitment and focused ideas on what the New Professionals Programme can bring them and what they can bring to the Programme are also common qualities of the successful applicants.

Our congratulations to the six Active New Professionals for 2023:

  • Rebecca Adams, United Kingdom 
  • Randolphe Hildebert Aglikpo, France (from Benin) 
  • Lars Smaaberg, Norway 
  • Dinza Tang-Irmi, Chad 
  • Saman Quraishi, India 
  • Gaelle Stephan, Lebanon 

We will announce the Mentors of these six Active New Professionals by January 2023 so stay tuned for more updates on the Mentoring Programme!

If you would like to know more about the New Professionals Programme, please contact the New Professionals Programme Coordinator at newprofessionals@ica.org.