ICA Partnership Activities

Partnerships are fundamental to ICA's work because ICA fullfills its aims through collaboration.

Members benefit from ICA's involvement in a diverse range of partnerships:

  • Close co-operation with international partners such as the United Nations (UNESCO), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the European Commission. In so doing the ICA brings issues and successes relating to record keeping and archives to the international stage. For example, the ICA worked hard to draw attention to the concerns around the archives of Haiti after the terrible earthquake in 2010 and alongside the Blue Shield organised volunteers and support to enable the Haitians to salvage vital records.
  • A matrix of internal networks providing numerous opportunities for members to develop their own partnerships. These networks approach issues from a number of perspectives including geographical regional networks, networks for collection types, networks relating to professional practice. Members are free to participate in any combination that suits their needs. To learn more about these go to the branches and sections pages.
  • Access to partnerships both physical and virtual so that members can have meaningful dialogue with fellow professionals regardless of their location or resources. Why not keep up to date with our RSS feed?
  • Active exploitation by the ICA of its internal and external relationships to promote best practice such as raising awareness of the ICA's suite of International Standards. As an example, a promising cooperation has been established with ISO and the DLM Forum in this field, relating to the ICA-Req standard.
  • Partnerships with national bodies that promote record keeping and archives to encourage countries to nourish their own record keeping culture. For example, the ICA's International Archives Day (9th of June) gives the archives sector around the world an opportunity to promote archives to society and government.

Partnerships are essential because they allow the ICA to promote and support good record keeping globally. They also enable the ICA and its partners to develop arguments and solutions which are sensitive to individual cultures and local need.