On 16 April I led a group of 24 archivists and records managers in Stockholm for a study visit of three days in Paris. We represented a number of different administrations in Stockholm, including the City Archives. The majority of our group are primarily concerned with Records Management, although the professional distinction between Records Management and Archives does not exist in Sweden. The various study visits therefore tended to focus more on modern, archival issues, such as on long term preservation.We visited the Archives Départementales of Yvelines, the Diplomatic Archive Center of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in La Courneuve, the National Archives in Pierrefitte and the UNESCO archives in Paris. We were also fortunate to be able to visit the ICA Headquarters in central Paris, on the morning of the 19th April. It was a great pleasure to introduce my Swedish colleagues to the ICA and to some of its main representatives. For many of us who work mainly within national confines, the opportunity to become more informed on the international stage is welcomed. As volunteers and members of the ICA we share an equal responsibility to spread knowledge to our colleagues at home.
We were given an interesting insight into the organisation by its Secretary General, David Leitch, who was followed by Henri Zuber, Vice-President Programme. Henri Zuber spoke about the programme activities and mentioned the expert groups on Records Management and Appraisal among others) which are being created and for which volunteers are needed. The morning at the ICA was rounded off by a coffee break in the Secretariat, where we also got to meet the rest of the staff. We were all enchanted by the warm welcome we were given by our hosts. I wish to thank David Leitch and Henri Zuber, as well as all the other people we met on our trip, for making this event possible and for giving us such a memorable experience.Martin Ståhl