The International Council on Archives (ICA) is pleased to invite all members and the wider archival community to two exciting Lightning Talks sessions dedicated to advancing access to archives through innovation and technology as part of International Archives Week 2025.
On 10 June, the morning session “Archives in Society: Changing Perceptions” (11:00 – 12:00 CET), will feature projects that tackle challenges such as archival management in diverse contexts, the realities of exclusively online museums, and pioneering digital family archives.
In the afternoon, from 14:30 to 15:30 CET, “Inclusion and Representation in Archival Practices” the session will showcase inclusive archival practices—addressing ethical access to lesbian-feminist archives, collaborative documentation of migration, community-led preservation of the opioid crisis, and the digitisation of an Indigenous human rights archive.
Both sessions take place on Zoom and follow the engaging Lightning Talks format: short, dynamic presentations of 10 minutes each, with 5 minutes devoted to the talk and 5 minutes to audience Q&A and interaction.
More information on the presentations and details on how to register can be found below.
KEY INFORMATION
- Date and time: Tuesday 10 June 2025, 11:00–12:00 CET (Paris time) and 14:30–15:30 CET (Paris time).
- Location: Online
- Language: English (automated translation of subtitles will be available).
These lightning talks are free and open for anyone to join. Registration is required to receive full details on how to connect to these virtual meetings.
Session Details
Archives in Society: Changing Perceptions — 11:00–12:00 CET
Presentation 1
Archiving People’s Movements: A Case of Indian Farmers’ Movement (2020–21)
Speaker: Shamsher Singh, FLAME University, Pune, India
This talk explores the creation of the People’s Archive of Farmers’ Protests (PAFP), a public digital archive documenting one of India’s largest social movements, emphasizing the value of archiving resistance and confronting official narratives.
Presentation 2
From Archive to Classroom: Transforming Perceptions Through the Feelings of the Era
Speaker: Claudia Paola Soto Cabello, Olga Poblete Archive and Documentation Centre
How a Chilean teachers’ union archive uses educational visits and memory routes to foster inclusive, reflective experiences, transforming the archive from a static institution into a dynamic cultural actor.
Presentation 3
Archival Culture
Speaker: Mary Luna & Heisbell Espinoza, Archiven Soluciones
Faced with disorganization and loss of heritage in Venezuela, this initiative promotes an archival culture through outreach, expert sessions, and public campaigns to highlight the importance of records management and collective memory.
Presentation 4
Come Trace the Past (Imshi Netzakkar): Reviving Beirut’s Theatrical Heritage Through Immersive Urban Storytelling
Speakers: Aliya Khalidi (Executive and Artistic Director of FADA), Awad Awad and Walid Saliba (FADA members)
This talk will present an innovative walking tour developed by FADA: Foundation for Arab Dramatic Arts in Beirut, Lebanon, which reconnected audiences with the city’s fading theatrical heritage. Focusing on four historic theatres, the tour combined archival media, live storytelling by theatre practitioners, and digital enhancements to transform the urban landscape into a living archive. The presentation will explore the tour’s conceptual and methodological approaches, including site-specific performance, community engagement, and the use of digital tools to preserve and activate cultural memory in a city marked by conflict and transformation.
Inclusion and Representation in Archival Practices — 14:30–15:30 CET
Presentation 1
Between Private and Public: Ethical Challenges in Accessing the Lesbian-Feminist Archive of Patlatonalli
Speaker: Arcelia Esther Paz Padilla, University of Guadalajara
An in-depth look at ethical dilemmas surrounding access and anonymity in archives documenting marginalized communities, with practices for respectful visibility and autonomy.
Presentation 2
Archives and Traces of Migration: AToM Project Insight
Speaker: Vlatka Lemić, ICARUS, Vice President
An overview of the AToM project, which focuses on best practices for documenting migration in Europe. It emphasizes collaboration between archivists and migrant communities to co-create meaningful cultural records.
Presentation 3
“Our Voices and History Matter”: Co-Designing the Opioid Crisis Community Archive
Speaker: Polina Ilieva, Dan Kabella & Kelly Knight, University of California, San Francisco
This community-driven archival project captures the histories of those impacted by the opioid crisis, highlighting co-design strategies that elevate underrepresented voices and promote health justice through historical preservation.
Presentation 4
From hidden archive to living archive: digitising CERJ's legacy of indigenous resistance in Guatemala
Speakers: Angélica Macario (CERJ) and Corsin Blumenthal (swisspeace)
This talk will present the ongoing project to rescue, preserve, and digitize the archive of the Consejo de Comunidades Étnicas Runujel Junam (CERJ), an Indigenous-led human rights organisation founded during Guatemala’s armed conflict. Once a fragile and hidden archive, it is now being transformed into an accessible resource documenting both state violence and Indigenous resistance. The presentation will highlight the archival strategies used, the importance of inclusive practices, and the role of this work in protecting Indigenous memory and promoting access to historical justice.
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