IAW2025: Highlights from our Global Agenda!

In celebration of International Archives Week 2025, the UN Library & Archives Geneva is hosting an engaging online event exploring how archives can truly be accessible to all. Participants will be introduced to their rich and diverse collections — from the League of Nations to international peace movements — and guided through a live demo of the UN Archives Geneva platform. The session will also spotlight the practical steps being taken to overcome physical, financial, and technical barriers to access, making this historic resource open to a global audience.

Where: Online

What: Workshop/discussion

USIU-Africa is embracing the spirit of International Archives Week 2025 with a week-long celebration championing open, inclusive, and engaging access to archives. Through interactive exhibits, campus tours, oral history booths, and digitisation demos, the university is inviting its community to explore the past while imagining a more accessible archival future. With creative events such as a student archive challenge, a social media campaign, and a “Then & Now” photo exhibit, USIU-Africa is making archival engagement both personal and participatory — a true embodiment of #ArchivesAreAccessible.

Where: United States International University – Africa, Nairobi County, Kenya

What: Exhibits, tours, activities

To mark International Archives Week 2025, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and SENA are joining forces for a special celebration centred on accessible and inclusive archives. Held at SENA’s campus, the event features high-level speakers including Dr José Antonio Frías and Dr Janis Hernández and will be livestreamed via social media to widen participation. Through talks and a multidisciplinary panel, this collaborative event exemplifies how cross-institutional dialogue can advance archival inclusivity across education and public access.

Where: Centro de Gestión Administrativa, Bogotá, Colombia.

What: Panel talks

As part of the International Archives Week 2025 webinar series, Rui Ferreira of SBIDM-UA will lead a technical session exploring best practices in digitisation and digital preservation. Focused on the globally recognised FADGI and Metamorfoze standards, the webinar will offer a practical and accessible approach to achieving high-quality, sustainable digital preservation. Tailored for archivists, digitisation professionals, and anyone invested in the preservation of digital memory, this initiative exemplifies how rigorous standards can be applied to real-world projects for lasting impact.

Where: Biblioteca da Universidade de Aveiro

What: Webinar

To mark International Archives Week 2025, the National Archives of Japan is hosting a commemorative online webinar on 12 June, bringing expert perspectives to the forefront of archival discourse. The event features Prof. Takano Toshihiko on the development of Japan’s Archivist Certification System and its future potential, alongside Dr. Hatano Sumio, who will explore the archival documentation of the end of the war. This timely session blends professional insight with historical reflection, highlighting how #ArchivesAreAccessible not only means broader public access, but also investment in the people and systems that safeguard our records.

Where: Online

What: Webinar

In celebration of International Archives Week 2025, the Strategic Documents Center in Egypt, in collaboration with the Egyptian National Library and Archives, is hosting a forward-looking seminar: The Future of Digital Documentation: From Content Management to Emotion Detection. This event explores how AI and digital transformation are redefining archival practices. Highlights include sessions on AI-powered emotion detection in historical documents, advanced content management strategies, and the visionary City Memory Project, which preserves urban heritage as a living digital bridge between past and present. A powerful reminder that #ArchivesAreAccessible not just in form, but in meaning and emotion.

Where: The National Library and Archives in Cairo, Egypt

What: Seminar