At long last, today (10 October) marks the official start of ICA Congress Abu Dhabi 2023! Following the Opening Ceremony, which included remarks by ICA President Josée Kirps, was a keynote address delivered by the former President of the French Republic, François Hollande. This kicked off our professional programme, which encompassed a wide variety of presentations, meetings, and parallel activities. Keep reading to learn more about what took place today!
The Opening Ceremony and the Keynote Address by François Hollande
Starting off the day was ICA President, Josée Kirps, whose speech welcomed our participants and thanked our United Arab Emirates hosts, most notably the National Library and Archives (NLA) and Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nayhan himself.
“It is time for all of us, with our different backgrounds, to come together, discovering and sharing our knowledge, our culture and our diversity. This is what makes our Congresses such great opportunities to learn, to share, and to live a different experience.” Josée Kirps, ICA President
The Opening Ceremony was followed by the first keynote address of the Congress, which was delivered by the former President of the French Republic, François Hollande. His speech warmly encouraged participants to make the most of the opportunity presented by the Congress as well as reminding listeners of the real political importance of responsible and effective records management to the health of political systems everywhere.
“You act to safeguard and enrich the world’s memory […] Your goal is to patiently enrich collective knowledge”. François Hollande, former President of the French Republic
Session 1.01 – Archives and Conflicts
This session, introducing the Congress’ first sub-theme of Peace and Tolerance, featured presentations by Hamed Iranshahi on Archival Diplomacy, Najwa Mahmoud Al-Hajj Musa on how armed conflict impacts archival institutions, and Mehluli Masuku on Archivalisation During Conflicts.
Collectively, these themes pushed delegates to engage with the tragic but very real consequences of conflict on archival management and the livelihoods of their colleagues abroad. This session presented a detailed and powerful introduction to a theme whose relevance is unfortunately only growing with time, and to which our profession must be able to respond.
New Professionals Session – The Relationship Between the Archive Professional and the Volunteer
The 2022-2023 cohort of ICA New Professionals presented the results of their recent research and shared their findings with participants via a panel format. The work of dedicated volunteers forms the bedrock of efforts across our societies to collect, preserve, and use archives and records. Therefore, the insights produced by this research were of great interest and utility for participating delegates.
Session 2.01 – Social Media: Tool and Record
Chaired by Professor Jenny Wang with presentations discussing educational access, the question of preserving social media, and the status of social media as an archival format, this session asked delegates to interrogate their assumptions regarding the role of social media as an archival resource. As an introduction to the Congress’ theme of Access and Memories, this session was a thought-provoking reminder that social memory is continuously evolving both in its content and its format.
Session 4.01 – Archives Addressing Climate Change
As a kick-off to the Congress’ fourth sub theme—Sustainable Knowledge, Sustainable Planet—this session did an excellent job introducing the connections linking our profession to both the crisis presented by climate change and the solutions underway to help humanity respond to it. The resourcefulness and knowledge of archival professionals will be critical in supporting governments and institutions to work collectively to deal with Climate Change, and so this session presented the perfect opportunity for our delegates to reflect on their own contribution to this work and inspire future action.
The ICA Booth – Who’s Who at the ICA
Located in the Exhibition Hall, the ICA Booth is a format that allows our members and visitors to come and meet with ICA Secretariat members and ICA leaders. We were delighted to meet new friends today and to catch up with old ones! Our work is always motivated first and foremost by the needs of the international archival community, so opportunities like those presented by the Congress are the perfect setting for you to learn more about what we do, and for us to learn more about you!
Poster Session 1
The first Poster Session of the Congress was a great success! Featuring an impressive array of subjects from a diverse group of contributors, our delegates were able to see the scope of our profession and the people within it. Professional interchange, curiosity, and discovery were themes at the heart of this session, and moreover summarise the core intentions of the Congress itself. The Poster Sessions are intended to show both visitors and seasoned professionals what archives and records management has to offer as a topic for study, a livelihood, a hobby, and a social good.
What Brought You to the Congress?
“What brought me here to the ICA Abu Dhabi Congress was the possibility to be a part of an international network of archivists and document managers, to be able to communicate with the wider ICA family, get to know them better, and to visit Abu Dhabi.” Claude Roberto, ICA’s Expert Group on Advocacy, Canada
“What brought me here is to meet old friends and to make new friends from all over the world. It’s so great!” Elisabeth Klindworth, Archives of the Max Planck Society
New ICA Fellows 2023
The General Assembly offered us the opportunity to give a warm welcome to our new ICA Fellows!
Dr. Abdulla Alraisi from the United Arab Emirates, Papa Momar Diop from Senegal, David Fricker from Australia, and Dr. Anna Lenor Szlejcher from Argentina were each presented with their fellowship certificates by the ICA Fellows Committee.
To learn more about our new ICA Fellows 2023, click here.
The contributions of each individual to the archival profession have been considerable, and spending this time during the General Assembly to acknowledge and celebrate their work not only spotlighted the specific efforts our fellows have made, but also the broader developments and growth that our profession as a whole has experienced over recent years thanks to our volunteers, our members, and every other individual that takes an active role in the preservation and use of archives around the globe.
The ICA Hybrid General Assembly 2023
Offered for the first time in hybrid format, this year’s General Assembly brought together ICA members of all categories to reflect and decide upon the organisation’s current missions and future priorities.
These occasions form the very core of the ICA’s decision-making process, as established by the ICA constitution, providing members the opportunity to voice their opinions and vote on proposals that determine the future direction of the organisation. Updates from the Executive Director, the FIDA coordinators, the Vice-Presidents Finance and Programme, as well as the President herself were each presented to condense the actions and achievements made by ICA during the last year.
Furthermore, this General Assembly saw the official introduction of the ICA’s new visual identity. This rebranding of the organisation is designed to update the look and feel of the organisation, bring the ICA forward and reflect its renewed commitment to values approved by our members: openness, diversity, and inclusivity.