The NPP/FAN Virtual Seminar Series is organized by the New Professional Programme (NPP) in collaboration with the Forum of National Archivists (FAN), to give voice to our current international community of students and new professionals and provide an opportunity to engage with leaders in the profession. The series will commence with three seminars in the first half of the year (details below), with another three to be held in the second half of 2024.

The Programme Committee invites students and new professionals who are ICA members or work for FAN institutions to share their work, ideas and/or research, in a supportive environment. The seminars will be free and open for anyone to join, with recordings made available through the ICA YouTube channel. The seminars will be chaired by leaders from the host organisations.

The NPP/FAN Virtual Seminar Series will cover three main themes:

  • Archives and Technology 
  • Archives and Social Justice 
  • Archival Education, Training and Research 

Formats for presentations include a 10-minute paper, 20-minute paper, 30-minute panel or 45-minute panel.

This virtual event is part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the ICA New Professionals Programme. In 2024 we will be hosting different activities to honour the aims of the Programme and support the international community of new professionals.

How to submit your proposal? 

Go to the ConfTool submission platform to access the webform to start your submission. You will need to create an account and then complete a short form to apply. You can save your form and come back to edit it before submitting. Full instructions on how to submit are contained on the submission platform.

Details of accepted proposals can be updated before the programme is published.

Deadline 

The call for presenters will end on 12 January 2024. The Programme Committee will then review the submissions and create a programme for each seminar. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by 9 February 2024.

Programmes will be released for each seminar in due course.

Themes 

  • Seminar one – Archives and Technology  

Date and time: 4 March 2024, 11:00 CET (Paris time). To confirm the date/time of this session in your time zone please use the following link.

Host: The National Archives UK

Language: English. Interpretation into other languages will not be provided.

This theme is for students and new professionals to explore the use of technology in, and with archives, and the impact technology has on archival practice. It presents an opportunity to consider how emerging technologies bring new opportunities and innovation, but also challenges and obstacles to overcome to ensure their best and most appropriate use.

Topics may include (but are not limited to): artificial intelligence in archives, digital archives/recordkeeping, digital preservation, audio-visual archives, big data, digitisation techniques, metadata standards, blockchain for archives, copyright, innovative methods for archival description/indexing, digital humanities and archives

  • Seminar two – Archives and Social Justice  

Date and time: 23rd April 2024, 9:00 CET (Paris time). To confirm the date/time of this session in your time zone please use the following link.

Host: National Archives of Australia

Language: English. Interpretation into other languages will not be provided.

This theme is for students and new professionals to consider the role of archives, and our roles as archivists, in relation to social justice. What action can we/should we/are taking to ensure ethical, equitable and fair decisions are made around all aspects of archival practice, that the voices of marginalised communities are appropriately represented in archives, and to ensure that those communities find archives worth engaging with.

Topics may include (but are not limited to): Indigenous recordkeeping and archives, ethics and archives, climate change and archives, colonial collections, migrated archives, human rights and archives, LGBTQIA+ and archives, advocacy, archival activism

  • Seminar three – Archival Education, Training and Research  

Date and time: 15 May 2024, 19:00 CET (Paris time). To confirm the date/time of this session in your time zone please use the following link.

Host: Library and Archives Canada

Language: English and French. Interpretation into other languages will not be provided.

This theme is for students and new professionals to critically reflect on the available pathways to becoming an archivist and to share research undertaken as part of their studies or on education/training. It also presents opportunities to consider different approaches globally to how archivists are trained and what the gaps are between education/training and practice.

Topics may include (but are not limited to): on-the-job training, internships, practicums, mentorship, university education, promotion prospects, research, building an inclusive archival profession.

Additional information 

  • Presenters must be ICA members, or work for FAN organisations.
  • Presenters must be students and/or new professionals. The ICA defines a new professional as someone with less than 5 years of working experience in the archival and recordkeeping profession.
  • You may submit more than one application but this will be considered when determining the programmes.
  • Consider the timing of the seminars and make sure they are suitable for you.
  • Your abstract should describe what your presentation will be about, and how it links to the theme.
  • You will need to submit a short biography for each presenter. This can be a couple of sentences which state where you work and/or study, and any research interests you have.
  • All presentation types will include time for questions.
  • Regional and topic diversity and relevance to theme will be considered when reviewing submissions.
  • Submissions to the call for contributions will be reviewed by members of the programme committee.

Programme Committee 

The Programme Committee comprises the following alumni of the New Professionals Programme:

  • Emma Cummings
  • Zoe Dickinson
  • Elisabeth Klindworth
  • Nicola Laurent
  • Dzhevid Sali
  • Lerato Tshabalala
  • Laura Yturbe Mori

Questions?  

If you have questions about this call or the seminar series, please email us at newprofessionals@ica.org.

 

We hope you will share your voice with the global archives and recordkeeping community!