Highlights and Features: Checking in with NP Alumni

It's good to see so many familiar faces. What I like about these events is that everybody makes you feel so welcome. Even though there are a lot of people, everyone is still trying to talk to as many people as possible, to know from each other what they are working on. As archivists, we work in the same field and continue making connections; it's a long-term relationship that you are building with the community.

For me, this Congress feels a little different from the ICA Conference 2022 in Rome. Back in 2022, I was an Active New Professional, which entailed a busy schedule, and while I had wanted to take the time to get to know everyone, I was too stretched to do so. This time, I have been able to enjoy it more and I feel more relaxed.

I had initially thought of pursuing a career in archaeology as part of my anthropological studies in Costa Rica, but I soon found out that I was not much of a fieldwork person. I then started looking for other options under the guidance of the career advisor of my university and through a career fair. It was there that I heard about the field of Archival Studies, which was part of the History department at my university. It was much more dynamic than I had originally thought! When doing my Bachelor’s in Archival Studies, I became especially interested in electronic records and the digital aspects of archiving.

After my studies, I worked at different international organisations, and my work spanned from working on content management to taxonomies and information architecture. For the last two years, I have been working for Intel, where I am one of the only two record information managers. I am in charge of the organisation’s information retention policies and ensuring that the record retention schedule functions well.

In regards to the future of the archival field, what types of skills matter most today for New Professionals?

I feel like it depends on what your interests are. I think a lot of people will say that the focus is currently on the digital age or electronic records and one of the hottest topics now is artificial intelligence. If you are interested in digital records, that is a topic that you need to have knowledge of right now, but I don't see the future as strictly digital. There are a lot of other things that you can work on. I think you can still focus on history and taking care of the past. If you like historical archives, there is still enough to work on in that field. You can even apply digital technologies to historical materials. There is still enough paper that needs to be taken care of.

One of my professors was a New Professional. I remember in my second or third year, she did a presentation of the New Professionals Programme. Being from Latin America, large international congresses feel very far from what you can do. So when my professor shared her experience, I said ‘As soon as I get my degree, I'm going to participate.’ And I did that. It showed me that this is not unreachable. Being part of the Programme, I met others who had had a similar experience. One of my teammates in the cohort was from Africa and was dealing with the same issues with funding and lack of support from organizations. So, I feel like we were connected. And also it's good to be connected. Not just for your personal gain, but also to be connected to the community because it makes you a stronger professional.

How did the ICA NPP influence the creation, structure and vision of ECaPS? 

During our NP cohort’s project, we conducted a survey to better understand the profile of the new professionals. One of our conclusions was that New Professionals found it difficult to understand the possibilities within the ICA and its different programs. For people who are new to the field, an organization such as the ICA can feel overwhelming, due to its many different groups and sections with different functions. One of our recommendations was to create an outreach program, which meant engaging with universities and professional associations in our countries to make sure that people are more involved. We offered to continue to be involved and to be part of this as a pilot project. Because the project aligned closely with the initial planning for a new section dedicated to new and early-career professionals, we were invited to contribute to its establishment. That is what we have been working on for the last two years. We are launching ECaPS during this Congress, so from now on people can indicate their membership in the provisional section as part of their ICA membership and get involved with the section and our outreach project.