As the curtains draw on the International Archives Congress ICA Barcelona 2025, the New Professionals (NP) took some time to reflect on their Congress experience in particular and the ICA New Professionals Programme (NPP) in general. Clara Giménez Delgado and Sandy Wang, both NP from the cohort 2025/2026, engaged their fellow NP to share more about their thoughts and personal experiences.
The International Archives Congress ICA Barcelona 2025 was over in a blur, and its conclusion prompted a much-needed introspection on the part of the ICA New Professionals’ (NP). The Congress was, after all, a milestone event of the New Professionals Programme (NPP). The NP had spent months preparing the presentations of their projects for the Congress, all whilst juggling other side projects such as taking over the ICA NP official social media accounts and creating content for this very revamped newsletter. Thus, the Congress represented the culmination of months of hard work, the opportunity to meet each other in person and, most importantly, the occasion to live a shared experience. Simultaneously, the NP had our respective areas of interests and Congress plans and, unsurprisingly, we all attended different sessions and went home with diverse takeaways. In an effort to collect our thoughts and find some time to reflect, we asked the NP to share their personal experiences about the Congress and the NPP in general.
Things that left the deepest impressions
Didier Grange, one of the 2025 ICA Fellows said something along the lines of encouraging people to get involved with the ICA in the spirit of cooperation, even if your contribution to the ICA can only be temporary or humble…
Faythe
His [Cobley’s] discussion was wide ranging and provided good context and history of the legacy of colonialism in the region, which helped to frame the ideas and initiatives. His discussion allowed me to compare the points of similarity as well as gain new insights in relation to my own archive’s practice, and archival practices in the Oceania region…
Huni
It could be a session, a meeting or, perhaps, a line that an archivist said. Whichever it was, all the NP have a particular moment during the Congress that etched deep impressions on them. Herbert and Huni found Alan Cobley’s presentation on “Decoloniality, Reparations, Digitisation and the New Paradigms and New Technologies Shaping Caribbean Archives in the Twenty-First Century” deeply inspiring. While Clara and Sandy found the meetings and panel with the ICA Expert Group on Archival Description (EGAD) strongly engaging. Manuel Antonio and Adrià found sessions relating to inclusiveness to be stimulating, including “Almost Unfinished Inclusion: The Pending Issues of Access for People with Disabilities to Public Employment in Archives” and “Repensant la Metodologia Arxivística i de Gestió Documental. Primer Any del Desplegament del Pla Transversal de Gènere de l’ Arxiu General de la Diputació de Barcelona.” Arvid found it important that complex topics such as the safeguarding of archives at-risk, either through climate-related threats, war or large-scale violence or political or financial instability, were tackled in sessions such as “Archiving Trauma: Collecting in the Aftermath of Crisis, Disasters and Mass Violence.” While Sayan highlighted “Expanding Access and Collaboration in Archives Through Digital Tools and Policy Support” as a session that he found most useful. Rather than sessions, panels, or meetings, Faythe found that the words of Didier Grange, 2025 ICA Fellow, struck a chord with her, as she contemplated what her future with the ICA would look like as her stint as an active NP will come to an eventual end.
Experience of the Congress as an ICA New Professional
Although the week was sometimes overwhelming, being part of the NPP made me feel welcome. By meeting a lot of people, who knew us as NP, I enjoyed walking around the conference and running into people that I had spoken to earlier. Also, being a large group, it was nice to often be in sessions with the other NP and exchange ideas afterwards.
Arvid
Being an NP made the Congress feel different. I had a clear role, a small network, and mentors who helped me choose sessions and meet the right people.
Adrià
It has given me an immediate sense of belonging and purpose, which can otherwise be overwhelming in a gathering of this scale. Walking into sessions already connected to a cohort of peers, each with diverse perspectives, skills, and backgrounds, created an environment where learning felt collaborative rather than isolated. It also made it easier to approach people, ask questions, and engage in conversations that went beyond surface-level networking.
Sayan
It is one thing to attend the Congress; it is a whole other experience to attend it as a NP. Without a doubt, being a NP shaped the manner in which we experienced the Congress. As Faythe, Clara and Herbert quipped, “It was like being a VIP for the Congress!”. Most of us found that being a NP provided us with a sense of belonging to a community. Huni felt that her experience “may have been much more isolating” if she had attended on her own” and similarly, Sayan found that being an NP during the Congress gave him an “immediate sense of belonging and purpose, which can otherwise be overwhelming in a gathering of this scale”. Thanks to being an NP, Adrià felt that he had a clear role, a small network, and mentors who helped him choose sessions and meet the right people. While Manuel Antonio found that being a NP enriched his experience at the ICA Congress and he was able to “strengthen knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the current challenges facing the profession.”
Experience with the NPP
It has been a truly rewarding experience. I have not only met wonderful people from the ICA and around, but I have also been able to work on a really collaborative project with people from around the world. I believe all the members of the group are really proud of the outcomes of our project, and we are committed to keep working on it. Thanks to the NPP, I have found like-minded people that I would have never met otherwise.
Clara
I had an amazing experience. Though I am still exhausted, it was definitely worth it to meet the cohort in real life.
Herbert
So far, my experience in the Programme has been highly enriching for my professional development. I have gained new experiences and had the opportunity to meet professionals from different countries, cultures, and technological fields. I am particularly proud to have worked with my group of new professionals on the project “Rethinking Archival Practices”, which allowed me to reflect on innovation, collaboration, and adaptability within our profession.
Manuel Antonio
… I found my community of support, where I know that I am surrounded by like-minded (new) professionals from diverse backgrounds despite us being geographically apart. We have the same common goal, which is to grow in and grow with the field.
Sandy
As the NP reflect on their experience with the Programme, many found that it gave them the opportunity to go out of their comfort zones to approach new ideas and projects. Faythe shared that the NPP developed her leadership skills and that she gained confidence in speaking up in group settings. Huni also found that her work on the Instagram takeover as part of the programme required her to interpret her daily archival practice for a non-archival audience, something which she found “challenging but useful”.
Ultimately, it was the people that made all the difference too. Being part of NPP provided a platform to learn from and work with each other, and it was this mutual learning and cooperation between the NP that made the Programme special. As Clara highlighted, thanks to the NPP, she found like-minded people that she would have never met otherwise. Similarly, Huni shared that it has been wonderful getting to know the cohort of NP, who have been “very supportive, proactive”, and she felt that “this journey has been all the more enriched because of them”. Arvid shared similar sentiments, stating that being an NP taught him a lot, through the sharing or learning from each others’ interests, hearing about experiences at other institutions and more generally speaking about where we all think the field should be.
Indeed, the teamwork and chemistry between the cohort were evident in the group projects that we worked on, and we cannot be prouder of our projects. In Manuel Antonio’s words, “I am particularly proud to have worked with my group of new professionals on the project”. Indeed, our group projects, namely “Mapping the landscape of archival practices: Creating a resource guide to traditional and new approaches” and “Challenging, but absolutely necessary”: Archivists’ Experiences in Rethinking Archival Practices” are fruits of our labour and we cannot wait to continue expanding on them.
Concluding remarks
As the NP look towards the post-Programme future and into building on or scaling up our respective group projects, the Congress does not simply become a distant past, it remains a key milestone and core memory for all of us. We look forward to contributing to the NPP and the wider archival community in one way or another.
