Name : Onni Omar KHATIB

Title : /

Job title : Head of Ramallah Archives

Organisation (if ICA Institutional membership): Ramallah city Archives

Country or Territory: Palestine

Region represented: Africa and the Arab Countries

Candidate Statement:    

“Per my 1st membership in ICA for in 2011 and the membership impacts and ICA publications enriched and developed my experiences as an specialist and team leader in developing country that suffers of lack of archival culture of the archival sector as following:

1- The importance and impact of learning and adapting the experiences of ICA members, and adding new horizons in vision and goals in various work and life sectors.

2- The critical importance of knowing and the necessity of practices of archival quality standards and related protocols such as ISO 15489 and ISAD-G, and not just have theoretical knowledge.

3- My ability to transfer knowledge and exchange experiences with various stakeholders has been enhanced through the projects I have implemented and the volunteer tasks I achieved or still in progress, to spread awareness and archival culture & skills, and to define the importance of applying them and the danger of not applying them.

4- ICA publications and activities has added to me skills in communication methods and joining various networks and communities, especially in the Arab countries and neighborhood (in Asia and Africa).

5- ICA membership has enhanced my volunteer work and attracted groups of experts to join volunteer work for the sake of the archival community, and continuous communication with different countries in this field to learn about the latest practical experiences and exchange benefits between different parties.

6- I consider the success of the archival Community in Palestine and the desire of several parties from neighboring countries to expand the community to include additional countries in the region to be the result of my experiences with ICA.

7- The above mentioned enabled us to identify the issues, challenges and obstacles facing the progress of the local archival entities in MENA and entities owns very important archival materials, and this helped us in defining basic needs and writing proposals to mobilize funds and cognitive and material support to overcome and surpass these obstacles. Especially in the current crises and political and security instability in the region, which threaten the archives and cultural heritage of societies in the region.”

How can you make the voice of ICA regions underrepresented in PCOM heard?

“As an specialist and consultant in Archiving fields with long experience in different countries, and a member of many networks such as German Board for consulting & training, ACP (Archival community in Palestine & others, member of archiving Lab community) , Its my passionate to exchange knowledge and experience with side range of concerned entities , specially in Arab and African countries, to spreed and encourage them to build archival communities, networking and knowledge exchange events (Same as I established in Palestine with an experienced archival group , that makes powerful voice and impacts.”

ICA members, please remember to log in to your ICA profile in order to review the candidate CV and letter of support they may have received.