I was inspired to attend the first annual ICA conference because of its focus on the significant themes of “Accountability, Transparency and Access to Information”. With support from the ICA, I had the pleasure of attending the conference in Brussels, Belgium as an ICA-funded volunteer. I benefited from learning and sharing knowledge and experiences not only with speakers but also with participants from around the world.
As mentioned in Flash 26:
A wide range of speakers from all over the world and from all walks of the archives and records management field has been assembled to tackle these issues from the bottom up and the top down, from practical solution-based studies, through international and collaborative case studies to high-level government and international initiatives.
These words were proved through my eyes and my ears. People from every region attended. Over 500 people were there and 100 countries were represented at the conference. The participants included academics, consultants, staff from national archives, private archives, associations and advocacy groups.
The first plenary session was held in the main auditorium; this included the welcome and opening remarks and the keynote speeches. Three parallel sessions were then offered in three rooms so that the delegates could participate according to their interest. The first parallel session concentrated on open government and open data, the second on records management challenges and approaches, and the third session was for those who were interested in information technology. Some sessions were so popular that there were no seats left in the room. I had to sit on the floor to listen to speakers from many countries who shared their knowledge and experiences on records management with participants.
The sessions made me realise that, although we came from various cultures, we all shared common challenges in providing access to information. Access to information is increasingly being recognised as essential for government transparency and accountability, and as a means of safeguarding citizens against mismanagement and corruption. Balancing the management of records and archives according to laws and regulations and the needs of the public is a challenge for everyone who is involved with records and archives.
The session that closed ICA’s First Annual Conference was a ‘Round Up Session’ in which seven members of ICA’s leadership and secretariat shared their thoughts and conclusions. Although I couldn’t attend all sessions, the main conclusion drawn from all the panelists and from the audience was that there is a need for collaboration between all information professions, across all borders and with society in general. There was a clear intention from ICA and its partners to collaborate to ensure that records and archives are created and remain accessible, usable and authentic for as long as they are needed to provide the basis for improving services, controlling corruption and strengthening democracy.
Moreover, I discovered many initiatives from the ICA and its partner organisations that I could apply to my work. In Thailand, we are now working on many projects inspired by the conference to support the implementation of our first National Archives Act, which was enacted in March 2013 to define our role as a custodian of national heritage that manages and preserves archives and makes them accessible to the public to support accountability and transparency.
I thank the ICA for giving me a chance to participate in this event. The beautiful city of Brussels and the great conference will be forever impressed in my memory.
Ms.Varanud Vinasandhi
Audio-Visual Officer, Professional Level, IT Team, The National Archives of Thailand