In exactly two months, on 9 October, we will be kicking off the ICA Abu Dhabi Congress 2023! As the date for the Congress approaches, we wanted to share with you the final sub-themes, as well as the delegate site visits and spouse/partner program that have been planned for the week of the event!
Delegate Site Visits & Spouse/Partner Program
The Spouse/Partner Program is now available! There are three different tour dates and options to choose from, with locations such as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, which is the biggest mosque in the country, the Abrahamic Family House, which is an interfaith complex, and more.
If you have any questions about these tours, please reach out to: Ica2023@ntravel.ae
Find out more about the Spouse/partner Program here
There are also a variety of shorter tours planned for delegates to allow you to fit in some sight-seeing amidst a busy Congress program! The four available locations to visit are the Heritage Village, the Abrahamic Family House, Old Souq (WTC), and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Find out more about the Delegate Site Visits here
Exploring Trust & Evidence and Access & Memories
The fourth sub-theme for Congress is Trust and Evidence.
In the age of ‘alternative facts’, ‘fake news’, misinformation and cybersecurity threats, the need for trustworthy evidence (records, information, data) has become ever more essential. What is our role in this space? Who are our allies? What is the role of records and archives professionals in the area of internet governance? Archives must maintain the public’s trust and provide that trustworthy information in a form that is easily discovered, used and re-used for public discourse, education, scientific research and government policymaking. Trust and evidence also mean reaching out and understanding what our users need, so that they can believe in what we do and how we acquire, preserve and make accessible information. How do we empower them? To empower us? The evidence contained within archival collections has profound inter-generational value and Archival institutions must maintain the capacity to faithfully carry the recorded memory of the past into the future. In this respect the evidential value of archives is under constant threat through a long list of adverse influences, including technological obsolescence, administrative neglect, wilful destruction, conflict, looting and illicit trafficking.
This sub-theme will feature 8 sessions:
Sustainability of Public Documents
Trust in Archives
Archives as Evidence
Documenting the Government’s Processes
Cyber-security and Reliability
The Right to be Forgotten, the Right to be Remembered
GLAM, Information Governance
Using Immersive Technology to Archive Lived Experiences of the Australia’s Stolen Generations
The fifth sub-theme for Congress is Access and Memories.
Access to archives is a right, not a privilege. It is for the researchers and the stakeholders to decide to what ends should lead their access to archival materials. Nonetheless, access can present challenges for archives, particularly relating to the misuse and improper citation of materials, especially digital formats. Archives have a duty to preserve knowledge and a social role in sharing common memories to build enriched communities. Whether electronic or physical, access to archives is one of most important tools for enriching societies. Nonetheless, access faces its fair share of challenges when it comes to the misuse and non-acknowledgment of the materials used in a variety of formats but more specifically on digital platforms.
This sub-theme will feature 13 sessions:
Social Media: Tool and Record
Oral History and Digital Humanities
Memory of Communities
Breaking news! Records in Contexts 1.0 released – a Guided Tour of the New ICA Standard for Describing Archives
Archival Community
Cultural heritage
Access, discovery, and Understanding: Meaning making in Oral History Archives
Governmental Archives
Collective Memory
Archival Exhibitions
Access to Memory
Taking Archives to the People: Audience Development and Underserved Communities
Access and Preservation
A big thank you!
We also want to say a big thank you to all of our sponsors for making this event possible! Take a look at all of the official sponsors for ICA Abu Dhabi Congress 2023.
Our special thanks to: