Archives in Practice: ICA Member-led perspectives on archival practice worldwide
Increasing Partnerships and Connections – the work of the ARA International Section
Prepared by ARA International Committee members Isabel Lauterjung, Secretary, and Chloe Anderson-Wheatley, Chair
16 January 2026
It has been almost two years ago since the UK & Ireland Archives and Records Association (ARA) established its International Section. We would like to take this opportunity to reflect on our achievements and highlight our work connecting an international community of archivists and recordkeepers. Our founding Chair Chloe Anderson-Wheatley, Corporate Records & National Archives Manager at the Jane Cameron National Archives in the Falkland Islands, decided to approach ARA with the idea of setting up a new section: the International Section.
ARA already had an international membership category but did not have much in the way of a network for international members. There is a slew of archivists and recordkeepers who have an international background and work in the United Kingdom or Ireland, or simply those who maintain an interest in international archival practice. This is where Chloe’s idea stemmed from: based on her personal experience working in a fairly remote location, she wanted to enable British or Irish professionals working outside of the UK, to British/Irish professional standards, to feel supported and provide a space to share experiences and professional challenges and opportunities.
The aim of our International Section is to provide a forum for ARA members, especially those based abroad or working abroad to UK/Irish standards, to exchange ideas and knowledge, provide training, and create a welcoming space to connect with other professionals who may have experienced similar challenges or can provide opportunities and advice. In order to achieve this, we decided to create a training series, the first session of which took place in May 2025: In Conversation: Around the World in Oral History Practice. Professionals working in the Netherlands, United States, and the United Kingdom came together to discuss oral history practice they’d encountered throughout their career. We’re excited to plan a further training session in this style for 2026!
As part of our second AGM in July 2025, we invited Kirsten Wright, Program Manager of the Find & Connect Project at the University of Melbourne, to speak about international collaboration on trauma-informed practice. This built off the work started with the ICA, and provided a great insight into how the international community, and our members, can promote and implement this practice into their own institutions. This is a topic of interest that we would love to expand upon in further training and conversation around cross-cultural trauma-informed practice.
A further training opportunity we were excited to be involved in was organised in collaboration with ARA Northern Region (the group of the Association’s professionals in the north of England): ‘Regional Archive Bodies in the UK and Europe’ was an informative event between the Northern Region’s Chair, the German archival association (Verband deutscher Archivarinnen und Archivare) and the Catalonian association (Associació d'Arxivers-Gestors de Documents de Catalunya (AAC-GD)). It was a great insight into the opportunities of challenges of regional archival bodies in different national systems and how best to utilise the group’s reach.
Global distribution of ARA International Section membership.
To inform our future training and event planning, we created a membership survey to gauge our members’ professional background, challenges and opportunities of their jobs, and what they would need from us. At the time of the survey, we had 75 members across 5 continents, demonstrating a need for ARA members to connect at a global scale. This has increased by 20 people since this survey was conducted. The survey identified several ideas around future engagement opportunities: international exchange around the difference in archives education. Some respondents noted that in their geographic location, there was not a requirement for an official archival or recordkeeping qualification. It would be fascinating to have further conversations around how this informs professional practice in different countries. Furthermore, we would like to look into how established archival practices help inform and challenge existing standards, e.g. around Indigenous knowledge keeping and records.
2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year for us – plenty of ideas around training and international recordkeepers’ exchange that will need organising! We would also like to create a space for a more informal exchange for our membership – consistently attending hour-long training sessions and meetings isn’t feasible and is a lot to ask of our membership, so another informal space would be great to encourage conversations and exchange. Our section is distinct from the ICA in terms of our membership, which is open for all members of the UK & Ireland Archives and Records Association – you don’t need specifically international membership, but you can merely be interested in international archival affairs! We are keen to continue to collaborate and connection with internation professionals to support our sector promote archival practice.
Unlocking the African Community Archives at a Time of Crisis: Shaping Inclusive Archival Futures in Africa
Tshepho Mosweu, Villy A. Magero, Florence Dedzoe-Dzokotoe Plockey, Maureen Mnyazi Kenga and Juliet A. Erima
11 December 2025
Recognizing the importance of community archiving practices in Africa, archivists and Librarians from Botswana, Kenya, Ghana and Tunisia joined the “Catalyzing African Community Archives for Social Good” project. This collaboration spans 2024–2025 and aims to shape inclusive and sustainable futures.
A Partnership for Change This initiative brought together the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, African archivists, and international knowledge management organizations. The main goal was to shift the power dynamic in knowledge preservation. The project fostered communities of practice, empowering African partners to use their knowledge and records for social good. It also worked to decolonize and diversify preservation resources that have been centered in the Global North. The team dedicated a full year to regular meetings to develop the core training modules, culminating in a one-week-long workshop at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, to finalize all project deliverables.
Team in Illinois. Photo credit: Tshepho Mosweu.
The New Curriculum for Community Archiving
The key outcome of this collaboration is a comprehensive curriculum or training manual for community archives. It is designed as a simple, yet thorough, guide for training and development in the area of Community Archiving.
The developed modules include:
All project materials, including the modules, are now publicly available. You can read more about the project at <https://cacasg.library.illinois.edu/about/> and explore the training modules directly here: <https://cacasg.library.illinois.edu/modules/>.
A Call for Local Ownership and Context
African archivists in the project issue a strong call to action for the Global South to remember the lost narratives in conversation, behavior, and character of their communities. Instead of relying on external resources to tell their stories as is often the case, the project is founded on the belief that Africans can and should develop resources that are specifically applicable to their own environment and people. This local focus is a highlight of the curriculum, with most examples drawn directly from the African context, such as the Speru dance from the Basubiya community in Botswana, or Kalenjin artifacts from Kenya.
With the Catalyzing African Community Archives for Social Good project, we hope to reignite a long-needed conversation in the digital preservation of Community Archives and Heritage in Africa. The work ensures that future generations will be able to connect their culture and heritage to a tangible source, helping them understand why certain traditions and practices exist depicting the original nuances. These training modules will also complement existing preservation efforts, leveraging tools like the Digital Preservation Coalition toolkit. This project plays a critical role in shaping the evolving concepts, practices, and technologies of archival work within an African context. We encourage institutions and local communities across Africa to utilize these materials for the wider community good.
The researchers are grateful for the support of funding of The Catalyzing African Community Archives for Social Good project from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor’s Call to Action Research Program, which advances academic and community-based research addressing systemic inequities and social injustices. Further gratitude goes to the project coordinators and the team from the University of Illinois led by Prof. Chris Prom.
