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Official Press Release of 15th International Congress on Archives, 30/08/2004 The city of Vienna was the backdrop for the 15th Congress of the International Council on Archives (ICA) from 23-28 August 2004. 2000 delegates from 116 countries joined together to discuss how to preserve the world’s documentary heritage. During the Congress the ICA hotly debated the destruction that both man-made and natural disasters have wrought on the world’s archival heritage. War, flood and looting are just some of the means by which archives have been destroyed and with them the identity of individuals and nations, the cultural life of communities and the core elements of democratic accountability. So, at the Congress, the ICA has taken measures to counteract these destructive forces including urging governments that have not already done so to sign up to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict. It has also urged the United Nations and other international organizations to include protection of vital records in their humanitarian and peace operations. The computer is now a bedrock of modern life. Caring in the long-term for the multiplicity of records produced by computer is an enormous and complicated task. Can you find an email you sent 5 years ago? Probably not. Just imagine the task of the archivist who has to archive all the electronic records of a large organization. It’s a vital but challenging task. But for some countries this task is made even more difficult due to very restricted resources. At the Congress the ICA called on governments at the next World Summit on the Information Society to demand a reduction in access costs to the Internet for less developed countries and to permit national archive services to connect to the Internet, which will contribute to reducing the digital divide between countries. Destruction can also be self-conscious. Archives play a pivotal role providing irrefutable evidence of human rights violations and empower victims to bring perpetrators to justice. Archives are also the memory of such violations so that the world can find out what really happened and individuals can remember. Archives are fundamental to ensuring the survival of truth, memory and justice. The archives of public bodies and non-governmental organizations that document violations of human rights can face serious threats to their survival, both through intentional destruction and lack of resources and knowledge. ICA called on the UN to take action to safeguard these archives, and thus enable victims and societies to exercise their rights. But ICA is not purely concerned with the threats to the world’s documentary heritage. It also celebrates humankind’s success. Thus, in this Olympic week it was fitting that ICA called on the Olympic Committee to support ICA projects intended to safeguard and promote archives of sport and of the Olympic movement. ICA has had a very successful Conference in Vienna. It was honoured to be addressed by the Federal President at the opening ceremony. Furthermore, throughout the Congress highly respected speakers gave keynote speeches including Hans Tuppy, the internationally renowned biochemist, Ferdinand Lacina, the dynamic leader of the Austrian League for Human Rights, Gerhard Roth, the prize-winning novelist and Ivan Ivanji, concentration camp survivor and internationally renowned journalist and author. All the delegates have greatly enjoyed Austrian culture and hospitality and ICA looks forward to returning to the historic city of Vienna in the future. Notes for Editors * The International Council on Archives is the professional organization for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development and use of the world’s archival heritage. * It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organizations as well as individual archivists. * ICA has some 1700 members in over 190 countries and territories, making it truly international. * It is a non-governmental organization, which means that it maintains independence from the political process and that its members include public and private archive institutions and individuals. * ICA works closely with inter-governmental organizations such as UNESCO and the Council of Europe. It also has strong links with other non-governmental organizations. For further information about ICA resolutions visit the ICA website at link : www.ica.org ICA Wien 2004 - www.wien2004.ica.org For further information, contact: Joan Van Albada, Secretary General: [log in to unmask] Lorenz Mikoletzky, President and Congress Host: [log in to unmask] *** International Council on Archives (ICA) Conseil international des archives (CIA) 60 rue des Francs Bourgeois F-75003 Paris - France T: +33 (0)1 40 27 61 37 F: +33 (0)1 42 72 20 65 E: [log in to unmask] I: www.ica.org ICA Wien 2004 - www.wien2004.ica.org Archives, Memory and Knowledge / Archives, mémoires et savoirs