Membership of Documenta in the International Council on Archives
In May 2012, Documenta – Centre for dealing with the past became a member of International Council on Archives (ICA).
ICA is dedicated to the effective management of records and the preservation, care and use of the world's archival heritage through its representation of records and archive professionals across the globe. Archives are an incredible resource. They are the documentary by-product of human activity and as such are an irreplaceable witness to past events, underpinning democracy, the identity of individuals and communities, and human rights. But they are also fragile and vulnerable. The ICA strives to protect and ensure access to archives through advocacy, setting standards, professional development, and enabling dialogue between archivists, policy makers, creators and users of archives.
ICA was established on June 9 1948, date on which International day of Archives is being celebrated since 2008. ICA is registered as non-governmental organization with head office in Paris, France. According to the constitution revised in 2007, ICA governance is in the hands of three main bodies: the Annual General Meeting is the highest decision-making body in the ICA and decides on long-term strategic directions as well as the management of the organization, Executive Board and the Management Commission. Other bodies of governance are Audit Commission, Programme Commission, Professional Sections Coordination, FIDA Board of Trustees, ICA Leadership, and The Secretariat. Organization also functions through a network of 13 regional branches throughout the world. Every branch has autonomy in deciding on its own priorities on basis of cultural difference, tradition and specific needs of a certain region, in accordance with ICA mission. Working groups are Committee on Best Practice & Standards, COMMA Editorial Board, Archives and Human Rights Group, Photographic and Audiovisual Archives Group, Working Group for Intellectual Property.
ICA has approximately1500 members in 195 countries and territories. Members are central or national archival institutions, professional associations, international organizations and business archives, individuals such as professional archivists or student archivists. In Croatia, institution members are Croatian State Archives, Croatian Archival Society and Documenta.
The 2003 CITRA in Cape Town adopted a resolution on archives and human rights violations. In part, this resolution invited ICA and UNESCO to put in place a preservation programme for archival fonds that would document violations of human rights. To implement this resolution, ICA established a Human Rights Working Group (HRG). Beside its newsletter, one of the projects of this group is Human Rights Archives Directory, of which Documenta is also a member.
We believe that our membership and participation at the International Council on Archives will contribute to transfer of knowledge among different actors on regional as well as global level, increased professional capacities of organization in the management of documentation which is located in our archive, professional and advisory assistance to other similar organizations, and promotion of necessity of preservation, management and accessibility of all kinds of documentation as one of the prerequisites in exercising human rights and processes of dealing with the past.
