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Dear
colleagues,
We
are pleased to invite you to the next conference of SPP/ICA,
which will take place on 29 and 30 October 2009 in the
Austrian Parliament in Vienna and which is to deal with the
subject of "Archives and Democracy". The main
question that is to be discussed within the framework of this
conference will be the following: What can archives actively
contribute to promote democracy?
One
branch of archives particularly confronted with the needs of
political education is that of the archives of the political decision-making
institutions and bodies involved, i.e. the archives of
Parliaments and Political Parties. Where else, if not there,
was traceable the way democracy is working, and has worked
out? Thus, it may not be surprising that it is the Section of
Archives and Archivists in the International Council on
Archives that is organizing a conference on the subject, which
is to deal with three major issues:
- What are the most important archival holdings that
might provide inspiration for promoting democracy?
- What means may be used to present
these holdings to the general public, as well as to specific
dialogue groups?
- What methods and instruments may be
used by archives, in cooperation with other institutions, to
actively contribute to democracy
education
Enclosed
please find the conference
programme, which will show you the topical scope in more
detail.
Though
some focus will be on the specific options and opportunities
of parliamentary and political party archives, SPP/ICA is well
aware that the issue might be of interest far beyond its own
membership. That is why there are leading representatives of
other ICA sections among the keynote speakers of the
conference, and why participation in the conference is not
restricted to SPP members, too, albeit overall participation
is limited by the available premises. Archivists and experts
in political education are invited to attend the conference,
in order to make it a forum for an open and manifold exchange
of experiences in the field.
Subsequent
to the conference, and specifically for the members of SPP, on
30 October 2009 the annual meeting of the SPP Plenary Assembly
will take place.
The
conference website has now gone online and can be visited at http://archives-and-democracy.parliament.at
.There you will find the registration form, as well as a
form for booking a hotel room, in case you want to choose from
the recommended hotels. Please register soon for the
conference, since, as mentioned above, the number of
participants has to be limited. Hotel reservation through the
online form will be possible until 28 September 2009.
Let
us express our hope that the Vienna conference will be a forum
for a vivid and valuable exchange of experiences and for
fruitful discussions on developing archival strategies for
promoting democracy.
Marietta
Minotos
Guenther Schefbeck
SPP President
SPP Vice-President
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