On behalf of the Iberarchivos archival cooperation programme, we are pleased to announce the publication ofthe Ibero-American Year of Archives 2019 Report “The Place of Archives: Access to Information, Transparency and Memory” is now available. A text that reflects the work and commitment of the entire Ibero-American archival community.
The Memoria Año Iberoamericano de los Archivos 2019 is the result of the process of activities derived from the commemoration of the Ibero-American Year of Archives 2019, declared at the XXVI Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held on 15 and 16 November 2018 in the city of La Antigua, Guatemala. The activities took place thanks to the collaboration of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Latin American Archives Association (ALA), the Sub-Directorate General of State Archives of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Iberarchives Programme, in addition to the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
This report shows that the countries of Ibero-America are gradually advancing in the application of administrative and legislative management measures to comply with the right of access to public information, data protection and administrative transparency, as well as to observe the protocols for the preservation and dissemination of their documentary collections, making a reliable contribution to the recovery of the collective memory and the preservation of the Ibero-American documentary heritage.
Silvestre Lacerda, President of the Intergovernmental Council of the Iberarchives Programme comments: “Archives are an essential factor for Memory and Transparency in the States and are one of the strongest indicators for the strengthening of democracy in the Ibero-American space.
On the other hand, Enrique Vargas, Coordinator of the Ibero-American Cultural Space of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), emphasises: The celebration of the Ibero-American Year of Archives for Transparency and Memory reinforces the call made by regional cooperation and institutions linked to the archival community to generate greater articulation, visibility of their actions and their professionalisation.
The Madrid Declaration was published as a result of the previous day of reflection in which the directors of the National Archives of Ibero-America and some experts in the field of archives took part, reflecting the demands of public and private archives, requesting recognition of their fundamental role in the active design of public policies on transparency and memory. The role and function of archives is fundamental and decisive in society’s policies and democracy.