The XXVI Meeting of the Intergovernmental Council, which took place on 26 and 27 March in Toluca de Lerdo (Mexico), has concluded. The event brought together the national archival authorities of the Programme’s member countries, as well as representatives of the Cultural Space of the SEGIB Ibero-American General Secretariat, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI).
The meeting was preceded by a strategic planning workshop, led by the consultant Graciela Rico, as a result of which the new Strategic Plan 2023-2026, which will govern Iberarchivos’ actions over the next four years, and the next Annual Operational Plan 2023, will be drawn up.
The Intergovernmental Council selected the 36 projects that will receive funding to be developed in the period 2023-2024. The results can be consulted on the website(www.iberarchivos.org) or via social networks.
The Intergovernmental Council expressed its solidarity with the Peruvian people and the archival community in Peru following the damage caused by Cyclone Yaku. This was reflected in the decision to grant extraordinary assistance of up to 25,000 euros for an emergency intervention project to alleviate the effects of the cyclone.
On the other hand, the XXV Iberarchivos call for applications for aid for archival projects was approved, in which archives and other institutions that hold documentary heritage in the Programme’s member countries are invited to participate. The deadline for submitting projects is 01 April to 30 June 2023. Consult the terms and conditions at: (www.iberarchivos.org/convocatoria)
Another of the fundamental points of this meeting was the renewal of positions, where Mr. Silvestre de Almeida Lacerda was ratified in his functions as President of the Intergovernmental Council for a new period of three years and Mr. Pablo Antonio Fontdevila (Argentina) and Mr. Ricardo Arturo Moreau Heredia (Peru), as members of the Executive Committee, for a new period of two years, as stated in the Regulations of the Programme.
The event included the intervention of Lee Seungcheol, representative of the ICDH (International Centre for Documentary Heritage) of UNESCO, with the aim of initiating future cooperation as observers of the programme.
Without a doubt, this space fulfilled its objective of being an open forum that nurtures and promotes the development of programmes and projects for the benefit of the archival community and the national archives of Ibero-America.