IBERARCHIVES: 25 YEARS OF ARCHIVAL COOPERATION
Archives are custodians of the collective memory and essential tools for the cultural, social and democratic development of Ibero-American nations. In our 25 years of life, the Programme has supported 1,431 projects in Ibero-America, with a total investment of 6,337,607.15 Euros and 1,671,854 USD.
The knowledge, history and diversity of the 22 countries of the Ibero-American community can be found in the documents of Iberarchivos, a programme that is now a quarter of a century old to promote access, organisation, description, conservation and dissemination of documentary heritage.
Iberarchivos was created 25 years ago with the aim of contributing to the consolidation of the Ibero-American Cultural Space, an initiative of cooperation and integration of the Ibero-American countries articulated and ratified by the Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government, for the promotion of access, organisation, description, conservation and dissemination of documentary heritage.
The Programme, which was created in 1998, encourages bonds of solidarity and strengthens the capacities of professionals and the promotion of Ibero-American archives of all types, from the General National Archives to Municipal Archives, including the archives of Human Rights institutions or others in small and remote localities, such as those of indigenous peoples.
It is precisely this universalisation of the Programme that President Silvestre Lacerda highlights as one of its great values: “The main positive impact has to do with the possibility of going beyond the national archives. We do not only focus on general archives, but we also target small archives in small communities, other university, municipal or private institutions”.
In order to operate, this initiative is based on a financial fund that supports projects submitted to annual calls for proposals for archival projects. Between the first call for proposals in 1999 and the last one approved in 2022, 1,431 projects in 23 countries have been supported, with a total investment of 6,337,607.15 euros and 1,671,854 USD.
In the future, the programme’s technical secretary, Cristina Díaz, believes that it is necessary to think big: “We must continue to promote the development of archives in Ibero-America. On the one hand, we must support and help the daily work carried out by our archivists, and at the same time we must promote access for all citizens to the documents that we conserve in our heritage institutions.
The Iberarchivos Programme considers it vitally important to promote the preservation, management and access to archives, recognising their crucial role in the construction of identities, the strengthening of transparency and the safeguarding of citizens’ rights. It also advocates the promotion of inclusive archival policies, cooperation between institutions and public awareness of the inestimable value of archives in safeguarding the preservation of memory and the construction of the future.
