The Latinamerican Association of Archivists (ALA – Asociación Latinoamericana de Archivos) hosted the annual conference of the International Council on Archives (ICA) in Mexico City in November.  The event attracted over 600 archivists and other information professionals from around the world to discuss the emerging issues affecting documentary heritage – including preservation of digital heritage.

Vint Cerf, David Fricker, President ICA

Ingrid Parent and David Fricker gave an extensive presentation on PERSIST, during a session chaired by Mr Guy Berthiaume, Director of Library Archives Canada.  The session generated a great deal of discussion, with many contributions from the floor – including from Dr Anthea Seles, the incoming Secretary General ICA and Mr Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Evangelist for Google.  Discussion led to a wide range of issues for PERSIST, including ideas on a sustainable business model, how to advocate for support and how to extend the benefits of PERSIST to less resourced memory institutions.

David Fricker, Ingrid Parent and Guy Berthiaume

• Watch the ALA ICA 2017 PERSIST presentation
• The Mexico City Declaration adopted by the participants reiterated ICA’s commitment to cooperate with Unesco’s Memory of the World Programme and PERSIST to preserve humanity’s digital documentary heritage. The Declaration can be downloaded in English, French or Spanish.’

Categories: PERSIST Programme