The UP Museum Archive and Mapungubwe Archive join global network of International Council of Archives

Dr Sian Tiley-Nel and the two archivists in the University of Pretoria  (UP) Museums are pleased to announce that the Mapungubwe Archive and UP Museum Archive of the UP Museums have joined the International Council on Archives (ICA) https://www.ica.org/en  as of January 2023.

The International Council of Archives promote that effective records and archives management is an essential precondition for good governance, the rule of law, administrative transparency, the preservation of humankind’s collective memory, and access to information by citizens. The ICA is dedicated to the effective management of records, and the preservation, care, and use of the world’s archival heritage through its representation of records and archive professionals across the globe.

Collectively, the UP Museum Archives are a trusted research resource, as archives constitute the memory of museum collections and those of the institution. Joining ICA improves our global standing and reputation.

One of the major benefits of membership is to freely join several professional sections such as the Section on University and Research Institution Archives (SUV). Founded in 1992 in Montreal, the SUV section is open to current and former archivists working in universities, colleges, academies of science and letters, learned societies and research institutions. The goals of SUV, within the general objectives of ICA are:

• to promote professional and scholarly co-operation and communication between archives and archivists of universities, colleges, academies of science and letters, learned societies and research institutions,
• to gather, disseminate and exchange information relating to the creation and administration of such archives,
• to assist the development and strengthening of such archives through symposia, publications and the exchange of information;
• to cooperate with other bodies of the ICA.

As the UP Museums adopt the digital transformation strategy within larger UP, "this institutional membership has the potential to be a research catalyst for the digital realm of primary records." Added Dr. Tiley-Nel. As an organization that supports the preservation and active use of our records and archives to manage best-and ethical practices and promote greater access to them, ICA is a logical evolution onto an international platform.

In their digital archiving approach, the UP Museums want to meld the historical distinctions between the archive and the artworks, transform information into lasting knowledge, and raise awareness of the urgent conservation requirements of South African university museum archives.

The UP Museum Archives research plan calls for accepting monthly researchers from both inside and outside the institution. These archives offer weekly assistance to curated data, continuing provenance study, and objects-based research within the UP Museums. As primary records infiltrate museum research on many levels of hybrid research activities within the university museums, archival research is at the forefront of basic museum research methods. The UP Museum Archive and Mapungubwe Archive look forward to their journey, access to the Africa programme and host of other opportunities offered by the International Council of Archives.

Please submit an email to [email protected] with your request for faculty and department access to the archives and transdisciplinary research.