Language(s) of presentations:
Abstract:
“Pluralizing the Archival Paradigm through Education” is a collaborative project exploring the recordkeeping and archival education needs of Indigenous, ethnic and other marginalised communities in Pacific Rim nations and how far existing programs meet their needs. Funded by the UCLA Pacific Rim Program, the research is being undertaken by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles, Monash University in Melbourne and Renmin University in Beijing. Papers in this session will review the project’s findings and raise fundamental questions relating to the knowledge and skills needed to support diverse communities in their interactions with all forms of records and archives. They will explore effective models for curriculum development, curriculum content and approaches to teaching, learning and technological implementation that are based on engagement between communities, the academy and the profession.
Target audience:
The target audience for this session will be a mix of archival educators, doctoral and master’s students, archival practitioners, and community members who are interested in or engaged with issues relating to diversifying professional education and practice in ways that take into account community needs, cultures, belief systems and ways of knowing and recording.
Overall purpose and significance of session:
The papers in this session will address the Development theme of the Congress by exploring the archival education needs of Indigenous, ethnic and other marginalised communities in the Asia-Pacific Region. Twenty-first century archival and recordkeeping practice globally, regionally, and locally needs to be underpinned by professional education that nurtures practitioners that are knowledgeable about economic, political, socio-legal and cultural drivers, as well as the impact and potential of evolving technology. It must support dramatically increased mobility of students and practitioners, as well as recordkeeping and archiving in highly diversified contexts in government, business and civil society, including Indigenous, ethnic and marginalised communities.
Content description:
The three papers in this session draw on community-centred research undertaken in countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The first paper, "Archival needs of communities in Pacific Rim countries" will discuss the development and delivery of archival education that is culturally sensitive, inclusive of community knowledge and responsive to community needs. The second paper, "Archival education needs of Australian Indigenous communities", will link archival education needs to the role of archives in identity, memory, the production, recovery and preservation of community knowledge, reconnecting families and building intergenerational relationships, regeneration of communities and culture, the redress of past injustices and reconciliation. The paper on "Transforming archival education" will propose models for curriculum development, curriculum content and approaches to teaching and learning that are based on engaging communities with the academy and the profession.
I wish to extend a warm invitation to all archivists and information professionals to the 16th ICA Congress in Kuala Lumpur from 21- 27 July 2008.