Page 34 - 2022UNESCO ICDH Newsletter_vol.4

The Importance of the
IBERARCHIVOS Programme in
Safeguarding the Documentary
Heritage of Ibero-America
Cristina Díaz Martínez
Deputy Director of the Spanish State Archives
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1. About Iberarchivos
Iberarchivos Programme is an intergovernmental cooperation and
integration programme of the Ibero-American countries (Spain, Portugal
and the Latin-American Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries)
born in 1997, articulated and endorsed by the Ibero-American Summit
of Heads of State and Government for the promotion of access,
organization, description, conservation and dissemination of documentary
heritage. At present this Programme is the cornerstone for the Ibero-
American archival cooperation.
Iberarchivos strives to ensure access to archives by citizens and their
development throughout the region. The Programme promotes solidarity
binds amongst the institutions in charge of caring for cultural heritage,
strengthens its professional capabilities and thrusts improvement policies
of the Ibero-American archives through specific projects that benefit
the archives of the region, from national archives to municipal archives,
archives from institutions focus on safeguarding human rights, woman
rights or indigenous peoples and Afro descendant’s rights, amongst
others.
The adhesion of the National Archives to Iberarchivos Programme is
possible by an annual fee which constitutes a multilateral financial fund.
The financial fund, which is nourished by national contributions and other
voluntary funding such as that of the Spanish Agency for International
Development Cooperation (AECID), serves to finance an average of 50
archival projects per year.
Eighteen countries are currently part of the programme, which can
be consulted on the following web page:
https://www.iberarchivos.org/paises-miembros/
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