International Archives Week

The theme of this 6th edition of International Archives Week is highly topical: #CyberArchives. It’s an opportunity for all archives and document management professionals to examine the impact of technological advances on the archival sector.

Beyond the power of data, archives must deal with the challenges and opportunities arising from artificial intelligence (AI) and a whole range of elements from advanced technologies, including “blockchain”. This week, which runs from June 3 to 9, is an opportunity to open dialogue with other stakeholders, to encourage collaboration and promote the importance of documents and archives in our societies.

By making more effective use of new technologies, archives are able to facilitate informed decision-making for all organizations. They contribute to greater transparency and preserve cultural heritage.

The week also includes International Archives Day on June 9, which has been celebrated since 2009. The aim of this day is to draw the public’s attention to the importance of archives, the benefits of good archiving for quality governance, and the need for long-term preservation and easy access. The International Council on Archives (ICA) was created on June 9, 1948, under the aegis of UNESCO.

In the world of the SNJM, the interest of the nuns in preserving the documentary heritage must be emphasized, and this has been the case since the beginning of the congregation’s foundation. Thanks to them and to past and present Leadership Teams, the archives of the congregation are rich and continue to grow. Archival and leadership teams from all eras have developed resources to conserve, process, preserve and make accessible the general and provincial archives.

At the Mother House, as in the convents of the community, there was often a room dedicated to the conservation of the archives, adjacent to the office of the superior. And what about the installations and equipment acquired when the archives were relocated to the Congregational House? The general archives as well as those of the Quebec provinces and missions are preserved there in optimal conditions.

Today, despite the winds of change, one fact remains: archival work and the dissemination of the SNJM’s heritage and charisma will be done differently in the future, but will continue.