A short report

The 31^st meeting of the International Center for Archival Research ICARUS took place from 8^th to 10^th November in North Macedonia, the first two days in the capital Skopje and the last day in the historically extraordinary Ohrid. The topic, summarized under the title “Common archival heritage”, contained both the use of archives and the provision of ever wider access opportunities through the addition of digital collections, as well as the improvement of the physical condition of archives. Two workshops were added to the 21 presentations held in one and a half days, and two joint dinners with a traditional football match on the evening of the opening day.

 

The opening words of the conference were given by Emil Krsteski, head of the State Archives of North Macedonia, Charles Farrugia, State Archivist of Malta (who is also president of EURBICA, the European Association of the International Council on Archives) and Birgit Kibal as president of ICARUS.

 

Have a look at the programme here.

As a good practice, ICARUS meetings include field trips to culturally significant areas and visits to local memory institutions. In the south-western part of North Macedonia, there is an outstanding natural reservoir in the vicinity of Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and therefore the journey of the participants on the last day of the meeting took the form of a bus trip from Skopje to the city of Ohrid, where the participants visited the local city museum, two almost thousand-year-old churches, and had a walking tour of the historic city center, which is still preserved from antiquity original amphitheater overlooking the picturesque Lake Ohrid.

 

Many thanks to the organizers of the event from the State Archives of North Macedonia!

See you at the next conferences from 5-7 June 2024 in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia, and mid-October in Naples, Italy!

Birgit Kibal
President of ICARUS