The European Branch of the International Council on Archives (EURBICA), in collaboration with the ICA Section for Archival Education and Training (SAE) and the National Archives of Romania, is pleased to invite submissions for the EURBICA 2026 Conference:

Archives across Borders: Pedagogies, Practices, and Partnerships

 National Archives of Romania, Bucharest
 14 November 2026

The European Branch of the International Council on Archives (EURBICA), in collaboration with the ICA Section for Archival Education and Training (SAE) and the National Archives of Romania, is pleased to announce the call for papers for the upcoming 2026 EURBICA Conference.

Conference Theme and Vision

Digital innovation and new research expertise are transforming the archival field. The growing intersection between archival practice, interdisciplinary research, and education has reshaped how archives are taught, studied, and mobilized across geographical, institutional, and disciplinary borders.

By establishing a balanced framework that integrates archival discourse with collaborative research, education, and pedagogy, we want to move beyond traditional boundaries among disciplines and build a stronger connection between those who preserve records and those who study them. We invite the EURBICA archival community, practitioners, researchers, historians, IT experts, and educators to submit proposals on how digital transformation, and interdisciplinary collaboration are reshaping archival education, historical research, and professional training through comparative, research, and practice-based approaches.

The meeting aims to:

• Advance interdisciplinary dialogue between academics and practitioners about archival education, historical research, and technological changes
• Explore innovative professional practices and methodological experimentation across disciplines in teaching and research
• Strengthen sustainable, transnational, and cross-sector collaboration between archives, universities, and cultural heritage institutions
• Highlight archives as spaces for historical inquiry, civic education, community representation, and co-creation processes
• Reflect on emerging professional and ethical challenges in the field and their implications for policy, training, and institutional practice within and outside of academia

Thematic Areas for Submission

We are seeking proposals for presentations and panel discussions inspired by the following  thematic areas:

Curriculum Development and Pedagogical Innovation to build sustainable dialogue

• Integrating professional practice into academic curricula, including practice-based, experiential, and co-created learning models involving students, professionals, and communities
• Teaching digital archival skills, AI literacy, and data management and integrating them with traditional archival training
• Adopting and creating innovative pedagogical methods and joint teaching initiatives in archival studies and historical education across departments, archival institutions, and other stakeholders

Enhancing Access and Collaborative Research through AI, Digital Humanities, and Education

• AI-powered content enrichment and automated tagging projects
• Interoperability, Linked Open Data, and shared digital ecosystems for archival cooperation to facilitate transnational research
• Joint projects focusing on the use and large-scale analysis of “Big Data” and visualization/communication of historical data
• Community engagement: collaborative descriptions, re-contextualization of collections from periods of conflict, civic education programs

Archives, Ethics and Global Challenges

• Critical perspectives on using AI in archives, digital access, digital preservation, professional responsibility, and the ethical implications of emerging archival technologies especially in the realms of teaching and practice
• Strategies and collaborative research for safeguarding archives and cultural memory in response to conflict, climate change, digital fragility, and institutional challenges
• Comparative international case studies and policy-oriented responses to global and/or regional archival risks

Submission formats:
• Individual papers (20 minutes)
• Panels (2 speakers)

Conference languages:
English

Submission requirements:
• Abstract (maximum 300 words)
• Short biography (maximum 200 words)

Submission deadline: 10 July 2026
Please send submissions to: eurbica@ica.org

Notification of acceptance: 20 August 2026

Free registration will open on 27 July 2026 and close on 14 September 2026.

We look forward to welcoming colleagues from across Europe and beyond to Bucharest for an engaging exchange on the future of archives, education, research, and professional collaboration.

Reminder: the Conference follows the EURBICA Annual Assembly on 13 November at the Bucharest Central University Library.

EURBICA 2026 Board and Accademic Committee