Lord Mayor welcomes ARA to Belfast
As the lead professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland any conference in Belfast is always going to be special with delegates coming from both sides of the border, as well as further afield. The 2023 conference, which started on 30th August and runs to 1st September, has a record number of delegates signed up, showing just how popular Belfast is as a host venue.
As well as a packed programme with over 100 speakers across the three days, the conference provides an opportunity for delegates to connect informally at a number of social events. Those arriving early on the Tuesday evening attended a drinks reception in the Piano Bar of the Europa Hotel (the conference venue) and on Wednesday night visited the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) for a curry night plus tours of the stores and conservation areas and access to the Search and Reading Rooms. The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Ryan Murphy, was also present to welcome ARA’s delegates to the City. Thursday provides a gala dinner and the awards ceremony for the ARA Excellence Awards.
John Chambers, Chief Executive of the Archives and Records Association says:
“In PRONI’s centenary year it was important for us to mark that in some way and celebrate this achievement with them, so we were very pleased when they agreed to host our Wednesday social event – a great opportunity for a get together but also to mark such a special occasion.”
The theme of the conference is ‘Communities’ and the three keynote speakers are:
Wednesday: Jayne Brady, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service presenting on: Together, Building Inclusive Communities
Thursday: Emma Markiewicz, Director, London Metropolitan Archives presenting on: Switching the Lens: How we used our exhibition to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do
Friday: Dr Peter Crooks, Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Medieval History, Trinity College Dublin & Founding Director, ‘Beyond 2022: Ireland’s Virtual Record Treasury’
The full programme can be found here: https://openingdoors.eventsair.com/ara2023/programme
Thumbnail photo shows ARA President Aideen Ireland, Ryan Murphy, Lord Mayor of Belfast and David Huddleston, Acting Director and Deputy Keeper of the Records, PRONI