Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)
1. Session / Séance. Experiences gained, current Situation, future Prospects / Expériences acquises, Situation actuelle, Perspectives futures - Hall, Kenneth: Perspectives opened up by the Maastricht Symposium / Perspectives ouvertes par le Symposium de Maastricht (english 41 - français 48)
1. Session/Séance: Hall, Maastricht Symposium spontaneous discussion. Each group was generally no larger than 60 people and the chairmen were encouraged to maintain an informal, .professionally secure1 atmosphere. It was not intended that any of the sessions should produce formal conclusions or resolutions, and they didn’t! The aim was to exchange ideas, to stimulate discussion both at the Symposium and subsequently. The papers were published after the conference. Pre-prints were not available to participants, although speakers were encouraged to discuss the contents of their papers in advance with the other speakers) in their session. Few speakers departed totally from the given subject. I have deliberately chosen not to discuss in detail the contents of the papers delivered at Maastricht. They were published in Janus, 1992.2 and represent a snapshot of the views of archivists and others in 1991, a stage in debate rather than a collective definitive statement. Within the overall theme of .Archives and Europe without boundaries* the Symposium addressed five main issues. The first was concerned with ,The Citizen and Administration*. Papers explored such areas as the conflict between personal privacy and freedom of information and the relationship, in terms of the provision of information, between the citizen and local and national governments. They were also concerned with the creators of records and future research, loss of information and the ethics of appraisal. In exploring whether we represent antiquarianism or an information service, the papers in the second section discussed the role of an archive administration as guardian of the past orservant of the future. This was considered in the context of local and national services, and in private enterprise. In addition, standardisation and new technology were explored from the archival point of view. The third issue addressed was the image of the archivist. Papers were concerned with what sort of training different types of archivists need, how far it should be integrated with that of other professions, who should provide it and how accreditation and certification should be achieved. Also the need for a European Institute was discussed, as was mobility of labour within the European Community. The issue addressed in the penultimate session was ,The Archivist and Archival Europe*. Speakers debated the significance of the European archival heritage at all levels and how it might best be safeguarded. The possibilities offered by the European technology industry and the needs of archivists were considered. There was also discussion about preservation and conservation strategies and the effectiveness of legislation, prescription, or persuasion in safeguarding that heritage. There was also an attempt to define Europe as a cultural entity. The final session was entitled , Archival Europe and the archival World*. The role of the European archival community in relation to training, development and the application of new technology in the Third-World were principal concerns, as were the internationalisation of research and the role of professional archival associations in the European archival community. The issues raised at Maastricht were not new. The debate about them continues in archival journals and will do so for some time. The importance of the Symposium 43
