The "international" in ARMA International.

• Author: Skillman, Juanita M.
• Position: From the President

"I'm often asked just how "international" ARMA International really is. The "International" was added to our name in 1985 and our first international (outside of North America) chapter--in Tokyo--was chartered in 1989. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, our International Affairs Committee actively pursued ARMA chapters outside North America. However, we soon realized that our best contributions to the profession and support for our members could be made by partnering with existing RIM organizations and associations rather than trying to "take over the world."

To this end, in 1996 ARMA entered into an accord with the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the International Records Management Trust (IRMT). The ICA is the world's most influential professional association of national archivists from nearly 200 countries. For those who don't know, records management is known as archives (often "current archives" or "corporate archives") in nearly every country outside of North America and Australia, and the ICA encompasses everything from active paper records, electronic records, and historical records, to cultural artifacts and treasures. For more information, I encourage you to check out their Web site, www.ica.org.

ARMA's involvement with ICA is a long-term commitment of collaboration

and participation in ICA events. Along with President-Elect Gisele Crawford and Executive Director/CEO Peter Hermann, I will represent our association at the annual meeting of national archivists, ICA CITRA, in Marseille, France, in November. Past President Larry Eiring serves on the steering committee of the Section on Archival Education and Training (SAE) and in this capacity spoke at its annual meeting in Perth, Australia, in August. Peter Hermann serves on the Section on Professional Associations (SPA), and we are hoping to place ARMA members on at least two other committees--Electronic Records and Current Records. ARMA member Sharon Alexander-Gooding serves on the ICA Section for the Caribbean, CARBICA, and our International Director, Claudette Samuels, belongs to the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM).

Every four years, the ICA holds its...