A meeting of archivists representing the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP) took place in the General Curia of the Society of Jesus in Rome on Febuary 20-23, 2024. The initiator and organizer of the conference was Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI), which is a part of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, situated right next to Vatican. 20 archivists from 14 archives JCEP attended the meeting, among them representation of our archive: Katarzyna Trzcińska and fr. Krzysztof Dorosz SJ. Invited speakers from the Archive of the Pontifical Gregorian University and Boston College also participated in the conference.
The meeting was divided into four working sessions dedicated to particular topics:
· First session was dedicated to management of an archive.
· On second session the topic of preservation issues in the archives has been discussed.
· Third session was dedicated to topics of digitalization of archive collections and digital archives.
· The subject of the fourth session was the matter of publication regarding source materials from II world war period present in Jesuit archives, that all the conference’s participants collaborate on.
The conference in Rome served primarily as a platform to exchange information and experiences related to current work and the future of Jesuit archives. The meeting was also a good occasion to get to better know each other, as until now the archivists have been meeting online only. The participants could also visit ARSI itself and the Archive of Euro-Mediterranean Province (EUM), see and learn about the famous baroque church Il Gesù, and visit the rooms where St. Ignatius of Loyola spent the last years of his life. The next meeting is planned in two years.
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