Celebrated annually, International Archives Week has been providing a global platform to highlight the societal functions of archives: enabling accountability, preserving memory, safeguarding rights, and supporting the rule of law.
International Archives Week is coming back in 2026, with the theme of Archives for Justice – Rights, Memory & Futures: chosen through a global survey of the archival community, this year’s theme theme places particular emphasis on archives as active infrastructures that sustain justice across time, from past violations and present responsibilities to future claims and aspirations. A specific focus will be reserved on how archives safeguard rights, preserve memory, and support justice — across time and across borders. The programme is built around five subthemes:
- Archives for Accountability: Rule of Law, Truth, and Transitional Justice
- Archives for Memory: Recognition, Human Dignity, and Lived Experience
- Archives for Inclusion: Access, Participation, and Community Empowerment
- Archives, Colonial Legacies, and Non-Sovereign Contexts: Displaced and Shared Heritage
- Archives for Future Justice: Anticipating Rights, Responsibility, and Possibility
Learn more about International Archive Week 2026<<<<
A call for proposal is also ongoing, for institutions to take the opportunity to share their proposal and explore how archives contribute to justice in its many forms and to engage with an international audience. Submit your case study<<<<
