5 May 2022

Thursday 5 May 2022, Hearing of Ms. Bruna La Sorda, Councillor at the National Board of ANAI, Associazione Nazionale Archivistica Italiana.

Hearing summary

In her opening remarks, Ms. La Sorda stated the importance of the Italian archival tradition.

She recalled the current legislation on the subject and stated that exchange of best practices could, in her opinion, provide a model at EU level in view of the recognition of this professional qualification. She then pointed out, with reference to cultural heritage, that volunteering should not be meant as a substitute for actual work, and suggested that this issue be the subject of serious regulation to protect first of all notably younger generations.

Ms. La Sorda recalled the value and fundamental function of archives, which are indispensable to protect civil society rights and are linked to all the themes of the Conference on the Future of Europe (among others, healthcare and justice). She went on to explain that the digital transition process cannot disregard complete and authentic documents and in this regard must take into account the mediation work carried out by professionals.

She then called for promotion of advanced technological solutions for reliability assessment, and accessibility, validation and reusability of documents.

On another account, Ms. La Sorda called for the establishment of a working group to develop research on green transition starting from existing data and the documentation held in archives and libraries.