IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

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11:00am EEST

A Community of Communities: Collaborative Preservation of LGBTQ+ Archives in the Balkans

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

As international funding for LGBTQ+ cultural heritage initiatives declines, community archives are increasingly building and maintaining their own infrastructure to preserve queer histories. In this session, panelists from Serbia and the United States present the work of Arkadija Archive, Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective, Balkan Community Memory Project (BCM) and Balkan Network of Queer Archives as a model for collective preservation and stewardship of LGBTQ+ heritage in the Balkans.

Arkadija archive exists to resist erasure by collecting, preserving, and amplifying LGBTIQ+ memories, histories, and voices that have been systematically marginalized. They have collaborated with the CAW Collective and BCM to support community skill-sharing and jump-start preservation of these materials through a series of workshops that invite archivists and librarians from the region to participate. A 2024 workshop in Belgrade brought community members together for training in VHS and newspaper preservation, alongside screenings of rare footage documenting the city’s first Pride parade. A 2026 workshop (scheduled for April 2026) expands this model into a two-day, regional training focused on digital preservation and community-led digitization of analog media. The invitation for participation extends to queer organizations throughout the Balkans via the Balkan Network of Queer Archives inaugural gathering in Belgrade.

This session offers a model for sustaining community-driven audiovisual preservation under conditions of financial precarity, with practical and ethical insights for archivists working in similarly constrained contexts worldwide. Grounded in collective care and community, panelists share lessons learned in ensuring sustainable long-term storage and access for audiovisual materials, and in navigating privacy, consent, and risk—particularly where visibility carries social or political consequences.

Speakers

Shay Hix

Founding Member, CAW Collective

Shay Hix is a core member of the Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective and a Fulbright Specialist. She co-authored the study Mapping the Magnetic Media Landscape, published by BAVC Media in September 2025. She has worked as curator at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum... Read More →

Jelena Vasiljevic

Executive Director, Arkadija Archive / Rainbow Ignite

Executive Director of Arkadija Archive and Rainbow Ignite.Experienced Program Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the civic & social organization industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Capacity Development, Organizational Development, Event Management, Volunteer... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Panel, In Person

global Y

11:00am EEST

Context Lost, Trust Broken: Safeguarding Provenance in an Age of Audiovisual Misuse

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Authentic photographs, sound recordings, and moving images are increasingly being detached from their original context and re‑released into the public sphere without explanation - or with deliberately false narratives. When this happens, even genuine archival materials can become instruments of manipulation, shaping public opinion or fueling social tension. This emerging challenge places new pressures on audiovisual archives, which must now respond not only as custodians of cultural memory but also as defenders of evidential integrity.

This panel proposes to examine how institutions can strengthen their capacity to validate provenance, preserve contextual information, and communicate authenticity in an era where audiovisual content can be easily appropriated, reframed, and weaponized.

Speakers

Viktorija Gardoviča

Archive expert, Latvian National Archives Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual documents

Archive expert at the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents, where she works in the Access and Inquiry Department, specializing in database monitoring, metadata creation, and maintaining classification systems. Victorija holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in library... Read More →

Natālija Lāce

Archive expert, Latvian National Archives Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual documents

Expert at the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents, specializing in the description of audiovisual collections. Natālija has played an important role in developing strategies for integrating AI tools into archival processes. Her responsibilities include compiling archive... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Conference hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

Panel, In Person

global Y
Zoom link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82331938215
Zoom password 815104

3:30pm EEST

Towards Shared Stewardship and Support: Strategies for Collaboration and Training from the Library of Congress, WITNESS, the CAW Collective, and the University of Michigan

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm EEST

Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

How can organizations that support community-based archiving facilitate shared stewardship and other models of safeguarding cultural and documentary materials in a collaborative amd productive way? This panel discusses strategies for supporting collective and communal documentation of cultural activities.

Representatives from the American Folklife Center will discuss the Community Collections Grant program. Panelists will discuss community-based collaboration and the process of creating collections that will be part of the Library of Congress’ holdings.

A representative from WITNESS will discuss initiatives to train, provide support, and develop guidance aimed at, and in collaboration with, frontline communities who are documenting human rights violations and using their audiovisual evidence to challenge lies and misinformation in the age of generative AI. They will share examples of work with activists, journalists, fact-checkers, and other human rights defenders to strengthen their ability to capture, preserve, and verify audiovisual documentation.

A representative from CAW will discuss the collective's work over 15 years supporting cultural heritage preservation by activating care in community-held collections and exchanging knowledge through training, networking opportunities, and the production and distribution of resources. The panelist will share an overview of CAW’s history, projects, emerging services and ongoing partnerships.

A representative from the University of Michigan will discuss community-centered work at the Bentley Historical Library, undertaken in partnership with the Inclusive History Project to document university and state history from broader, more inclusive perspectives. The presentation will highlight outcomes from these engagements, with attention to how sustained community partnership has shaped archival practice and collection stewardship.

Speakers

Jesse Johnston

Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Information

Jesse Johnston is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, where he teaches courses in digital collections management and related preservation topics. He also serves as Secretary of the National Recording Preservation Foundation, a non-profit... Read More →

Paul Kelly

Lead Digital Archivist, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Paul Kelly is Lead Digital Archivist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, where he leads the public collecting and digital access team and directs AFC's born-digital strategy. He holds a Master of Science in Data Science from George Washington University and... Read More →

Marie Lascu

Founding Member, Audiovisual Archivist, Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective

Marie is an audiovisual archivist and a founding member of CAW Collective. She is also the digital archivist for Ballet Tech, a public dance school in New York City. Marie has consulted for Crowing Rooster Arts, Third World Newsreel, Smithsonian Institution, Queens Public Library... Read More →

Virginia Millington

Program Specialist, Library of Congress

Virginia Millington is Program Specialist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Previously, she served as Director, Recording and Archive, and Managing Director, Program Operations, at StoryCorps, in addition to positions at the Folger Shakespeare Library and... Read More →

Yvonne Ng

Senior Program Manager, WITNESS

Yvonne is an audiovisual archivist and a Senior Program Manager at WITNESS, where she trains and supports people to archive and preserve their human rights documentation. She currently serves on the Board of the CAW Collective and on the steering committee of the Trust in Archives... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm EEST
Statehood hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Panel, In Person