The Role of Participatory Archives in Furthering Human Rights, Reconciliation and Recovery

Participatory archives acknowledge that multiple parties have rights, responsibilities, needs and perspectives with regard to the record. The archives consequently become a negotiated space in which these different communities share stewardship—they are created by, for and with multiple communities, according to and respectful of community values, practices, beliefs and needs. This paper discusses principles and approaches to guide the establishment of participatory archives or the re-structuring of existing archives along participatory lines to further human rights agendas in relation to identity (including language, culture and religious practices), self-determination, the exercise of cultural rights, redress and the support of reconciliation and recovery after intercommunity conflict