By decision of the International Council of Archives, International Archives Week is celebrated from June 3 to 9. On this occasion, the Archives of the University of Gdańsk organised a panel discussion, Enriching Knowledge Societies - Supporting Knowledge Societies, which took place on Friday, June 2, from 9.45 to 11.15 am in the auditorium of the Faculty of History at the University of Gdańsk.

The meeting was chaired by the Director of the University of Gdańsk Archives, dr Monika Płuciennik, and the invitation to the discussion was accepted by:

• dr hab. Anna Mazurkiewicz, prof. UG - Faculty of History, UG
• dr Anna Żeglińska - Faculty of History, UG
• dr Łukasz Grochowski - Gdańsk Branch of the Association of Polish Archivists
• mgr Iwona Flis - Stanisław Flis Foundation "Pomeranian Archives"
• mgr Jerzy Klimczak - European Solidarity Centre.

The meeting attracted many attendees: students, lecturers and archivists from the Tricity.

The basis of the discussion was the theses of the Congress of the International Council of Archives, to be held this autumn in Abu Dhabi, on the role that archivists and information professionals play in a knowledge-based society in the 21st century.

The panellists discussed the need to collect and preserve reliable evidence - historical sources, which is becoming increasingly challenging in these times of 'alternative facts', 'fake news', disinformation and cyber-security threats - as well as access to information. It was emphasised that archives are responsible for preserving knowledge and having a social role in fostering shared memory to build enriched knowledge-based communities.

The survey results were also presented during the discussion, to which almost 70 Internet users responded in May this year. The survey results will be further discussed in a research paper to be published in a specialised publication.

Take a look at the photo report of the event and the multimedia presentation, where you will find more details about the event.