The 2026 conference of the Section on Business Archives of the International Council on Archives (ICA/SBA) brings together professionals from around the world who work with company archives, collections, and corporate storytelling. Join us at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels for two days of talks, exchange, and networking.

Registration for 'The Company We Keep' is now open.  

Presentation

The 2026 conference of the Section on Business Archives of the International Council on Archives (ICA/SBA) brings together professionals from around the world who work with company archives, collections, and corporate storytelling. This event is organised in collaboration with ETWIE (Belgium), the National Archives of Luxembourg and the Association for Company and History (Netherlands).

Join us on 21-22 September 2026 at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels for two days of talks, exchange, and networking. This year also brings a unique opportunity to be part of the conference booklet - a publication designed to highlight the remarkable collections of all participants while helping you connect with everyone present. It will serve as a lasting reminder that around the world, many companies truly value their heritage and have compelling use‑cases to share.

Check the booklet preview and discover the pre‑ and post‑conference visit options.

Convinced? Register for the conference, follow the steps, and we will see you in Brussels.

Conference program

Monday, 21/09/2026

Check-in 9.00-10.00
Registration at the Royal Library
Drop in. Acquire tag, bag & booklet. Get ready.
Coffee, tea and tasty treats

Welcome & opening remarks 10.00-10.30

• Welcome by Josée Kirps, President of The International Council on Archives
• Opening remarks by Henning Morgan (A.P. Moller-Maersk) and Ted Ryan (Ford), ICA/SBA Chair & Co-chair
• Introduction to the conference by conference organisers: Robin Debo (ETWIE), Nicky Blazejewski (ANLux) and Martin Gerssen (VBH) 

Theme ‘Connections’

• 10.30-11.00"People need to be part of a story": The internationalization of GF in the memories of its employees, Franziska Eggiman (Head of Eisenbibliothek / Konzernarchiv Georg Fischer)

11.00-11.45 Break Coffee, tea and amuse-bouche. Treasure-chest

• 11.45-12.15 Crossing boundaries through material: how Godrej Archives brings together design, industry and social history Vrunda Pathare (Head of Godrej Enterprises Archives)
• 11.15-12.45 Industries gone, archives remain: rescuing business archives in the Argentinian context. Juan Facundo Araujo (Archivo Bunge Y Born) & Mariela Ceva (CONICET, IDES)

Lunch 12.45-14.00 Something hot & something cold. Treasure chest

Theme ‘Layers & legacies’

• 14.00-14.30 Sounds and memory. The legacy of EGREM - Cuba's oldest record company - safeguarded by CICAM, Yolaida Duharte and Gemay Castillo (EGREM-CICAM)
• 14.30-15.00 The Agfa-Gevaert archive. Prompted by merger, selectively collected, a fragmented corporate memory turned public resource Thomas Jenné (FOMU)

15.00-15.45 Break Coffee, tea and delicious delicacies. Treasure chest

• 15.45-16.15 From 'Ground Zero' to digital recomposition. Reassembling Greek Gas corporate memory through the Heritage Lab Model Katya Corvino & Matteo Allasia (Italgas Heritage Lab)
• 16.15-16.45 Corporate complexities and contextual challenges in the archive of British Leyland, Thomas Poole (BMIHTA)

Reception

16.45-19.00 Toast & welcome to venue Connecting with UNESCO Belgian beer culture and caring for the Belgian Brewers legacy Krishan Maudgal, CEO Belgian Brewers
Drinks & bites

Tuesday, 22/09/2026

Check-in 9.00-9.30 Coffee, tea and tasty treats

Theme ‘Sensitive histories, conflicted custodioans'

• 9.30-10.00 Seveso 1976. Accident, scandal, myth Alexander L. Bieri (Roche Collections and Archive)
• 10.00-10.30 When history becomes present. Preserving the heritage of a discontinued company in the midst of it all Line Stejlborg Mikkelsen (Grundfos)

10.30-11.15 Coffee, tea and chocolate suprises. Treasure chest

• 11.15-12.00 Lever and the plantations. Reconstructing the corporate memory of Unilever's past in the Belgian Congo and the Pacific Claire Tunstall (global head Art, Archives and Records Unilever) and Josephine Tierney (University of Manchester)
• 12.00-12.30 Pre-colombian statues in a drinks collection. And what happened next ... Lovisa Severin Kragerud (Absolut)

Lunch 12.30-14.00 Once again something hot and something cold. Treasure chest

Time for 'Show and Tell' 14.00-15.00

• LEROY MERLIN - commemorating a heritage brand's 100th anniversary by bringing together archives and history, Christine Carbonnel (Folioscope)
• PHILIPS museum, archives and volunteer-led Foundation for the preservation of Philips Products (SBHP) Sergio Derks (Philips)
• Bringing the VOLVO corporate archive to life for the 2027 centenary Linus Karlsson (Gothenburg University & National Archives SE)
• The people behind corporate memory. The rise of the corporate heritage manager Anna Scudellari (AICHeM)
• An enigmatic painting in the HEINEKEN collection Marieke van Vlierden (Heineken collection foundation)
• A bottomless pit? The ARBED photographs collection Jill Krecké (ANLux)

15.00-15.45 Break Coffee, tea and final snacks

15.45-16.30

• About mythmaking and the bridge that was never built, Judith Gussenhoven (HistoryNow)
• Roots of succes method to transfor corporate memory into a strategic, actionable asset Amelia Cuomo (Pasta Cuomo)
• The soon to be virtual museum of Banque Populaire Jérémie Maria (Banque Populaire)
• Carhartt & Ford, connected in clothes and cars Ted Ryan (Ford) & Dave Moore (Carhartt)

Closing conference

16.30-16.50
Closing remarks, pretty promises for the future and farewells
Practical arrangements for the optional post-conference visits on Wednesday