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International Colloquium(Antananarivo: 05 April-08 April 2004)

Rescuing  the Memory of our Churches

Protestant churches were established in Madagascar in the nineteenth century and their work have strongly influenced the nation's life.  European missionaries were sent to a new land, their comprehensive study of the inhabitants, their traditional values and their social structures constitute the basics of scientific research in Madagascar.  The files of these first studies are now  stored in different sites, in the country and overseas.  The archives that originally constitute the Madagascar funds are from:

• The London Missionary Society
• The Friends' Foreign Mission Association
• The Norwegian Mission Society
• The Isanenimbolana or the Malagasy Native Missionary Society
• The Mission of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
• The Mission of the Lutheran Free Church of America
• The Evangelical Society of the Paris Mission

In 1960, with the political independence, the rapid increase of the number of churches and the development of the educational system, Protestant churches devoted its actions to evangelism and the management of its regional structures.  The tradition of pluridisciplinary research was not a high priority.  However, the archives which tell the achievements of the missionaries and church managers are still important in the study of the Malagasy society and the propagation of the Gospel in today's world.

The establishment of an archive service within the (United) Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar - FJKM - in 1984 is an attempt to  strengthen the role of research and conservation in the church's life, in order to witness in a more significant and accurate way in a changing society.

The International Colloquium, Saving the Memory of our churches that we plan to hold in April 2004 will be an opportunity to think and plan the role of church archives since their beginnings until today, to organize their conservation and  their use.  It will give a particular emphasis on the management of funds and all technical aspects of collecting data and preserving them.  The Colloquium will also be an opportunity to develop relationships and exchange of experiences with local and international partners, in archives and research fields

•  to publicize research results and projects
• to plan the next steps for the coming years

We therefore welcome all contribution from individual researchers, churches or institutions  whose field of research and experiences meet the themes and topics mentioned above.  Contribution could be presented orally or in a written form.  Malagasy, French or English are the official languages of the colloquium.  Summary of the presentation should be received at "Centre des Archives FJKM" before the 31 st November 2003.

Registration:

Registrations are now open

• before 15 December 2003 - 65 euros for foreign participants
• from 16 December 2003 - 80 euros for foreign participants

Registration fees include colloquium documents and one copy of the colloquium acts to be published in July 2004. 

Final text of the presentations should be received at the same address by 31 January 2004.

A tentative schedule and the topics of the first presentations will be published shortly.

Thank you