The 2026 ICA Conference on Business Archives, titled “The Company We Keep: Navigating Borders, Boundaries and Brands,” will be hosted in Brussels as a collaborative initiative between organizations from Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

This conference gathers leading professionals to explore the evolving landscape of corporate memory in a complex, globalized environment. In a world where companies constantly change in structure and in ownership, the history and stories they hold - and how they keep them - have never been more important. This conference dives into the fascinating potential of corporate memory. We’ll explore how these layered legacies - even the sensitive bits –contribute to operational success and as invaluable cultural heritage allow us to connect wider audiences across cultures, countries, and even competing brands.

Globally, the number of professional business archives and company collections continues to grow, reflecting their indispensable role in corporate identity, competitive intelligence, and heritage management. These professional repositories serve strategic business needs. This is one of the key aspects that sets them apart from public archives and collections. They focus on documentation, yes, but more importantly emphasise the strategic utilization of these materials to advance business interests, providing critical insights that inform decision-making, competitive intelligence and brand identity

This conference serves as a vital forum for archivists, curators, historians and various corporate professionals (from legal and communications to management and more) to engage in dialogue, share innovative projects and strengthen international collaboration. Thus ensuring that business archives remain dynamic repositories for future generations.

Click here to find more information on how to submit a paper