Congress Diary / Kongresstagebuch / Journal de bord du Congrès

The following Stellenbosch Congress diary has reached us from Rupert Ridgewell (British Library and IAML President):

Der diesjährige internationale Kongress der Internationalen Vereinigung der Musikbibliotheken, -archive und -dokumentationszentren (IVMB / IAML / AIBM) fand in Stellenbosch, Südafrika, und damit zum ersten Mal in Afrika überhaupt statt.

The 2024 IAML Congress in Stellenbosch, South Africa marked several firsts: the first time a IAML Congress took place on the African continent, the first time so many of our colleagues from Africa could participate in a IAML event, and for many IAML members it was our first time in Africa. In many respects, the congress week was similar to previous IAML congresses in that we had the opportunity to meet with our RISM contributors, hold a RISM cataloging workshop, and host a session dedicated to RISM. What made it stand out was the opportunity to come into conversation with colleagues from South Africa and Africa for the first time and to learn about their collections.

1e IAML-congres op het Afrikaanse continent: Voor het eerst in de lange historie van IAML-congressen kwamen de internationale muziekinformatie-specialisten samen op het Afrikaanse continent.  De compacte Zuid-Afrikaanse universiteitsstad Stellenbosch ontving van 23 tot 28 juni ongeveer 160 professionals uit de muziekbibliotheek- en -archiefwereld.

A number of congress participants took the opportunity to join the post-congress tour to Genadendal, a small town in the Overberg district that was founded by Moravian missionaries from Herrnhut (Saxony) in the 18^th century.