First Public Meeting of the IFPH-FIHP during the OAH/NCPH

First Public Meeting of the IFPH-FIHP during the OAH/NCPH Annual meeting of April 20, 2012, 12:00 to 2 p.m., Hilton Hotel, Walker Room, Milwaukee, WI, US Our Public Meeting of the IFPH-FIHP -during the OAH/NCPH meeting- was held on April 20, 2012, 12:00 to 2 p.m., Hilton Hotel, Walker Room, Milwaukee, WI, USA. Many other meetings were held contemporaneously so we were only 12 people attending but who was present for the SC did spoke and met many other people during the whole NCPH conference: From the IFPH Steering Committee:

•  Serge Noiret (serge.noiret@eui.eu), Chair
• Jean-Pierre Morin (jeanpierre.morin@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca), Vice-Chair
• Andreas Etges (etges@jfki.fu-berlin.de), Delegate
• Attendees:
• Jannelle Warren Findley (atjwf@asu.edu)
• Manon Parry (M.S.Parry@uva.nl)
• Gerben Zaagsma (gerben.zaagsma@huygens.knaw.nl)
• Jon Hunner (jhunner@nmsu.edu)
• Evan Medley (evan.medley@asu.edu)
• Sharon Babaian (shabaian@technomuses.ca)
• John Dichtl (jdichtl@iupui.edu)
• Connie Schulz (cbschulz@bellsouth.net)
• Julie Davis (jdavis@csbsju.edu)

Agenda:

1-Welcome and presentation of IFPH Steering Committee The SC members welcomed those in attendance, presented the results of the SC elections, introduced themselves and those other members who were not in Milwaukee, Michael Devine (Treasurer), Arnita Jones (Secretary) and Anna Adamek (delegate). Each person present introduced herself/himself and stated their interest in the IFPH. Liz Sevchenko who was in Milwaukee but presenting a paper in a panel at the same moment, told by email that the network of the Sites of Consciences should also be included in the membership of the IFPH and wanted to contribute to the IFPH activities. 2-Results of the first IFPH Luxembourg meeting Serge Noiret presented the results of the first meeting of the SC in Luxembourg in March together with Jean-Pierre Morin and Andreas Etges. The minutes of the Luxembourg meeting are available on the IFPH-FIPH website at: http://publichistoryint.org/wordpress/?page_id=18

2-IFPH Membership and Dues The IFPH SC proposal made in Luxembourg for a fee and membership structure for individuals and organisation was approved. The first period of membership was confirmed for 2012-13. Details are available on the website here: http://publichistoryint.org/wordpress/?page_id=29

3-IFPH Communication policy presentation Jean-Pierre Morin described the new website, created some days before the conference at www.publichistoryint.org. He explained the purposes of website and that a Website committee will have to be designed to maintain it. At the moment all members of the SC have been authorized to access and update the web site. The social network facebook page will also be created. The twitter account of the IFPH is @pubhisint and, as during the first meeting in Luxembourg, the twitter Hashtag #IFPH may be used by everybody together with the twitter address for connecting information to the IFPH. The Hashtag #IFPH will be used like it appears on the website home page with the Twitter Feed.

4-IFPH committees Those present looked at the existing committees of the IFPH like they are still mentioned in the NCPH webpage relating to the IFPH: http://ncph.org/cms/international-federation-for-public-history/. The nominating Committee and the program committee’s functions have come to an end. But a series of ad hoc working group should be nominated when needed. An international outreach committee will be defined to foster the participation of non-represented continents in the IFPH SC. Serge Noiret has already contacted some persons and also active members like Utpal Kanti Dhar which did participated in past years to Anna Adamek’s Task Force for Internationalization. No other committees were proposed but the web committee.

5-Presentation of future IFPH meetings Jean-Pierre Morin introduced the NCPH Ottawa conference and the role the IFPH could play in this occasion because the wish of the NCPH to internationalize also the contents of the annual meeting, asking that all IFPH members and the IFPH SC should promote international initiative before the deadline for the CFP the 15th of July 2012. The idea would be to organise also non-traditional panels and presentations in Ottawa said Jean-Pierre using commemorative sites and making onsite visits. He stressed also the importance of comparing PH programs and memory studies programs. The IFPH in connection with the NCPH Ottawa annual meeting organisers will try to discover the best ways to identify available travel and residence costs of the participants like the NCPH does with its own for Ottawa will be explored to help the internationalisation and people coming from other continents to be able to join. Morin said also that it will have to be looked at with the NCPH could find partners to co-finance and sponsor international panels. Serge Noiret proposed to contact private companies, important digital publishers and multinational like Thompson-Gale or Proquest like it has been done already in Europe, in order to sponsor the conference. The First IFPH international conference should be held in autumn 2014. The Netherlands and Amsterdam are currently the most likely locations. Contacts have been made with local history associations and the Public History program in Amsterdam, thanks to Gerben Zaagsma (Huyghens Institute present in Milwaukee). Manon Parry who is moving to Amsterdam will also be able to help in this matter. The PH programs in Belgium, Ghent University would be part of the joint venture for organizing this first conference. Public History proposals were sent to the CISH before the end of January 2012 (deadline) for the China 2015 meeting. The full list of proposals is now known but the selection will happen during the Budapest CISH meeting, 6-8th of September 2012. The IFPH SC secretary, Arnita Jones will be present in Budapest hopefully together with the Chair of the ICPH, Serge Noiret to monitor the selection. More recent news are that Arnita Jones has been asked by a member of the CISH board to work with them on a “theme” –a whole day conference- for the Jinan meeting that would focus on public history. More information on this conference will follow.

6-Open and general discussion on Goals and objectives of IFPH Goals and objectives of IFPH in the coming year will be concentrated to encourage, promote, and coordinate, at an international level, teaching and research in public history and to facilitate an international exchange of information for its members. To do so, the IFPH could develop in the future some the following tools:

•  a worldwide bibliography of Public Histor
• a syllabus online as international teaching tools
• a guide of best practices for education /teaching PH worldwide derived from the one published in 2010 by the NCPH
• a group connecting internationally museums

But the first objective would be to build a census and a list of all academic PH programs worldwide, updating the list available on the NCPH website. The Agreement with John Dichtl has been made to divide between NCPH (US Programs) and IFPH (Worldwide Programs) the following guide to Public History programs on the NCPH website at

http://ncph.org/cms/education/graduate-and-undergraduate/guide-to-public-history-programs/

Andres Etges suggested the drafting of a standard letter about the foundation of the IFPH-FIHP and its goals be sent to all national associations which could be willing to know about and to join the Federation. This request was approved.

Jon Hunner mentioned the importance of living history activities and the need for the Federation to contact the association Bridging Ages (http://www.bridgingages.com/). (This was done later contacting Ebbe Westergren at the Kalmar County Museum in Sweden).

The first Association’s SC to vote to become an official member of the IFPH is the SISF www.sisf.eu the “Societa Italiana per lo Studio della Fotografia”, the Italian Society for the Study of Photography, an interdisciplinary association interested to photography and the second one is the Italian Association of Public Archeology.

All these new memberships will become official as soon as an IFPH bank account will be settled.