Working on FIA's History

Copyright: Jack Emerald

FIA has a very rich and diverse history that started in 1952 in Paris, when the British Equity and the Syndicat Français des Artistes-Interprètes established the Federation. FIA has grown through the years and became a truly global federation. It is in Paris – again! – in 2014 that FIA Executive Committee decided to start working on the Federation’s history. A methodology has been drafted and a working group created. The idea is to design an online resource that will continue to be built over time. 

The FIA history project is now well underway. The Secretariat has contacted many of the influential people within FIA, including former Presidents and General Secretaries, in order to organise interviews – most during the next Congress, but some before, for people that will not be present in São Paulo. FIA has also started collecting documents – including founding documents and minutes of most of the meetings – as well as photographs. The Secretariat has also scheduled a trip to Bonn to visit the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Archive where FIA has been keeping its records (from 1951 to 1997).

All of those resources help to trace the different steps the Federation has passed though since its inception: from the difficult context of the Cold War, through its participation in the conclusion of successful international treaties – including the Beijing Treaty – and key international solidarity actions. FIA’s history shows the strength and unity that has characterised the federation since its early stages.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have resources to share with regard to FIA history.