International cooperationCSMC and École nationale des chartes Agree on Partnership
4 February 2025

Photo: Adelphilos
The CSMC has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the École nationale des chartes in France. The agreement marks the beginning of a promising cooperation with a leading institution in the field of preservation of written artefacts.
Established in 1821, the École nationale des chartes is a distinguished higher education institution in France that focuses on training experts in archiving, palaeography, and historical research. As a leader in the preservation and analysis of historical documents, the school plays a vital role in safeguarding cultural heritage. Its alumni frequently hold prominent positions in national and state archives, libraries, and academic institutions, where they facilitate the preservation and public access to invaluable cultural assets. The institution’s specialised training programmes have significantly advanced the fields of historical studies and related disciplines.
Recently, the CSMC and the École nationale des chartes signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). With an MoU, the parties involved formally express their intention to work together, identify common areas of interest, and develop joint projects. In the case of the CSMC and the École nationale des chartes, the MoU serves as a basis for, for example, the exchange of researchers and students, joint research endeavours and training courses, and joint publications.
With this agreement, the CSMC is expanding its international network. There are currently over 50 Memoranda of Understanding with universities, libraries, and museums around the world, including in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Hong Kong. In addition, numerous CSMC researchers maintain informal partnerships with other researchers, which result, for instance, in conferences, publications, or knowledge exchange. All formal and informal partnerships are summarised in this map.
Another MoU is currently in preparation, establishing an agreement with the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú in Lima to digitise the library’s collection of music manuscripts. These are currently researched at the CSMC as part of a project entitled ‘Archiving Colonialism: The Collections of Musical Manuscripts from Peru’ (RFE12).