Historia Actual (Present History) is a historiographic field emerged as a response to efforts after World War II of bringing the present to historic studies. This approach has increased its influence in the last decades in differents european countries and United States, specially after the fall of Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War Era. Present History stands out for its innovator approach, multidisciplinar promotion and recovery of critical thinking, so for quality and profusion of the researches.
On this context of scientific changes and new social worries, the 21st of december, 2000, in Cádiz (Spain) the Asociación de Historia Actual (AHA) was founded. The foundation of the AHA was the result of convergence of historians and social scientifics of different countries since 1990. As a precedent, the meeting Fin de siglo (End of century) was relevant and it took place in Salta (Argentina). The meeting brought together hundreds of professors and researchers compromised with the critical analysis of XXth century. Since then, the AHA has managed to get around two hundred members from spanish and latinamerican universities and other researches groups from universities and other institutions in Europe, United States, north of Africa and East Asia.
The AHA promotes, in colaboration with other institutions, the edition of three periodic publications: the Revista de Historia Actual, anually edited in paper; the journal Historia Actual Online, quadrimestrally published, and the Boletín de la Asociación de Historia Actual, also four-month and dedicated to the promotion of members updates.
The experience of the members of the AHA in the fields of researching and scientific exchanges have focus on the analysis of valuable common, cultural and historic patrimony of the people that share the atlantic space, which results has been discussed on a series of International Seminars (the NPC) celebrated each year since 2001.
The AHA has encouraged the celebration of Posgrade and PhD courses in many universities about the cooperation to development, management of proyects, migrations, social politics and local development and because of that young graduates have been able to start researching based on the analysis of present issues. Other Seasonal Courses, Seminars and Workshops has been also part of the improvement of the different research themes of Present History.
