The 13th Conference of the Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association was held in two cities in Indonesia. Last May 15-20, 2009 the grand old city of Bandung and the vibrant capital city of Jakarta served as the meeting points of 124 delegates representing 14 different countries from the region and beyond. The conference was hosted by Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (National Archives of Indonesia), in cooperation with the Badan Arsip dan Perpustakaan Daerah Jawa Barat (West Java), the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia and Sinematek Indonesia. Like previous years, the Conference was composed of a symposium, the annual general assembly, screening nights, workshops, cultural tours and institutional visits.

With the theme “Collection and Access Development: Two Sides of the Same Coin,” the conference in summary advanced the statement that continuing interaction and collaboration between individuals, institutions, governments, nations and regions is a key force in collection and access development of AV Archives during these troubled times.

The symbolical hosting of two cities, the dialogue between the archive community and its stakeholders, the discourse of the young and the aged, the meeting of east and west, the interaction between cultural tradition and technological advancement, the overlapping images and sound of what was, is and will be – all pointed out that indeed strengthening collaborations and bridging gaps is at heart of advancing the AV archiving community amidst socio-economic difficulties. As Chris Puplick in his Keynote Speech hoped for, the conference was able “to develop creative and collaborative solutions to issues plaguing the field” and “to discuss ways of working together to preserve and make accessible this extraordinary heritage” that the community devotes it’s life to.

The Symposium echoing such statements, as summarized in its closing synthesis panel, calls the AV Archiving community to reach out, include and dialogue with other stakeholders such as historians, academics, commercial entities, artists and the general public in its endeavors and strategic plans. It proposed that discourse must be elevated to transnational sensibilities and deal with related concerns of diaspora and cosmopolitanism while maximizing diversity and differences. That a free flow and exchange of information is a rich resource for archivists and archives. As such, any gaps and hindrances must be bridged and cleared out. And with the opening of archives and archivists to their stakeholders, to new sensibilities and to changing contexts/grounds, constant assessment and evaluation is called for.

The General Assembly concretized these statements by considering, moving and adopting collaborative plans and strategies as laid out in the Association’s Work Programme for 2009-2011. The Programme includes an extensive training and exchange program between NFSA and other SEAPAVAA member institutions, a strategic plan to extend reach and increase membership in underrepresented regions and countries, an evaluation and mapping of member archives to assist them in their development and an arrangement to maximize new media to increase access to valuable information and create space for exchange and dialogue.

Staying true to its tenets, SEAPAVAA held its annual conference workshop to develop archivists in the region. Mick Newnham was the director of this year’s training workshop that was attended by 85 participants. The workshop centered on the “Preservation of Audiovisual Collections.” Covering the basics and presenting current issues, Mick Newnham began by defining preservation and going over the identification of AV objects and identifying risks to these materials. The training also included modules on condition assessment & reporting and strategic preservation planning.

Delegates and guests were treated to two screening nights. The annual Archive Gem Screening Night featured clips from the collection of five member archives with a special tribute to Misbach, founder of Sinematek Indonesia. While the Indonesian Screening Night featured the film “Tamu Agung” by H Usmar Ismail. Participants went around Bandung for a cultural excursion while the institutional visits in ANRI, RCTI, and National Library of Indonesia was in Jakarta. Governor Ahmad Heryawan,Lc of West Java Provincial graciously hosted a grand dinner for the delegates as well at Gedung Sate in Bandung, while Djoko Utomo and ANRI capped the conference off with a special closing dinner in Jakarta.

Your can read in this site details of the conference summary and full report, symposium presentations/papers; conference photos will be available soon.

You can also contact the Secretariat at infoseapavaa@gmail.com for further info.

Last May 19, 2009 during the 13th General Assembly in Jakarta, SEAPAVAA officially accepted three new associate members and placed another individual in the roster of Lifetime Members.

• Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections
  Associate Institution
  36, rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
  75005 Paris
  Tel: 33-1-40795300
  Fax: 33-1-40795312
  Email: lavedrin@mnhn.frThe CRCC was founded in 1963 under the former name of CRCDG (research center for the conservation of graphic documents). It is a research laboratory under the umbrella of the national council of scientific research (USR3224, CNRS). The Ministry of Culture and the National museum of natural history are supporting its activities.

  CRCC is involved in research for the conservation of museums and archival collections and the training of scientists, conservators and curators. The Center has an educational position, which not only includes the teaching of university students but also permanent training for curators and conservators.

  Prof. Bertrand Lavédrine, Director of CRCC, who attended the 13th Conference in Indonesia will officially be representing his association in SEAPAVAA.

• Friends of Sinematek Indonesia
  Associate Institution
  Jl. Cikini Raya 73, Jakarta 10330, Indonesia
  Tel: +6221-3162780
  Fax: +6221-31924616
  Email: huskyblup@yahoo.comFriends of Sinematek Indonesia is a group of people concerned about the state of Sinematek Indonesia’s archive management. Composed of filmmakers, programmers, writers and also film enthusiasts the association is concerned about saving the currently deteriorating Indonesian film heritage.

  Lisabona Rahman was a panelist in the 13th Conference Symposium. She is one of the initiators of the Friends of Sinematek and will be officially representing them in SEAPAVAA.

• David Crosthwait
  Associate Individual
  President, DC Video
  177 West Magnolia Blvd
  Burbank, CA 91502, USA
  Tel: 818-563-1073
  Fax: 818-563-1177
  Email: david@dcvideo.comDavid Crosthwait is the current President of DC Video. He founded DC Video for the sole purpose of providing solutions to the media archive community. He has the educational and technical background and ability in dealing with technical issues that pertain to obsolete and deteriorating film and videotape-based programs.

  As a consultant, he applies attention to detail in every customer project with accurate advice followed up by sound procedures. He uses his experience gained from years of network and postproduction work to provide to the customer the best possible service. Crosthwait helps to preserve the legacy of film and videotape programming through community efforts in preservation awareness and advanced re-mastering techniques.

  His technical skills include archive element identification and client advisement and project supervision.

• Adrian Wood, current council member and long-time supporter of SEAPAVAA, is the 3rd Lifetime Member of the Association. He joins the roster with SEAPAVAA founder Ray Edmondson and Jim Lindner, former council member.

The South East Asia Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) is pleased to announce that it will hold its 13th Conference and General Assembly on 15 – 20 May, 2009 at the Hotel Savoy Homann, Bandung, West Java, and Jakarta Indonesia. The conference will be hosted by Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (National Archives of Indonesia), in cooperation with the Badan Arsip dan Perpustakaan Daerah Jawa Barat (West Java), the Nasional Republik Indonesia (National Library of the Republic of Indonesia) and Sinematek, Indonesia.

The event will feature the following:

• 2-day Symposium
• Training Workshops
• Annual SEAPAVAA General Assembly
• Evening Screening of Regional Archive Gems
• Indonesian Screening Night
• Vendor Exhibits
• Institutional Visits
• Excursions

CONFERENCE THEME:

This year’s conference theme is “Collection and Access Development: Two Sides of the Same Coin”.

Symposium Focal Points:

In not only difficult economic times for the region but also globally the conference will consider how collections can be grown, maintained, managed and accessed.

Previous themes have looked at the benefits and disadvantages of the reliance upon new technologies, such as digital migration and preservation. To address the issues archivists face, this year we intend to reconsider many of the fundamental issues faced by everyone working with AV materials today.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

We seek proposals for presentation on topics including:

• Whether publicly-funded bodies can justifiably exist unless broadened access to collections is possible?
• Should public-funds be spent on acquisition and preservation of commercially-owned assets?
• Would it be ethical for AV Archives to deal with private collectors in growing their collections?
• Would it be a good idea to encourage legal deposits?
• Should copyright owners be obliged to share in preservation costs?
• Should collection policies be amended to reflect prevailing economic situations?
• Are commercial partnerships appropriate for State-owned archives?
• Do equipment manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure legacy formats can be accessed?
• Should archives preserve and provide access to orphan works whose copyright owners are not known?
• How can we ensure that access and exploitation is not prejudicial to the long term safe-keeping of the collection?
• How can advocacy aid the process of maintaining funding in a financially competitive environment?

Please send in your proposals by 28 February 2009.

WORKSHOP THEMES:

Using experts from the region and elsewhere these are intended to address the needs of both relative newcomers to the needs of AV preservation and those with more experience. The workshops will focus on 3 key areas:

• Basics of Preservation
• Digitisation
• Intermediate Level Preservation Issues

REGISTRATION FEES:

The Conference registration fees are as follows:

• Members – US $ 150
• Non-Members – US $ 250

The Workshop fees are as follows:

• Members – US $ 50 per workshop
• Non-Members – US $ 75 per workshop

CONTACT:

• Conference presentations:i) Adrian Wood: adrianjwood@aol.com
  ii) Bel Capul: leb_47@yahoo.com
  iii) Bee Thiam Tan: bthiam@asianfilmarchive.org
• For Conference/workshop registration and accommodation arrangements:i) for non-Indonesian participants – Vicky Bejerano: seapavaa@yahoo.com
  ii) for Indonesian participants – Dhani Sugiharto: dhanisugiharto@yahoo.com

THE COUNTRY:

Indonesia is a vast equatorial archipelago of 17,000 islands extending 5,150 kilometres (3,200 miles) east to west, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Southeast Asia. The largest islands are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Sulawesi, and the Indonesian part of New Guinea (known as Papua or Irian Jaya). Islands are mountainous with dense rain forests, and some have active volcanoes. Most of the smaller islands belong to larger groups, like the Moluccas (Spice Islands).

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation and is 86 percent Muslim- the largest Islamic country, though it is a secular state. Indonesians are separated by seas and clustered on islands.

The largest cluster is on Java, with some 130 million inhabitants (60 percent of the country’s population) on an island the size of New York State. Sumatra, much larger than Java, has less than a third of its people. Ethnically the country is highly diverse, with over 580 languages and dialects, only 13 of which have more than one million speakers.

THE CITY:

Bandung is the capital of West Java province and the country’s fourth largest city. It is located 768 m (2,520 ft) above sea level. Bandung has relatively year-around cooler temperature than most others. The city lies on a river basin and surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides the city with a good natural defense system, which was the primary reason of Dutch East Indies government’s plan to move the colonial capital from Batavia to Bandung.

The Dutch colonials first opened tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, followed by a road construction connecting the plantation area to the capital (180 km or 112 miles to the northwest). The European inhabitants of the city demanded the establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906 and Bandung gradually developed itself into a resort city for the plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened of which the city was dubbed as Parijs van Java.

After Indonesian independence, the city experienced a rapid development and urbanization that has transformed Bandung from idyllic town into a dense 15,000 people/km² metropolitan area, a living space for over 2 million people. Natural resources have been exploited excessively, particularly in the conversion of protected upland area into highland villa and real estates. Bandung still has its charm to attract people flocking into the city, either as tourists or as residents.

THE VENUE:

The Organisers are pleased to advise that discounted accommodation has been arranged at Conference Hotel, The Hotel Savoy-Homann.

From the 19th Century when its door first opened to guests the Savoy Homman has accommodated many visitors including VIPs who attended the first Asia-Africa Conference in 1955.

Its lovingly restored art-deco façade and many of the original internal features enhanced by recent renovation make the Savoy-Homann an ideally appointed venue to host our conference. For more information, please visit http://www.savoyhomann-hotel.com/profile.htm.

ACCOMMODATION AND COSTS:

To be confirmed

GETTING THERE:

Most non-Indonesian delegates are expected to arrive and depart via Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta which is served by many of the World’s major airlines. Our hosts will arrange ground transportation between the airport and Bandung.

Bandung also has its own airport, Husein Sastranegara (BDO), connecting Bandung directly with other cities in Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Direct flights from KL air operated by Air Asia http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/home.jsp

Bandung also has a train station connecting it with Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Semarang.

*** Download PDF version
*** Download Tentative Program Schedule

SEAPAVAA is recruiting a full-time Administrative Coordinator for its Secretariat office. Under the general direction of the Executive Council and direct supervision of the Secretary-General, the Administrative Coordinator is responsible for the effective and orderly management of the Secretariat’s day-to-day activities and the regular events of the association such as the bi-annual council meeting, annual conference and general assembly meeting. It services the Executive Council and other activities characterized as proactive in nature to efficiently promote the Association’s strategic plans. Other duties involve website management, desktop publishing, financial management, and information management. Salary is commensurate to the experiences and qualifications of the applicant. For detailed job description, please click to download the PDF document.

Requirements

1. Must be highly organized, with strong written and oral communication skills;
2. Self-motivated and ability to work independently;
3. Preferably with strong computer skills, including desktop publishing, databases, email and web design;
4. Fresh graduates are welcome to apply.
5. Knowledge of moving image and sound history, including the range of functions in an AV archive is desirable; experience working in the audio-visual archive field a plus;
6. Willing to be based in Manila but able to travel.

*Note: Initial appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical examination.

Terms and Conditions

This is a full-time contract position, renewable on a yearly basis. Remuneration is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

To Apply

Interested applicants should email their motivation letter and resume, stating your expected salary, to seapavaa@yahoo.com and bthiam@asianfilmarchive.org. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Application closing date is 19 Jan 2009. Application letter must be addressed to: Bee Thiam TAN, Secretary-General of SEAPAVAA (SEAPAVAA Secretariat).

For more information, you may contact Vicky BEJERANO c/o Management Information Systems Division, Philippine Information Agency at 981-5020 loc. 5227 or 09208327785.

About SEAPAVAA

South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) founded in 1996, is a regional association of audiovisual archive institutions and individuals involved in, or interested in the development of audiovisual archiving in the Southeast Asia-Pacific region – “ASEAN plus three group”, Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It particularly aims to promote the audiovisual archiving and to preserve and provide access to the region’s rich audiovisual heritage. SEAPAVAA is a member of the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archive Associations (CCAAA) and work closely with the UNESCO to pursue common goals in the service of international cooperation and development. SEAPAVAA is run and managed by an Executive Council which consists of heads of archiving institutions in the region, and which is duly elected by its General Assembly/membership. SEAPAVAA consists of committees (comprised of members) which support the Executive Council in pursuing the Association’s objectives.

Submission Deadline: January 30th 2009

The Organising Committee of the IASA 2009 Annual Conference invites presentation proposals for the 40th IASA Annual Conference, to be held September 20-25, 2009, in Athens , Greece , hosted by the Hellenic National Audiovisual Archive.

Presentation proposals are due January 30th, 2009, on the following themes:

• Archives, Libraries and Museums. Moment of Truth – Time to Converge?
• The disappearing Archive I: the loss of physical substance through digitisation
• The disappearing Archive II: aging and physical deterioration of analogue media
• The disappearing Archive III: obsolete carriers but no replay equipment
• Born to die? Selection policies in the 21st century
• Between archivists and users, taking advantage of the archive
• Digital preservation and audiovisual preservation: Is there a divide?
• 40 years of IASA
• The role of the National Audiovisual Archives
• Archiving the web and the new media audiovisual content
• Ethics of digital archives

Please find all conference information as well as the submission form on the conference website.

by Ray Edmondson

Quezon City (11 November) — The second general meeting of the Memory of the World (MOW) Regional Committee for Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP) has established a framework for the future growth of the Program in the region, adopting a set of statutes and operational rules, and putting in place criteria for a new regional register of documentary heritage.

The three-day meeting and workshop was convened Nov. 7-9 by the UNESCO regional office for Asia and the Pacific, through the Philippine Information Agency, the UNESCO National Commission – Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It was held in Pasig City, Philippines and was attended by some 30 delegates from 15 countries.

The main outcomes of the meeting included:

• Presentation of reports, including a region-wide current assessment of the Program and the mentoring work of the Goodwill Patron, Dr Rujaya Abhakorn.
• Adoption of statutes and rules for MOWCAP, which will now meet every two years, with its bureau meeting annually
• Adoption of criteria for an Asia-Pacific Regional Register of documentary heritage, with the first inscriptions to be announced at the third MOWCAP meeting in 2007
• Settling of a structure for the new MOWCAP website, to be launched in January 2006
• Election of a new Bureau and establishment of subcommittees
• Identification of a range of projects for which funding will be sought, including a survey of audiovisual collections, and a scheme for safeguarding the “Memory of the Tsunami” which swept South East Asia on 26 December 2004
• Identifying and encouraging several new national Memory of the World committees currently in the process of formation.

The newly-elected MOWCAP Bureau comprises Ray Edmondson (chair), Carmen Padilla (vice chair) and Simon Fook-Keung Chu (Secretary General). The UNESCO Regional Advisor (Mrs Susanne Ornager) is an ex officio member of the Bureau. It will hold office until the fourth MOWCAP meeting in 2009.

Delegates to the meeting came from Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, Tajikistan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam. The workshop on the third day explored the practicalities of setting up and running national MoW committees, and preparing nominations for the Memory of the World registers.

For further information contact: Simon Chu, Secretary General simonchu@grs.gov.hk Mobile (852) 97293681.

During the recent General Assembly Meeting in Hanoi last April, the SEAPAVAA committees were restructured to help carry-out the association’s strategic plan. The 5 new committees formed were: Collection, Promotion Access Committee; Technical Committee; Training Committee; Development Committee; and Awards & Prizes Committee. [Read each committee’s terms of reference.]

There are several projects in line and SEAPAVAA would very much need the participation and input from its membership. May we invite you and other archivists/av staff from your institution to take part in the works and future projects of SEAPAVAA.

Please email your names, institution, designation and contact details (mailing address, email, tel, fax) along with your chosen committee to the SEAPAVAA Secretariat.

At its June meeting, CCAAA members discussed repatriation issues and agreed to consider draft policy statement on this topic at its next meeting. SEAPAVAA agreed to provide this draft for review by the Council, and it was proposed that SEAPAVAA develop a mechanism to facilitate a co-ordinated programme.

In light of this development, we are requesting our member archives to identify gaps or ‘lost’ films in their collection. If you know their current host archive, please identify them so we know which institutions/archives to contact, and also indicate potential sources of funding. To ascertain that the material for repatriation is compatible with your archive’s facilities, kindly indicate your preferred format and your archive’s available storage facility. Send your list to the SEAPAVAA Secretariat.

Also in French and Spanish versions.

We are pleased to announce that the Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles is now online and can be downloaded as a PDF file. The document will shortly be printed by UNESCO. For English version, download here.

As most know, an Australian Government decision has brought the National Screen and Sound Archive and the Australian Film Commission together. The AFC Commission (effectively the Board of Directors) recently confirmed support for SEAPAVAA along the following lines.

The Archive will remain actively involved in SEAPAVAA. This will include ongoing support of its annual conference, including financial support to at least the existing level. The importance of the training and technical support is understood. The support which has been provided by the Archive in the past to SEAPAVAA and its members in its various forms will continue. Overall, the Archive will continue to play a leadership role within SEAPAVAA and within the region.

The Archive will continue to support SEAPAVAA’s broad approach to the issue of repatriation of moving image material. If the direct support of the office of the Chief Executive of the AFC can be of assistance to progress this issue then it will be provided.

The AFC will support any attempt to progress support for a SEAPAVAA training initiative through ASEAN. This could involve seeking the assistance of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs. The AFC already works closely with DFAT in a number of areas and in this instance there will be follow up on this project directly by the Chief Executive should this be of assistance.