SEAPAVAA, founded in 1996, is an association of organizations and individuals involved in, or interested in the development of audiovisual archiving in a particular geographic region – the countries of Southeast Asia (the ten member nations of ASEAN), Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), and the Pacific Islands (Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia)
It particularly aims to promote audiovisual archiving and to preserve and provide access to the region’s rich audiovisual heritage.
In April 2001, the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archive Associations (CCAAA) accepted SEAPAVAA into membership – the first regional association to join the group. Later in the same year, SEAPAVAA has formally been admitted into operational relations with UNESCO as an NGO to pursue common goals in the service of international cooperation and development.