Theme: AV Archiving Beyond Boundaries
SEAPAVAA held its 22nd SEAPAVAA Conference and General Assembly in the city of Bangkok, Thailand, from 6th to 12th April 2018. The event was hosted by the Film Archive (Public Organisation) in cooperation with The Government Public Relations Department Museum and Archive, National Archives of Thailand, Labor Museum and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre. The conference theme AV Archiving Beyond Boundaries provided the opportunity for delegates from around the world to exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas on how the audiovisual archives, our profession at large, and the communities we serve may expand and be boundaryless together.
The conference was attended by 187 participants composed of archivists, librarians, curators, content producers, filmmakers, broadcasters, academics, local and international students, and the like, representing 25 countries across and beyond the Asia-Pacific. A purpose of SEAPAVAA’s annual conferences has always been to provide members with the chance to establish networks and collaborations between members and other organisations. The global engagement was clearly visible for this year’s conference with representatives from AMIA, FIAT/IFTA, FIAF, IASA, as well as the presence of the current CCAAA chair.
The opening ceremony for the conference was officiated by Dr. Chaweerat Kasetsoontorn, Vice Minister of Culture. Jan Muller CEO of Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive, delivered the keynote address. In addition to the two-day symposium, other events included: 2nd edition of the community archiving workshop, the beneficiary organisation this time was the Labor Museum; 5th edition of the region’s premiere technical symposium “Restoration Asia” presented by OWL Studio and Film Archive (Public Organisation) and endorsed by FIAF and SEAPAVAA; workshops on “Open Source for Archives” and “The Care and Identification of Photographs”; archival gems screening; a special restored films screening; institutional visits; trade show; welcome and farewell dinners; excursion to participate in the Songkran Festival. Conference delegates were treated to an extremely warm hospitality programme with many touches of the uniquely Thai experience, which made this year’s event all the more memorable.
This year, SEAPAVAA gave out three SEAPAVAA Fellowship awards. The recipients are Mick Newnham (Australia), Bounchao Phichit (Laos) and Dome Sukvong (Thailand). They join the SEAPAVAA Fellows Ricky Orellana, Belina Capul, Mary Del Pilar, Tuenjai Sinthuvnik, Hisashi Okajima, Jim Lindner, Dr Ray Edmondson, and the late Misbach Yusabiran. Inaugurated in 1997 and re-established in 2010, the SEAPAVAA Fellowship Award recognizes outstanding individuals for their significant contributions to the field distinguishing them as key players and leaders in our community. SEAPAVAA bestowed its first Fellowship Award in 1997 to Misbach Yusabiran, pioneering film archivist, founder and former director of Sinematek Indonesia.
The 22nd SEAPAVAA General Assembly was attended by members of SEAPAVAA and observers and held at the Pathumwan Princess Hotel on 11th April. The key matters discussed during the general assembly included amongst others, SEAPAVAA’s inauguration of a new “The Best Archival Project” Award to recognize inspiring, innovative and/or influential technical and non-technical projects from the region; review of the SEAPAVAA Constitution; upcoming training initiatives; ratification of new members. It was also announced that SEAPAVAA will hold its 23rd Conference and General Assembly in Noumea, New Caledonia in June 2019. The host institution is the Bibliotheque Bernheim and the venue will be the ADCK-Tjibaou Cultural Centre.