Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

SEAPAVAA Steps Out
Ray Edmondson
Regional
Groupings
Groupements
régionaux
Agrupaciones
regionales
La 7ème conférence annuelle de
SEAPAVAA, organisée par le Lao
National Film Archive and Video
Center, a eu lieu en mai 2002 à
Vientiane, au Laos. Avec la rencontre
conjointe avec IASA à Singapore en
2000, cette conférence est à ce jour la
plus importante réunion co-organisée
par SEAPAVAA. Le thème était
Envisager le futur : un constat des
réalités des archives. Plusieurs archives
ont exposé une vision très
intéressante de ce qui pour eux serait
la situation « idéale » dans leur pays,
en faisant abstraction des questions
budgétaires et autres contraintes. Un
nouveau Conseil Exécutif a été élu
pour trois ans lors de cette
conférence. Jim Lindner, au nom de la
société Media Matters, a fait un don
de 10.000$US pour la création d’un
prix bisannuel qui récompensera, à
partir de 2004, les innovations
techniques et la recherche dans le
domaine de la restauration et de la
préservation.
Lors de cette réunion, il a également
été décidé de mettre sur pied un
Secrétariat de SEAPAVAA à temps
plein. Ce bureau se trouvera dans les
locaux de la Philippine Information
Agency, à Manille. D’autre part,
SEAPAVAA a été accepté au sein de
l’UNESCO en tant qu’organisation
non-gouvernementale (ONG) et est
From 13 to 17 May 2002, about one hundred delegates gathered in
Vientiane, Laos, at the Lane Xang Hotel, right on the bank of the fabled
Mekong River. The seventh annual SEAPAVAA conference was hosted by
the Lao National Film Archive and Video Center, and delegates came
from all ten countries of South East Asia, as well as Australia, New
Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands, USA, Canada, Britain and Croatia.
During the course of the week, the conference explored the theme
Mapping Tomorrow: a Reality Check for Archives and made institutional
visits to the Lao National Television and Radio, National Museum and
National Library, as well as the host archive. A particular point of
interest was the Archive of Traditional Music, housed within the
National Library, which – through regular field trips to remote parts of
the country – is building an audio and video collection documenting
the rich cultural heritage of music and dance which characterises the
Lao people.
With the exception of the gathering held jointly with IASA in Singapore
in 2000, this was the largest SEAPAVAA conference to date. FIAT was
represented by the head of its Training Commission, Branco Bubenik,
IASA by its President, Crispin Jewitt, and AMIA by JoAnn Watson,
standing in for President Sam Kula (who, at the last minute, was unable
to come.) Sam’s keynote address, delivered on his behalf by JoAnn, got
the symposium off to a good start by reflecting on the changing
international landscape of our profession.
A feature of the symposium was a segment on dreams and visions:
several archives were asked to imagine the “ideal” archival situation in
their country - if they could be freed from present budgetary and other
constraints - and the visions they presented were a highlight of the
conference. There was a logical conclusion drawn from this: no matter
how things are at present, it is crucial to have a vision of what might be
in the best of all possible worlds. It puts present realities and specific
future goals into perspective. And it was recognised that sometimes
dreams do come true.
SEAPAVAA elects a new Executive Council every three years. This was an
election year and the new EC comprised the following members who
will serve until 2005:
President: Belina SB. Capul (Philippines)
Secretary General: Samsiah Muhamed (Malaysia)
Treasurer: David Boden (Australia)
Immediate Past President: Ray Edmondson (Australia)
Councillors: Cushla Vula (New Zealand)
Bounchao Phichit (Laos)
Kannika Chivapakdee (Thailand)
Jim Lindner (USA)
94 Journal of Film Preservation / 65 / 2002