Broadcasting Organisations of the Balkan Countries

First meeting of the TV Archives
Halkidiki, 12 - 13 June 1998

CONCLUSIONS

1. The main conclusions which arise from our questionnaire regard the huge volume of audiovisual archive material we have at our disposal. This audiovisual archive material constitutes a cultural heritage of immense value, not only for the Balkan territory, but for the rest of Europe as well.

2. We are well aware that all the audiovisual departments of Europe face problems, but we ought to say that our audiovisual archive departments - the Balkan ones - face specific and much bigger problems, mainly financial.

3. The third important conclusion regards the training needs of our personnel in film and video preservation, filing, etc.

4. The fourth conclusion has to do with the existing lack of substructures (right storage conditions, lack of advanced technological equipment, lack of laboratories for preservation, etc.) - different in each archive department - which rise out of economic problems.

5. Looking forward to the promotion of financial and technical support through the International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT), and through any other international body, such as UNESCO, we came to the conclusion to establish a regional team of the Balkan audiovisual archives.

PROPOSALS

In accordance with the above mentioned conclusions we agreed to:

1. Operate as the regional geographical team of the Balkan audiovisual archives in the framework of FIAT/IFTA, in order to achieve better response to our requests.

2. Establish a committee consisting of FIAT and other organisations' experts, who will visit all our archive departments, so as to see the specific problems and needs of each country.

3. Continue our meetings on an annual basis. The next meeting will be held in Athens, in spring 1999. The issues which will be discussed are the following, in order of priority:

a) Plan training programmes and search for technical support especially regarding film and video preservation issues.

b) Exchange information regarding the automated mass transfer from analogue to new digital formats, connection of data bases.

4. Search for economical and technological support (through European Union's or other organisations' programmes) regarding the advanced technologies issues, the training of our personnel, and the methods of preserving the audiovisual material of our archives.

5. Prepare rules regarding the exchange of archive material, which will be used in productions and co-productions.

6. Build perspectives regarding the establishment of a preservation centre of the audiovisual archives of our region.

7. Promote cooperation with other regional archives such as the one of the Mediterranean countries and the countries of the Black Sea.

Dominique Saintville
INA