The mission of FIAT/IFTA: a global network of broadcast archives

Audiovisual media dominates today’s global information society. We all are almost constantly surrounded by moving images and television stands out of this “media storm” as one of the most powerful and yet so familiar parts of everyday life.

Just think of all the TV images you have in your mind when looking back to the history of the last 60 years. Whenever something outstanding was happening, television was usually there. And not only for the political agenda, it was also there to entertain us, comfort us, make us laugh, cry, angry or happy.

But what happens with all these audiovisual memories? Where and how are they sorted and kept for future generations? You will find answers to these and a lot more questions when joining the Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT/IFTA).

Founded in 1977, more than 250 members have joined our organisation that promotes co-operation amongst radio and television archives, multimedia and audiovisual archives and libraries, and all those engaged in the preservation and exploitation of moving image and recorded sound materials and associated documentation.

FIAT/IFTA’ s main objectives are to provide a forum for exchange of knowledge and experience between its members, to promote the study of any topic relevant to the development and valorisation of audiovisual archives and to establish international standards on key issues regarding all aspects of audiovisual media management. Four thematic commissions permit to address all the issues related to audiovisual content and to promote the study of specific topics.

To achieve this, FIAT/IFTA encourages and organises an annual World Conference in different locations in the world, as well as international seminars and local and regional meetings. The annual conference is a unique opportunity to discover the future of the audiovisual domain and its new tendencies and uses.

FIAT/IFTA develops a specific action through the Save your Archive program; addressed to those collections or archives who need urgent assistance or financing.

Every year the FIAT/IFTA Archive Achievement Award is assigned in three categories to projects involving the best use of audiovisual archive material, the most innovative use of an archive, and the best archive preservation project.

The annual Where are You on the Timeline? Survey since 2011 monitors the evolution of television archives worldwide on their journey towards full digital archiving. FIAT/IFTA collects, analyses and presents the results every year at the World Conference.

Last but not least, the Media Studies Grant aims to enhance collaboration between research and archive communities and to ensure the valorization of academic knowledge for archival practice. Organised by the Media Studies Commission, it promotes the research of holdings of member television archives by offering a grant to support their costs for the purpose of the proposed study.