WORLD CONFERENCE 2024
Host city announcement!
Blame it on the algorithm!
After nearly four years, the FIAT/IFTA World Conference returns to Europe as an in-person event. We eagerly anticipate the reunion of professionals captivated by all things related to media archives. In partnership with SRG-SSR, we firmly selected Locarno as this year’s conference venue. This city melds historical charm with global significance in media and audiovisual history, set against a stunning Alpine backdrop.
As for the conference’s theme, the message is clear: amidst the AI buzz in media archives, let’s pause. Tech’s historic impact on our field begs the question: is this shift unique? Are we off course? Is AI’s dominance a silver bullet or overhyped? Beyond cataloguing, let’s remember its preservation and access potential. Are we, while fixating on AI, missing the broader plans?
To delve deeper, let’s consider the following: do we need AI-free zones in our institutions and collections? Are creativity, curatorship, sustainability and disinformation each other’s friends or foes? Will the survival of media archives be reliant on AI?
At the 2023 FIAT/IFTA World Conference, we dissect media-tech-content crossroads. Archivists, devs, strategists, researchers, and the industry unite for informed exchanges: keynotes, presentations, workshops, inspiring dialogues and the convivial atmosphere that the FIAT/IFTA World Conference is well known for.

PROGRAMME
WELCOME TO LOCARNO 2023
Blame it on the algorithm!
The programme is correct at the time of publishing. Still, organisers reserve the right to alter it if and when deemed necessary, and the FIAT/IFTA Office reserves the right to make changes without prior notice to the parties concerned.

VENUES
PALACINEMA DI LOCARNO
Conference & Gala Dinner Venue
Nicknamed the House of Cinema and the Audiovisual, the PalaCinema has been operational since August 2017. From an architectural point of view, it aimed to capitalize on the existing structure of the Palazzo Scolastico and provide an architectural identity for the new cinema complex on the Piazza Remo Rossi, not far from the shores of Lake Maggiore.
The building currently serves as Locarno’s main cinema, headquarters, and venue for the Locarno Film Festival. Three large cinemas offer highly qualitative spaces for screenings. The PalaCinema also houses the Ticino Film Commission and the CISA, a graduate school for cinematographic, television and multimedia training, thus creating a privileged platform for meetings and developing collaborations between operators in the cinematographic sector and audiovisual production.
For the Gala Dinner, exceptionally taking place on the last conference evening, we’ll ascend to the rooftop terrace of the PalaCinema, featuring a magnificent cityscape.

PREVIOUS EDITIONS
- 2023
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015