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SEAPAVAA ANNUAL CONFERENCES
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Conference Report
2001 SEAPAVAA ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Theme: Ethics,
Values and Standards: Building Blocks of AV Archiving
Bangkok, Thailand
Ethics, Values and
Standards: Building Blocks of AV Archiving was the theme of the
Sixth Conference and General Assembly of the South East-Pacific Audio
Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) held at the Arnoma Hotel in
Bangkok, Thailand from 16 to 20 July, 2001. The Conference was hosted
by the Government Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand and
the National Archive of Thailand.
 Attended by delegates from
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the Conference was divided
into the Symposium, the General Assembly Meeting, Film Screenings,
Institutional Visits, Presentation of the Thai Motion Picture
Industry and on the History and Exhibition of PRD (Public Relations
Department) Museum and Archive, and a Tour of Bangkok.
The Conference critically
examined the ethics, values and standards of the profession. Its
presentation and discussions revolved around the following
conclusions:
-
The essentiality of a
Code of Ethics, a philosophy or theoretical base and policy
reference points for the health of the profession and the good
conduct of archive.
-
The great need for
training and skills development
-
The youth of the
profession - it is new and still evolving - time is on its side
(though) it is not on the side of the AV media
-
The need to promote the
role of AV archiving as part of the protection of the national
heritage
-
The importance of being
equipped to deal with professional conflicts and dilemmas - e.g.
copyright issues, contracts, acquisition issues and conflict of
interest
-
The need to develop
depth of knowledge and intellectual rigour - such as on
technical/ethical issues, content/carrier issues, the importance of
intellectual expression and inquiry, and consistency in values,
policies and clarity of identity
-
Facing the challenges of
technology ethically - format obsolescence, digitization,
insufficient resources
-
The value of
international standards for performance such as ISO 9000, the
Guidelines, examples and frames of reference provided by UNESCO and
the professional associations
-
Managing archives within
the corporate priorities of parent bodies, such as broadcasters
-
The surprise of
revelation - when we visit colleagues in other archives, we always
learn something. There is often more happening than we think.
The Conference was an
opportunity for the delegates not only to gain knowledge from one
another but also to enjoy the rich culture of Thailand. During the
Conference, the PRD Fine Arts Department, presented the History and
Development of the Thai Audiovisual Archives. The event called
Treasure of the Film Archive started with the ancient Thai performance
of the Shadow Play succeeded by a screening of old Thai films. There
was also a presentation of the Thai Motion Picture Industry and a
Mini-Exhibition of the PRD Museum and Archive.
All throughout, the
publicity given to the Conference has been outstanding. The Thai
Airways in-flight magazine had given space for an article on SEAPAVAA
and a documentary of the Conference shown on Thai TV was also
distributed through the ASEAN TV Network.
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