Program Stream: Advocacy

This three program Advocacy Stream is to provide attendees with useful information and inspiring case studies that will help them to be more effective advocates in their own situations.

SESSION 1: INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE POINTS

Moderator:

  • Caroline Yeager, George Eastman House; co-chair AMIA Advocacy Committee

Speakers:

  • Hila Abraham, Digitization and Access Project Director at the Jerusalem Cinémathèque – Israel Film Archive
  • Christophe Dupin, Senior Administrator of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF, Brussels
  • Joie Springer, former Senior Program Specialist from UNESCO

Authoritative international reference points and mechanisms which film archivists can employ in confidently advocating for their work include UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register and the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage; the codes of ethics adopted by professional associations; and the literature of advocacy, which can be both an inspiration and a guide.

Getting each of these reference points in place required its own advocacy exercise: international organizations don’t spontaneously change their status quo. Cases have to be made, people have to be persuaded and it can take years. But once in place, they carry the weight and authority of such organizations. Do they actually work? Does anything change because they are there?

 

SESSION 2:  PERSONAL ADVOCACY – THE POWER OF ONE

Moderator

  • Benedict Olgado, University of the Philippines Diliman

Speakers

  • Ray Edmondson, Archive Associates Pty Ltd and Curator Emeritus, National Film & Sound Archive of Australia
  • Débora Butruce, Independent Audiovisual Preservationist and Curator, owner of Mnemosine Ltd. and board member of the Brazilian Association of Audiovisual Preservation (ABPA)
  • Chalida Uabumrungjit, Deputy Director of the Thai Film Archive

This session is focused on what the individual can and/or should do in his/her own situation to bring about change within an archive or institution. The single voice and positive intent of one individual can be extremely effective in bringing about reform and spurring interest in cultural heritage.

 

SESSION 3:  CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS

Moderator

  • Gloria Ana Diez, Cinema Gotika; co-chair AMIA Advocacy Committee

Speakers

  • Grace Lile,  WITNESS
  • Andrea McCarty, The Albanian Cinema Project
  • Elena Rossi-Snook, New York Public Library, Chair of AMIA Film Advocacy Task Force

This session will look at current Advocacy campaigns and projects by organized groups and their impact on the field of audio-visual archiving. The tools used by these advocates and the course of their projects can become blueprints to inspire others. The session will also have reference to the phenomenon of internet-based petitions, letter writing (e.g. the Moscow Film Museum protest) and websites (e.g. the failed Custodes Lucis protest). As this is the final session, there will be a summing up of the whole stream at the end of the session.

468 ad