Film maker attends Audiovisual Archiving workshop in Fiji

By Robert Buleka
National Film Institute, Goroka
The South East Asia & Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) workshop was held on the 19th of November 2001 at the Marine Studies Campus of the University of South Pacific in Fiji. Attending this workshop were 19 audio and film/video archivists from 16 different Pacific Island countries. A staff from the National Film Institute Robert Buleka represented the country at this workshop.
The workshop was funded by UNESCO while SEAPAVAA together with the Fiji Department of Culture & Heritage from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation co-ordinated the workshop. The workshop began with brief personal introductions followed by country profiles on audio visual archiving where individual representatives gave accounts of the state and progress of audio visual archiving in their own countries. From presentations one could tell that some countries besides Australia and New Zealand are quite advanced in their work. Fiji for example has a well kept National Archive which keeps record and documents and works closely with the National Museum and the Television and Media Unit of the Department of Information.

Their Museum maintains the audio recordings of their oral history while the television and Media Unit records social and political events of national importance. On the lower end of the scale, smaller Pacific Island countries like Tuvalu and Nauru have no proper
control of their audiovisual history at all. In Tuvalu a transferring officer destroyed all the archival material that was kept. Nauru has its oral history recorded but stashed away in a deteriorating government office. Both countries have no state archival institutions.
In Tonga, the Methodist Church operates an archive while the government does not have a national archive or an archivist either. Such is the shocking state of some of our audiovisual archives throughout the Pacific. However, the author of this article gave a report on the state our film and video archive in Port Moresby and the progress of moving our audiovisual material from the headquarters to Goroka. Issues discussed and deliberated upon were on the different aspects of audiovisual archiving ranging from local collection policy to preservation and on the regional level technical training, equipment and
funding.

Many participants expressed concern that very little support came from their respective governments in terms of funding to keep their audiovisual archives in acceptable standards. The Cook Islands, for instance had to dispose off two warehouses full of audiovisual archival materials because of government neglect. The main objectives of the workshop were a threefold; to develop a comprehensive overview of AV archiving in the Pacific region, to consider principles and practicalities of collective management in the Pacific environment and to prepare a policy document outlining resources and skills needed to establishing a professional community network to further promote future development in that field. An invited speaker to the workshop Dr. Esther Williams from the University of South Pacific said that the main reason why this happens is because the Pacific region is still poorly aware of the role, power and influence the audiovisual sector has on development. In a study she conducted in 1998, Dr. Williams discovered that many decision makers and leaders were not aware of the problems experienced in this field of development, thus leading to the lack of support funding.

The urgency of preserving the Pacific Island countries cultural audiovisual heritage is paramount as globalisation coverges upon us foreign cultures and audiovisual materials endangering ours. On a personal note, there were two highlights of the workshop, the first being our field trip to the National Museum of Fiji, the National Archives and the Media and Television Unit of the Department of Information. I was amazed by the way the three organisations work together in keeping Fiji’s audiovisual records intact. The second was the opportunity to see some rare footage of a traditional Fijian ceremony shot on film in 1907 and kept in the New Zealand Audiovisual Archives.After 94 years, the audio and visuals on this film are worth the effort the person who shot it. The tape also showed shots taken in the other island countries like Tonga, Cook Islands and Vanuatu in those early years. Graham Evans from the National Screen and Sound Archives of Australia and Cushla Vula from New Zealand Film Archive facilitated the workshop. SEAPAVAA plans to make this gathering an annual event for audiovisual archivists to attend workshops on different aspects of their work.

From the NFI’s perspective, initial dialogue has been made with both Graham of NSSA and Cushla of NZA for our trainee archivist to take an internship or work attachment with their organisations. Both expressed their willingness to take the matter further for their management to consider. The workshop ended on the 23rd of November 2001. All in all, the workshop was fruitful in the sense that it gave me an opportunity to see and know first-hand on what other countries are doing in archiving their documental and audiovisual records.

IPNGS receives visitors from the USA Library Of Congress

By Daniel Taka
Institute of PNG Studies
Although the Institute of PNG Studies occupies the most unattractive building among all other buildings in Boroko and tucked away in a little corner of the Angau Drive, it is described as the most recognised institution by well known libraries and universities in the world. Last month the institute had visitors from the authourised personnel from the USA Library of Congress. The visitors were here to purchase multiple copies of any new publications from PNG as well as acquire publications and other materials from the South Pacific region to be referenced by members of the US Congress, their staff, the federal bureacracy and members of the Conservation Community in the United States.

Additional copies acquired would be deposited in reference libraries throughout the United States. The two Americans Dr. James Di Giambattista and his assistant Mr. Alexander Dailey were disappointed to find that there were no new publications available at IPNGS due to cuts in Government funding. The two gentlmen proposed to return in 2003 to purchase any new publications. Dr. Giambattista remarked that the institute ought to be adequately funded to carry out its functions. He added that in other countries the research institute as such are given priority through budgetary allocation.“They are seen as worthwhile investment because through them new knowledge, ideas, technologies, etc. emerge which contribute to the growth and development of a country”, Dr Giambattista said. “Failure to sufficiently fund research institutions means a regress in development of any country, thus, the institute needs such sufficient funds to do research to maintain its reputation abroad and enable PNG to intergrate its findings for
development”.

Dr. Giambattista commended Mr. Don Niles for his tireless effort in maintaining the reputation of the institution abroad. His assistant joined him in commending Mr. Niles for the Ivilikou publication adding that IPNGS should reach its full operational capacity as in the past. Such remarks by visitors should be taken note for since the IPNGS has a lot of potential to generate its own source of revenue and contribute to the development of the country in a sustainable way.