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SEAPAVAA Newsletter |
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Hanoi confab tackles emerging Asia-Pacific AV archive
Highlights of the SEAPAVAA conference, Hanoi, Vietnam - 23 to 28 March 1998
 Vietnam's youth performs a number for delegates and guests. Despite the current crisis in Asia -- which unfortunately prevented many intending delegates from travelling to Hanoi - the third SEAPAVAA conference held in Vietnam was the largest conference to date: there were 44 official delegates and observers from 13 countries, with around 80 to 100 attending the symposium and official functions. The host was the Vietnam Film Institute (VFI), a SEAPAVAA member. The venue was the superb new Horison Hotel in downtown Hanoi - an excellent choice for an audiovisual conference. Sessions were presented in English and Vietnamese, with simultaneous translations. Symposium papers were also available in both languages. The conference officially opened 22 March, with the keynote address of the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Gia Khiem. Participants lent color to the opening ceremonies by wearing their national costumes while an honour guard from Vietnam's youth movement presented a bouquet of flowers to each foreign guest.  Seated from left, SEAPAVAA President Ray Edmondson, VFI Director Tran Luan Kim, and SEAPAVAA Secretary General Bel Capul at the symposium. Papers and presentations ranged from current situationers from various countries; a detailed coverage of AV archiving activity in Vietnam; the newly-launched ASEAN AV database; copyright and legal deposit issues; technical topics on audio, video, and film; and the promotion and delivery of access services. These were interspersed with the sharing of case studies and "solutions that worked". The General Assembly took up the committee reports, admission of new members, the work program and budget for the coming year, and other formal business. (In accordance with regional practice, the minutes of the week's proceedings were reviewed and confirmed at the closing session.) A festival of films from the collections of SEAPAVAA members was presented at the VFI cinema to the public. Historian David Hanan (Australia) and film critic Agustin Sotto (Philippines) offered an overview, in film clips, about the emergence of Southeast Asia from colonialism during the first 70 years of the century.
There were a number of outcome of the conference: 1) the adoption of a policy statement (SEAPAVAA's first) on the subject of Access - which will be circulated separately; 2) production of a succinct history of the cinemas of Southeast Asia countries, to be published by VFI at the end of 1998; 3) strengthening of committee activity (SEAPAVAA now has four standing committees: Collection, Technical, Training, Promotions/Communications).
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Participants got a taste of Vietnam culture, particularly music, at the famous Water Puppet Theater during a visit to the house of President Ho Chi Minh (a historic site); and during an excursion to Ha Long Bay, a breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage site which participants toured by boat. There was also a tour of the VFI (one of the largest in the Southeast Asia-Pacific) in Hanoi, including its storage vaults and newly-installed telecine chain.