“Audiovisual Archives: Access and Service in the Public Interest”

The Riga Seminar 2006
September 21-24, Riga, Latvia

This international  seminar is an initiative of the Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council (BAAC). BAAC is an independent nonprofit organization founded as a voluntary association. Its goal is to foster cooperation between public and private archives, broadcasting and TV archives, libraries and museums. Audiovisual materials about the Baltic States and the worldwide Baltic Community are of particular interest. The Council commits to reviewing and assuring the maintenance of, and access to, these historically valuable treasures.

This will be the third consecutive year of the Seminar. Following up on the great success of the last two years, Latvian Television LTV will once again host this prestigious event for 2006. The Seminar`s reputation is growing. We are expecting participants from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany and other partner countries. The Seminar provides a forum on the relationship of Baltic AV archives vis-à-vis a global cultural heritage. It also develops cooperative archival networks domestically, regionally and internationally.

Themes

• AV archives as essential sources of significant cultural, educational, and historical information.
   
• Freedom of speech and AV archives.
   
• Access.
   
• Re-use of AV archives for cultural and educational purposes.
   
• Preservation, transfer, and management.
   
• Media production and archiving.

Who should participate?

Practitioners, managers, theoreticians of archives, media-archives, museums and libraries; professionals working with sound, still and moving images.

Why?

To maintain cooperation and relations among professional organizations and institutions in the Baltic States, Nordic countries and North America.

• To provide a forum for discussion on the problems and needs of AV archives.
   
• To promote development of specialist expertise.
   
• To exchange knowledge, experience and ideas.

How?

Presentations, discussions, workshops, case studies, lessons learned, success stories and disasters.

Working language

English

Location NB

Fraternitas Latviensis
Aldaru iela 7 (entrance from Atgriežu street)
Riga, Latvia

The Riga Seminar 2006 will be held in the very heart of Old Riga in the historic Fraternitas Lataviensis building, just across the street from the Latvian Saeima (Parliament) and a few steps from the famous Swedish Gate. The location will be of particular advantage to those staying at hotels near the center.

Find more about that at:
http://home.ml.lv/girtis/cq_telpas.htm

Call for papers

We seek proposals for presentations for submissions by June 30.

The time limit for each presenter is 20 minutes. Paper abstracts together with your name, organization, contact address, telephone and e-mail address should be sent electronically to Piret Noorhani: piret@kirmus.ee

Contributors will be notified by July 15, 2006 of the Organizing Committee`s decision.