The International Television Studies Seminar, hosted by the British Film Institute at its South Bank premises London on September 28th 2012, will present academic papers based on research conducted in FIAT/IFTA member archives and illustrated by extracts provided by those archives.

Paper proposals should include a brief abstract and details of arrangements made with the television archive where the research will be conducted.  Participating FIAT/IFTA member archives will provide research facilities and extracts on DVD free of charge.  The archives represented in the Television Studies Commission are all participating.  These are:

• BFI (British Film Institute) National Archive, London, UK
• INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel), Paris, France
• Beeld en Geluid, Hilversum, Netherlands
• Library of Congress, Culpeper, Va, USA
• RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann), Dublin, Eire

Other FIAT/IFTA member archives may participate upon request.

Contact persons for proposals

Initial enquiries should be made to the appropriate member of the Television Studies Commission and completed proposals sent to the same person by May 25th 2012.  These are:

• For participants from the UK : Steve Bryant, BFI (steve.bryant@bfi.org.uk)
• For participants from France and other French-speaking countries: Claude Mussou, INA (cmussou@ina.fr)
• For Dutch/Flemish speakers: Bert Hogenkamp, Beeld en Geluid (bhogenkamp@beeldengeluid.nl)
• For US participants: Mike Mashon, Library of Congress (mima@loc.gov)
• For Central and Eastern European participants and members of the European History Television Network: Dana Mustata, University of Groningen (D.Mustata@rug.nl)
• For Irish participants: Liam Wylie, RTE (Liam.Wylie@rte.ie)

All other potential participants should send their proposals to Steve Bryant, who will attempt to connect them with the appropriate FIAT/IFTA member archive.

Proposal administration

Participants will be confirmed in early June.  The Seminar language will be English.

Proposals can cover any aspect of television history or practice, though the following topics are suggested:

• In the context of the London Olympic Games our main theme will be Sport on Television, including how sport drives the development of television technology
• Media events, including news: the role of technology and viewing platforms and the aspect of collective memory

Registration details for the Seminar will be advised in due course at http://www.fiatifta.org/

Links

• Download the original FIAT/IFTA Television Studies Commission Call for Papers [DOC]
• Conference announcement: Are our archives faster, bigger, stronger than ever? – 28 March, 2012

The Museums and the Web conference is taking place this week – starting tomorrow, April 11th and continuing until the 14th. The conference constitutes a buzzing intersection between museum curators, analysts, strategists and interested folk willing to bring musems (and related instituations such as libraries and archives – the so-called GLAM-community) fully into the digital world. To do so, nascent trends have to be followed up on and discussed, but more importantly, recent and real-world initiatives are reviewed and discussed in a wide array of talks, workshop and debating sessions. Members of the community vote for the People’s Choice award in the annual Best of the Web series, which EUscreen’s predecessor Video Active proudly took home in 2009.

EUscreen is present in a variety of sessions this year, to reflect on television heritage and its place online, on the intersection between webvideo, exhibition content, popular culture and open access. Johan Oomen, technical director of the project, will give a demonstration of the available tools, benefiets and realisations of the project. Furthermore, the special session Linking Europe’s Television Heritage will discuss EUscreen’s Linked Open Data pilot - a topic that is also reflected on in the session Sharing cultural heritage the linked open data way – everyone’s invited.

Last, but not least, EUscreen is one of the contenders for the Best of the Web Awards, so although competition is fierce and there are strong, innovative contenders out there, we do hope to win the hearts and minds of the museum world this year.

Keep your eyes open for the #museweb and conference-specific #mw2012 Twitter conversations or dive in the conference presentations over at: http://museumsandtheweb.org

Links

• Conference paper Linking Europe’s Television Heritage: http://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2012/papers/linking_europe_s_television_heritage
• For an overview of events and conferences where EUscreen is discussed or presented on: http://blog.euscreen.eu/?page_id=2728
• Read back on last year’s Museums and the Web twitter conversations to get a better idea of the topics and research here

For the upcoming conference of  FIAT/IFTA (the worldwide organisation that brings broadcasters and television archives together) , the organisation asks itself the question: are our archives Faster, Bigger, Stronger than ever?

FIAT/IFTA examines the archive management of massive events worldwide that thrill and impact on so many people worldwide. How are we “Tagging and Archiving world events” be they international sporting events, all consuming catastrophes or political upheavals? After the Olympics – what do we do with all that content? How was it managed during the Olympics? What are the challenges of digitization and management of large audiovisual collections and new content?

In the year and on the exact location of this year’s Olympic Games, TV archivists will gather from all corners from the world from September 28 – October 2nd.  FIAT/IFTA just issued its call for papers and invites:

• PRESENTATIONS, either in the form of a panel discussion on the indicated theme or a paper in a specified topic.
• WORKSHOPS of approxinately 1 hour duration; must involve a strong element of interaction with the audience.
• POSTER SESSIONS that provide a space where members and conference participants can present their work, activities and projects.

Head over to the FIAT/IFTA website or go straight to the call for papers for more information about how, why and what to submit: http://www.fiatifta.org/wp-content/uploads/CALLFORPAPERS2012.pdf

Conference: Screening the Future 2012

May 21-23, 2012, Los Angeles

Inspired by the success and enthusiasm of the Screening the Future conference in 2011, PrestoCentre presents Screening the Future 2012: Play, Pause and Press Forward. This year’s conference is organized by the PrestoCentre Foundation in collaboration with the University of Southern California, Shoah Foundation Institute and Digital Repository.

Screening the Future serves the global community of stakeholders who keep audiovisual content alive. This annual international conference brings together archivists, small and large archives, production companies, film makers, TV producers, service providers, vendors, funders, policymakers, and educators who are developing solutions to answer the most urgent questions facing audiovisual archives. With Play, Pause and Press Forward as the theme of this year’s conference, we explore the current status of audiovisual archives; the main challenges that archives and producers face in terms of IT, institutional position, and changes in use and market; and their future readiness.

Conference Themes

• For the record: Should we talk about data or media?
• Meeting the demand: How can we match users’ expectations with institutional capabilities?
• “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small!”: What we can learn from each other

Master Classes

• Archiving in production – the position of archives in the rapidly changing AV production climate.
• Managing the cost of archiving – budgeting, forever cost and endowment pricing.
• Infrastructure, repositories and services – the options and limits of archival systems in a variety of institutions.
• Archiving future data – the attributes and requirements of future generated AV data.
• Trusting the future archive – trusted auditing and certification of audiovisual archives and repositories.

Timing, Venue and Conference Rate

The conference takes place from May 21-23, 2012 at the University of Southern California Ronald Tutor Campus Center, Los Angeles, USA. Discounted conference rate is available for PrestoCentre members.

For more information about the conference, registration and member discount visit http://2012.screeningthefuture.com or send an email to events@prestocentre.org

Join decision-makers and experts at the EBU Brussels office on Wednesday, 1 March 2012 to discover how public service media (PSM) facilitate citizenship through media literacy.

During the morning session, a TV show will highlight how PSM and their partners connect with their audiences across Europe through a diverse range of projects involving key stakeholders. In the afternoon, PSM professionals, literacy experts, European policy makers, civil society representatives and programmemakers will have the opportunity for a hands-on debate during parallel workshops.

One workshop will focus on a discussion of media literacy and empowerment towards democracy. In the other, participants will work towards creating a ‘toolkit’ to promote the principles of media literacy across the broadcast media and facilitate further exchange and cooperation with potential partners.

Register

You can register by using this link or click here to download the programme (pdf).

Media Literacy

• Bridging the digital divide

Media literacy is an essential skill for everyday life. The digital agenda for Europe includes a range of measures to promote increased access to high-speed broadband. However, better access does not in itself ensure that EU citizens make use of broadband network applications. PSM drives the uptake of digital technologies by facilitating universal public access to online tools, supplemented by subtitling or audio description, and the confidence to use them. By bridging the digital divide, PSM promotes empowerment and cultural diversity.

• Informing and empowering citizens to democracy

In an environment where citizens are beset by information, PSM play an important role in identifying credible sources of online information. As a trusted media outlet, they foster democratic participation by helping people analyse and evaluate public opinion and media messages. PSM also contribute to active citizenship by providing a platform for people to participate in the public sphere.

• Creating a trusted space for creativity

PSM play an important role in empowering citizens to use evolving media technologies to stimulate creativity, audience participation and innovation. Public Service Media are particularly committed to creating a safe, creative online digital environment for children and young adults. Campaigns, online tools and cross-media programmes enable children and others to play an active role in the media world.

Agenda

10:00    Welcome coffee and registration
10:30    Welcome speech by Jean‐Paul Philippot, EBU President
10:40   Speech by Jan Truszczynski, Director‐General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, European Commission

10:50 TV‐show featuring video footage of media literacy projects and short interviews   - Presenter: Thomas Vanderveken (VRT, Belgian Flemish Radio & Television). With a key note speech by Ragna Wallmark (Planning Director, UR, Sweden)  and including video footage and special guests from the BBC, Czech Television, WDR, RAI, Channel 4 and France Télévisions

12:30    Lunch

14:00    Workshops (in parallel)

• Workshop I: Developing media literacy in a practical way: towards a media literacy toolkit  - Moderator: Evelyne Bévort (CLEMI).  Rapporteur: José Manuel Pérez Tornero (UAB, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona).
• Workshop II: Media Literacy & empowerment towards democracy - Moderator: Thomas Vanderveken (presenter at VRT). Rapporteur: Paolo Celot (EAVI, European Association for Viewers Interests). With a presentation by Ulrika Arlert (UR) on the Swedish TV series Medialised  and  a presentation by Philippe van Meerbeeck (VRT) and Mathy Vanbuel (ATiT) on the EUscreen project.

Presentations are followed by a debate with the participation of Aviva Silver, Head of Unit, MEDIA programme and media literacy, European Commission and MEP Mary Honeyball, S&D Culture coordinator, European Parliament

15:30    Coffee break
16:00    Workshop feedback and closing session (in plenary), with a closing speech by  Zoran Stancic (DG INFSO, Deputy Director General).

The third annual Media & Learning Conference will take place in Brussels on 14-15 November 2012. Aimed at policy makers, service providers and practitioners, Media & Learning 2012 brings together a community of people interested in how media can be used to support learning across all sectors. It investigates topics such as media literacy and re-use of media based resources in education as well as broader issues related to innovation, creativity, ICT skills and digital competence.

Media & Learning 2012 is organised in collaboration with the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training and the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture. The conference is held at the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training Headquarters in Brussels. The programme will consist of many new features, including debates, exchanges and online elements. It also includes the annual awards ceremony for the MEDEA Awards, as well as presentations and input from all finalists in the 2012 competition.

The conference builds on the success of Media & Learning 2011, where EUscreen demonstrated its portal to a target group of education professionals and took part in a discussion on business models. All this amidst a packed programme, full of talks, discussions and demonstrations. The 2011 conference attracted over 298 people from 39 countries.

• Interested individuals, project teams, institutions and organisations are invited to submit proposals for presentations, demonstrations and workshops. The closing date for submissions is 1 June 2012. Also, if you would like to be involved in the development of the conference programme, you are welcome to contact the organisers.
• More information including the public call for input will be available from the Media & Learning Conference website shortly: http://www.media-and-learning.eu.
• Until that time, you can download the public report about the Media & Learning Conference 2011 from their online press and publications page.

EUscreen’s technical coordinator, Johan Oomen, gave the following presentation at Europeana’s CCPA AGM on the 6th December 2011 at the DISH Conference in Rotterdam:

Call for Papers - Media Homes: Material Culture in Twentieth-Century Domestic Life
Friday June 29, 2012 (University of Amsterdam)

Picture by Foxtongue on Flickr

During the early‐twentieth century, a raft of media technologies emerged against the backdrop of
urbanization, industrialization and rationalization. At the same time, the private dwelling developed into a centerpiece of modern conceptions of everyday life. While the domestication of media and their adoption for everyday consumption became one of the crucial factors for constructions of private and public space (Morley 2000), the same holds true for the mediation of the domestic, as new visions and representations of the home invaded magazines, movies, radio broadcasts and TV programs (Spigel 2001).

The conference seeks to explore the close – but rarely discussed – entanglement of these two phenomena in the context of recent debates on materiality in the humanities. Older tensions between approaches focusing on immaterial ‘representations’ on the one hand, and material ‘social practices’ on the other, now seem to have been replaced: firstly, by a common interest in representations and, secondly, by a growing concern for the significance of materiality in social life more generally. ʹMedia homesʹ can thus serve as a test case for investigating the new possibilities created by this situation.

Participants are invited to reconnect the strands between media and material culture, as framed within the locus of the interior and domestic life. Both the concept of ʹmediaʹ and of ʹmaterialityʹ are approached from two angles: the different media used to convey new visions of domestic material culture should be analyzed in their function of not only representing but also molding and creating the ‘home’. At the same time, all media – be it books, radios or personal computers – are material objects in themselves that conquer the private home and give it new meaning as a space of media consumption. The home itself thus emerges as ‘mediated’ in two ways: as a represented – imagined and conceptualized ‐ social space and as a space shaped by the material presence of media.

Against this background a set of key questions can be raised: how are old and new media technologies given meaning within everyday life and family relations? In what ways do domestic dwellers engage with media discourses concerning domestic lifestyle and home improvement? To what extent are categories of class, gender and ethnicity bound up with media consumption and related cultural practices within the home? What are the sensory, embodied dimensions to media consumption within the domestic sphere (visibility and audibility, as well as touch, taste and smell)? In what ways did the onset of digital media encourage a rethinking of the domestic sphere (as ʹhome theatreʹ or smart home)?

Themes for the conference may include, but are not limited to:

• Media representations of the home, domestic life and ʹconspicuous consumptionʹ
• Home recording and amateur media practices
• Memory practices and forms of collecting based on media and the domestic sphere (diaries, scrapbooks, mementos)
• Trends such as miniaturization and portability, with new constructions of the interior or domestic in public life (e.g. mobile technologies in the car, mobile phones, portable stereos)
• The relationship between private and public forms of media consumption (cinema‐going, portable stereos)
• Paradigmatic shifts in conceptualizations of the home and domestic life, and the challenge of periodization for researchers
• The relationship of the ʹmedia homeʹ to urban, regional, national, and international or transnational identity categories

Please send abstracts (max. 500 words) and a short CV before 20 January 2012 to Natalie Scholz
n.scholz@uva.nl /Carolyn Birdsall c.j.birdsall@uva.nl. A publication related to the conference is planned for February 2013.