Describe the main features of the policy/measure:
Australia prioritises sustainable development and capacity building in the Indo-Pacific through programs such as the National Film and Sound Archive’s (NFSA) Pacific Engagement Project. As reported in Australia’s 2018 report, the Pacific Engagement Project began in 2015 with the objective of identifying the preservation needs of audiovisual collections and training needs of audiovisual technicians across the Pacific region. Building on this work, the NFSA aims to enhance archive representatives skills in areas such as technical skills/digitisation, collection conservation and storage, disaster preparedness and management, resource management, collection development, and metadata management/cataloguing. The NFSA is working with the following Indo-Pacific institutions:
• Fiji: National Archives, Ministry of Itaukei Affairs (Indigenous Affairs) Fiji Museum, Ministry of Information
• Samoa: National Archives and Records Authority of Samoa, Department of Health, Secretariat of the Pacific
• Tonga: Tonga Broadcasting Commission
• New Caledonia: Bernheim Library, Archives of New Caledonia, Tjibaou Cultural Centre
• Papua New Guinea: National Film Institute
The NFSA also has a strong regional interest exemplified by its involvement with the South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA).
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the policy/measure?:
The NFSA began this capacity building project in 2015 to identify the preservation needs of audiovisual collections and training needs of audiovisual technicians across the Pacific region, as described in Australia’s 2018 report. The NFSA has subsequently been building upon this work to support identified institutions and their staff around the Pacific region to train audiovisual technicians in appropriate preservation methods for audiovisual collections.
The NFSA received further funding from the Australia Government, over four years to 2024, to work with audiovisual archives in the Pacific region to prioritise digitisation needs for the collections of these institutions, and to prepare an approach to digitising the material and build capacity for staff. The NFSA will work with each archive to digitise at-risk material, including NFSA staff visiting the Pacific archives to provide practical collection management support, and staff from the archives visiting the NFSA in Canberra to deliver collection material and receive further digitisation training.
Financial resources allocated to the policy/measure in USD:
US$158,500 (A$200,000) in Australian Government funding
Partner(s) engaged in the implementation of the measure:
| Name of partner | Type of entity |
|---|---|
Office for the Arts, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
| Public Sector
|
National Archives, Fiji
| Public Sector
|
Ministry of Itaukei Affairs (Indigenous Affairs), Fiji
| Public Sector
|
Fiji Museum
| Public Sector
|
Ministry of Information, Fiji
| Public Sector
|
National Archives and Records Authority of Samoa
| Public Sector
|
Department of Health, Samoa
| Public Sector
|
Secretariat of the Pacific, Samoa
| Public Sector
|
Tonga Broadcasting Commission
| Public Sector
|
Bernheim Library, New Caledonia
| Public Sector
|
Archives of New Caledonia
| Public Sector
|
Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia
| Public Sector
|
National Film Institute, Papua New Guinea
| Public Sector
|
Has the implementation of the policy/measure been evaluated?:
NO