FIAT/IFTA World Conference 2026

Broadcasters and audiovisual archives worldwide are digitizing their collections, expanding access, and making it easier to republish historically significant programs.
 
While this process raises complex copyright questions, it has also triggered urgent ethical debates: material created for past audiences can be offensive to contemporary viewers.
 
Archivists must therefore consider whether republication is appropriate - examining language, participant consent, the presence of vulnerable individuals or children, etc. Copyright law provides limited guidance on these ethical matters.
 
This workshop presents survey findings from the FIAT/IFTA VUC Commission and invites participants to discuss real cases. We will conclude by jointly drafting a set of ethical recommendations, which will serve as input to the VUC Commission’s project on archives and ethics.

Esta sesión será en español / This session will be in Spanish

Dirigido a líderes de archivos institucionales, oficiales, no oficiales, comunitarios, activistas y autogestionados, de y en América Latina, motivades por encontrar nodos de convergencia en la práctica de liderar, gestionar, movilizar y hacer sostenibles proyectos o áreas donde se gestiona patrimonio audiovisual en la región.

Este taller propone un espacio de construcción colectiva a partir de preguntas orientadoras, donde exploraremos juntes cuáles son las competencias de un archivista audiovisual en nuestra región y qué habilidades específicas hemos tenido que desarrollar de acuerdo con nuestras realidades divergentes: la influencia del clima político y social actual y de los gobiernos, la noción de riesgo, la adaptabilidad y la defensa de la causa en entornos mediados por situaciones críticas recurrentes.

A través de dinámicas participativas, invitaremos tanto a personas con trayectorias largas como a nuevas liderazgas a compartir cómo se han integrado a las dinámicas de nuestro campo, cómo la profesión se ha (o no se ha) profesionalizado, cómo nos relacionamos con las buenas prácticas del Norte Global, y cómo comunicamos y educamos a nuestras audiencias y comunidades de interés sobre los archivos audiovisuales.

Como resultado del taller, construiremos de manera colectiva un póster para ser compartido públicamente, en el que podamos reconocernos y potenciar aquellas características que definen a las y los archivistas audiovisuales de nuestra región.

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Aimed at leaders of institutional, official, non-official, community, activist, and self-managed archives, from and in Latin America, motivated by finding points of convergence in the practice of leading, managing, mobilizing, and sustaining projects or areas where audiovisual heritage is managed in the region.

This workshop proposes a space for collective construction based on guiding questions, where we will explore together what the competencies of an audiovisual archivist are in our region, and what specific skills we have had to develop according to our divergent realities: the influence of the current political and social climate and of governments, the notion of risk, adaptability, and advocacy in environments shaped by recurring critical situations.

Through participatory dynamics, we will invite both those with long careers and new leaders to share how they have integrated into the dynamics of our field, how the profession has (or has not) become professionalized, how we relate to best practices from the Global North, and how we communicate and educate our audiences and communities of interest about audiovisual archives.

As a result of the workshop, we will collectively build a poster to be shared publicly, in which we can recognize ourselves and highlight those characteristics that define audiovisual archivists in our region.

A FRAME Expert Workshop

Audiovisual archives are increasingly confronted with ethical, social, and technical challenges when documenting traumatic, community-based and/or marginalised histories. This two‑hour participatory workshop explores how archive services can engage responsibly with these sensitive materials while fostering more inclusive and community‑centred practices.
Designed as a World Café, the session invites participants to rotate across thematic tables, each guided by an expert moderator and introduced by a short case study highlighting key dilemma and approach.
Examples will frame the collective discussion and encourage participants to reflect on the diversity of archival contexts and methodologies. Together, participants will identify concrete actions linked to three essential dimensions:

1. Publics and mediation: strategies for contextualising sensitive materials, involving communities in shaping narratives, and supporting inclusive authorship of shared histories.
2. Witnesses and co‑creation: ethical engagement with contributors and survivors, including methods for their protection and empowerment, and collaborative production of archival content.
3. Collections and archival practice: improving discoverability of sensitive collections, addressing descriptive biases, and examining both the potential and risks of AI in the management of marginalised archives.

Bringing together contributors from varied regions, institutional traditions, and professional backgrounds, from national heritage institutions to grassroots archival initiatives, the workshop aims to foster a plural, global, and practice‑oriented exchange.
A final plenary will synthesise insights from all tables and outline a shared set of recommendations to support more ethical, inclusive, and community‑centred approaches within audiovisual memory institutions.

Please note that participation is limited to 20 attendees in order to ensure an effective and engaging workshop experience.

Building Together the Future of The Profession

In response to rapid changes in the audiovisual archive and media profession, he FIAT/IFTA is working on the project of a Think Tank for education in future skills and consolidation of shared knowledge.

As a matter of fact, technological transformation, automation and digital workflows are reshaping roles, skills and professional identities, while some traditional knowledge - especially related to analogue and manual practices - is at risk of being lost.

The Think Tank missions are to:
- Monitor global trends affecting the profession.
- Anticipate skills gaps and emerging needs.
- Act as a strategic observatory for professional evolution in audiovisual archives and related fields.

To carry out these missions, it should actively establish and strengthen alliances and partnerships, and ensure diversity of expertise, professional backgrounds and geographic representation through a dedicated governance.

It will then launch its first activities, at the service of the professional community.

This workshop aims to present and discuss emerging talking points and invite the audience to add to our
story, through participative table discussions:
- What are your biggest challenges in terms of human resources and skills management?
- How do you/would you like to support teams through the current and future changes?
- How do you share knowledge in your archive?
- What do you expect from the FIAT/IFTA in this field, and what can the association offer to help you?