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Med-Mem: Sharing Mediterranean Audiovisual Heritage

On October 12, a new multilingual website called Med-Mem was launched in Marseille. The portal aims to promote Euro-Mediterranean heritage through audiovisual archives from the region’s public televisions. With some 4.000 audiovisual documents available to the public free of charge, Med-Mem – co-funded by the European Union as part of the Euromed Heritage IV programme – is the largest online video archive library specifically devoted to the historic, cultural and touristic heritage of the Mediterranean.

Archival material from 14 regional broadcasters

Med-Mem is led by EUscreen partners Ina, the French National Audiovisual Institute, and Italian national broadcaster RAI TV, which contributed 400 historical documents, oversaw the digitisation of the database along with Ina, and trained the personnel involved. Also involved is EUscreen partner TV3 from Catalonia. Other partners of the Med-Mem project are the Rome-based Permanent Conference of Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM), Algerian public television (EPTV), Jordanian broadcaster JRTV and Morocco’s national broadcaster SNRT.

As the project puts it: Far more than just a shop window or a mere video catalogue, Med-Mem boasts an enriched interface and a high degree of editorial content, offering a multitude of entrance pathways. The large number of insights available means that each individual will be able to establish a personal pathway through the riches of Mediterranean culture and history.

Shared Mediterranean Audiovisual Heritage

Initiated by Ina under the auspices of COPEAM, the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators, at the request of the holders of audiovisual archives in the Mediterranean region, “Sharing our Mediterranean Audiovisual Heritage (Med-Mem)” offers the general public some 4.000 audiovisual documents from the countries in the Mediterranean area. The TV and radio archives, set into their historic and cultural context, are accompanied by a trilingual documentary note (in French, English and Arabic). Med-Mem strives to raise the profile of a common heritage, and underpins the drive to safeguard Mediterranean audiovisual archives.

Med-Mem targets various audiences:

  • The general public, and young people in particular will be able to freely discover the Med-Mem website, the riches of both their own heritage and that of other Mediterranean countries, and to gradually share and appropriate the Mediterranean cultural heritage.
  • Researchers, teachers and students will find audiovisual documents with commentaries on the Med-Mem site, offering a range of viewpoints for their research and teaching purposes.
  • The visibility of the audiovisual archives put online on the MedMem website provides Mediterranean broadcasters with a new opportunity to raise awareness about the safeguarding and digitalisation of this endangered heritage.

Partners in the Project

The project brings together 20 partners, including 14 Mediterranean television corporations, 3 professional bodies, and high-profile cultural and scientific partners. It forms part of a collaborative partnership, open to all Mediterranean audiovisual archives. The sharing of documentary and technical tools, of policies for safeguarding the audiovisual heritage, and of best legal practices, form an integral part of the project. A network of educational and cultural institutions (museums, libraries, universities, etc.) offer the public website consultation points to broaden its reach.

The full list of Med-Mem partners is:

  • INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel-France),
  • COPEAM ( Conférence Permanente de l’Audiovisuel Méditerranéen – Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators),
  • Rai (Italian Radio & Television),
  • EPTV (Entreprise Publique de Télévision-Algerian Television),
  • JRTV (Jordan Radio and Television – Jordanian television),
  • SNRT (Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision – Moroccan Television),
  • 2M-SOREAD (Sociéte d’Etudes et de Réalisations Audiovisuelles-Moroccan Television),
  • MMSH (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme-France),
  • CMCA (Centre Méditerranéen de la Communication Audiovisuelle),
  • Biblioteca Alexandrina (Egypt),
  • Uninettuno (International Telematic University – Italy),
  • UER / EBU (Union Européenne de Radiodiffusion – European Broadcasting Union),
  • ERTU (Egyptian Radio and Television Union- Egyptian television),
  • HRT (Hrvatska Televizija- Croatian Radiotelevision),
  • PBC (Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation – Palestinian television),
  • IBA (Independant Broadcasting Authority-Israeli Television),
  • CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation – Cyprus television),
  • TV3 (Televisio de Catalunya-Catalonian Television),
  • TT (Tunisian Television)
  • Astram (Arts, Sciences et Techniques / Recherche Audiovisuelle et Multimédia- Aix Marseille University).

The website is accessible to everyone free of charge. Do take a look and visit: www.medmem.eu

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