8 October. The preservation of sound and image collections of the early twentieth century was the focus of a meeting in the National Museum Institute (NMI), New Delhi. The meeting was organized as part of the SOIMA programme (Conservation of Sound and Image Collections) and was chaired by Mounir Bouchenaki, Director General of ICCROM. The event coincided with the 15th triennial ICOM-CC conference in India (22-26 September). Several international experts and representatives of key cultural institutions in India that have sound and image collections made presentations. Common issues discussed were:

• the need for increasing the awareness on the value of this heritage;
• the lack of trained personnel to take care of these collections;
• the lack of storage facilities;
• the ongoing technological evolution; and
• the lack of standardization in digitization practices.

At the end of the meeting, the representatives of the Indian cultural institutions endorsed the SOIMA programme and offered to host the second SOIMA international course in India in 2009. It was also agreed to carry out a conservation assessment survey of sound and image collections in India under the aegis of ICCROM, the NMI and other relevant institutions.

Member States represented: Australia, Canada, France, Guatemala, India, Italy, United States

updated on: 13 October, 2008