His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond
Speech on the Occasion of the 2006 MasterWorks Gala
Toronto, Thursday, October 26, 2006
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“The Future of the Past is found in Memory” So wrote French writer Paul Valéry, indeed a fitting summary of what is at stake for culture in the 21st century, which depends so much on audiovisual memory.
Without question, audiovisual memory is essential to humanity’s survival, but it is a fragile memory. In global terms, 80% of existing archives are in danger of disappearing. This is true in poor countries that do not have the technical and financial means to safeguard and maintain these archives. But the same can also be said of wealthy countries, like the United States and even Canada, if leaders refuse to make a firm commitment to preserve our audiovisual heritage.
Can we remain silent and allow the audiovisual heritage of the 20th century to be wiped out forever?
Extreme cases may offer both an indirect answer and a lesson. In Afghanistan, for example, images have barely managed to escape oblivion. Under the Taliban regime, from September 1996 to December 2001, television and film were banished, as were radio and song, only to be replaced by litanies from the Koran.
Throughout that time, risking their very lives, certain officials hid away audio recordings, newsreels and fictional films. In all, they were able to save 14,000 hours of television and 30,000 hours of radio. Today, these recordings are vital in the effort to rebuild the social fabric of that country, because a people can have no future if it cannot reconstruct its past.
Therein lies an important lesson for us, we who are better equipped to preserve our past and yet all too often forget how, without proper care, our audiovisual heritage face the ravages of time and the threat of transience.
We know that analog media cannot stand the test of time and instead condemn the world audiovisual heritage to the role of protagonist in a modern-day tragedy: the death of our collective memory. And yet this tragedy can be avoided. Moving from analog to digital could save the entire world memory.
Let me put it another way: digital technology holds the promise of a long and renewable life for this heritage. Our society must therefore do whatever is necessary to protect that priceless audiovisual memory, which is already sinking into invisible and inaudible nothingness. It is a part of humanity’s treasure, no different than the pyramids or great cathedrals.
According to UNESCO, the world audiovisual heritage, excluding film, is now estimated at 200 million hours, divided equally between television and radio. Depending on the medium, the life expectancy of documents varies by a few years, but one number stands out in my mind: within the next ten years, everything will be gone.
The situation is dire. So many documents exist on fragile and obsolete media. Some can no longer be read because the equipment needed to read them has disappeared.
I know how keenly aware the members of The A/V Preservation Trust of Canada are of this situation. Just as I know that you are working to raise awareness of the importance of preserving and showing Canada’s audiovisual heritage. The annual Masterworks Gala is wonderful proof of that. I hope that I have left no doubt that I am wholeheartedly behind you and can assure you of my deepest support.
Thank you.
