Memorandum of Understanding signed for digitization of archives
Islamabad: The US embassy, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Pakistan) and Internews Network signed a Memorandum of Understanding here at Broadcasting House on Wednesday on conversion of precious archival material of Radio Pakistan into digit format.
The MOU was signed by Peter Brennan, Director of Strategic Communications, US Embassy Islamabad, Samina Parvez, Director General, PBC, and Charmaine Anderson, Chief of Party Internews Network. The project is aimed at transferring historic recordings in the archives of PBC to digital format to preserve it and make it available online to the people. The project is estimated to cover the digitization of 3,500 hours of 7,000 PBC recordings in eighteen months, that is up to 10 percent of its holdings. The remaining recordings will be digitized by the PBC after completion of this project utilizing the equipment, resources, and skills provided for and developed under the project.
Speaking on the occasion, Director General PBC, Samina Parvez appreciated the US cooperation in the project that will enable the coming generations to have access to history through PBC recordings. She said two high-powered transmitters have recently been installed in Peshawar and Dear Ismail Khan with the US cooperation to transmit radio programmes to listeners with clear signal. She said archives of PBC have recordings of historical events, speeches and voices of national leaders and music.
To a question whether the PBC digitized material will be available to for re-broadcast by other organizations, the Director General PBC said a policy is being formulated in this regard. Peter Brennan said it is pleasure for the US embassy to assist the PBC in digitizing its illustrious recordings covering 66 year social and political history of the country for its audience and coming generations. He said the archives of the PBC also have material related to the Pakistan- US relations and friendship.
He said it is important for the PBC to preserve such invaluable asset. He said digitization will save the asset from damage and erasing. He informed that 500,000 dollars will be provided for the project. Charmaine Anderson of Internews Network termed the project as exciting and wonderful under which precious treasure of sound will be preserved by using modern technology. She said there will be some technical issues during the conversion. For this purpose, training will also be imparted to PBC staff as part of capacity building to accomplish the project in state of the art way. She informed that master taps will also be preserved as original source.
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