6/28/2022
Abdel-Fattah
Al-Gibali, Chairman of the Egyptian Media Production City company (EMPC),
confirmed that the city is currently working on expanding its audiovisual
heritage restoration center and transforming it into a regional and Arab center
and house of expertise, thus aiming to preserve the audiovisual heritage of the
region as a whole through cooperation with various countries of the world.
This came during the activities of the international
symposium organized by EMPC in cooperation with the UNESCO under the title
"Celebrating Egypt's Achievements in Preserving World Audiovisual Heritage
and Strengthening International Cooperation" in which a large number of
experts from Egypt, Arab countries and many countries of the world
participated, whether by attendance or participation. Via video conference
technology, including Dr. Bishr Imam on behalf of Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Muzaini,
Regional Director and Resident Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for
Science in the Arab Countries, Dr. El-Sayed El-Absi, Assistant
Secretary-General of the National Committee for UNESCO in Egypt, and Ms. Dina
Youssef, Head of the Library Sector at the Biblioteca Alexandrina, Dr. Ahmed
Samir, Director of the Digital Assets Repository and Integrated Library Systems
at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Mr. Adly Touma, Chairman and CEO of Gemini
Africa, Mr. Paul Hector, Communication and Information Advisor at the UNESCO
Regional Office for Science in the Arab Countries, and Dr. Vakson Panda Head of
the Documentary Heritage Unit at UNESCO, and Dr. Akansuke Takahashi, Advisor
for Cultural Programs at the UNESCO Regional Library in the Arab Countries. A
number of experts in this field also participated, via video conference, from a
number of countries in different continents.
During his speech on this occasion, Al-Gibali welcomed all
the attendees to this important event, which came on the cusp of EMPC’s
celebration of its Silver Jubilee of 25 years since its inception, during which
many films and series were produced, which are considered a great legacy,
documenting many important events and activities, referring to EMPC as the
largest civilized institution in the Middle East, as it includes most of the
Egyptian and Arab channels operating in Egypt, in addition to studios and
outdoor shooting areas characterized by its diversity to suit all types of
filming.
El-Gibali added that as Egypt has a great cultural heritage
represented in many documentaries and great radio and cinema heritage, EMPC
therefore, decided to preserve this heritage and protect it from extinction and
deterioration. In order to ensure the rights of future generations, it was
necessary to preserve this legacy by creating an integrated archive for the
Arab Republic of Egypt and the digitization of its content through the use of
modern technology to restore thousands of old and dilapidated documentaries,
and return them to their original position, using the best techniques applied
in this field at EMPC’s audiovisual heritage restoration center, which includes
high technical expertise. EMPC provides all the facilities and possibilities
for this great national project, which was established in no time, and in the
light of many challenges, foremost of which is the COVID 19 crisis.
El-Gibali added that the center has completed the
restoration of a large number of documentaries presented by Egypt Cinema
Newspaper, which documented the most important historical moments that the
country went through, such as the visits of kings and presidents, and major
political, sporting and cultural events, as 2,300 issues of this newspaper were
restored, and became fully valid. This project is an unprecedented experience
in the Arab region, which preserves the audio-visual heritage, whether it is
documentaries, movies, drama series and recorded radio materials. At the end of
his speech, Al-Gibali called on the UNESCO to reconsider the awards it offers
so that a prize is allocated to those who submit projects to save the
audiovisual heritage as an incentive to preserve the history of humanity to remain
for future generations.
For his part, Dr. Al-Sayed Al-Absi thanked EMPC, which
sought to preserve the audiovisual heritage through its Heritage Restoration
Center, which contributed to preserve this heritage for future generations, as
this documented heritage helps us to understand the world around us, and
interact with others from through the follow-up and participation in major
events that took place in the past. He explained that the Egyptian National
Committee for Education, Science and Culture has an important role with the
concerned authorities in working to achieve Egypt's Vision 2030 through
providing advice and holding courses.
For his part, Dr. Bishr Imam praised the Egyptian
achievements in supporting international cooperation, preserving audiovisual
heritage, and EMPC’s role in this regard, through its Heritage Restoration
Center, pointing out that audiovisual heritage plays a major role in
understanding contemporary issues such as the climate issue, sustainable
development and heritage preservation agreements.
On her part, Mrs. Dina Youssef spoke about how the UNESCO
presented the program “Memory of the World to Preserve its Heritage”, noting
that there are many recommendations in this regard so that peoples can have
access to this documentary heritage. She also pointed to the importance of
cooperation not only locally but also globally.
At the end of the session, an open dialogue was opened via
video conference technology with a number of international experts from Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean region who are concerned and interested
in this regard.