Digital meets Culture

Jerusalem, 7-8 November 2016

PREFORMA @ EVA/Minerva 2016

On 7 and 8 November 2016 the 13th annual international conference for professionals in cultural heritage will take place in Jerusalem.

The event focuses on the preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage through education and training in advanced information and communication technologies (ICT).

Borje Justrell and Antonella Fresa – Project Coordinator and Technical Coordinator of PREFORMA – have been invited to present the last achievements and to demonstrate the use of the conformance checkers developed by the suppliers during the prototyping phase.

Pittsburgh, 9-12 November 2016

PREFORMA @ AMIA 2016 Conference

AMIA is a nonprofit international association dedicated to the preservation and use of moving image media. AMIA supports public and professional education and fosters cooperation and communication among the individuals and organizations concerned with the acquisition, preservation, description, exhibition, and use of moving image materials.

Programmed by professionals working in the field, the annual AMIA Conference is the largest gathering of motion picture and recorded sound archivists and interested professionals. More than 550 annual attendees include members and colleagues from around the world.

AMIA 2016 conference offers three parallel session tracks as well as workshops, screenings, receptions and the Vendor Cafe.

PREFORMA submitted a poster entitled “PREFORMA and MediaConch: Open Source Tools for Long-term Preservation” which aims to give an overview of the three tools that were created to check whether the PDF, TIFF or FFV1/MKV files adhere to their standard specification, with a main focus on the development of the MediaConch tool and CELLAR standardization activity.

A second poster about the integration between MediaConch (the conformance checker for AV files developed in PREFORMA) and Archivematica was also presented and displayed in the poster session during the Conference.

The goal of the Conference is to present an broadly-based program that speaks to the wide range of attendees with a balance of theory and practice, inviting new ideas and concepts that may stimulate additional interest, involvement and educational benefit. The conference provides an opportunity for colleagues and those interested in the field to meet, share information and work together. For newcomers to this vibrant, dynamic and committed community, networking with other AMIA members and industry professionals is invaluable for professional development. AMIA conference registration includes participation in all regular sessions and screenings and some special events.

For more information about AMIA 2016 visit the Conference website.

For more information about AMIA, events and membership, go to www.AMIAnet.org.

Girona, 17-18 November 2016

PREFORMA @ Image and Research Conference 2016

The 14th edition of the Image and Research Conference will be held in Girona on 17-18 November 2016.

Organized by the Centre for Image Research and Diffusion (CRDI) of the Girona City Council with the collaboration of the Association of Archivists of Catalonia, the Image and Research Conference represents the benchmark event in Spain for archivists, museologists, documentalists and photographers, mainly in the field of archival, preservation, history and document management.

The day before the Conference, on 16 November 2016, a workshop will be organised by the PREFORMA project to present the last achievements and to demonstrate the use of the conformance checkers developed by the suppliers during the prototyping phase.

Download here the full programme of the event.

Brussels, 4-5 February 2017

FOSDEM 2017

FOSDEM is a free event for software developers to meet, share ideas and collaborate.

Every year, thousands of developers of free and open source software from all over the world gather at the event in Brussels.

FOSDEM 2017 will take place at ULB Campus Solbosch on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February 2017.

FOSDEM is a free and non-commercial event organised by the community for the community. The goal is to provide free and open source software developers and communities a place to meet to:

get in touch with other developers and projects;
be informed about the latest developments in the free software world;
be informed about the latest developments in the open source world;
attend interesting talks and presentations on various topics by project leaders and committers;
to promote the development and benefits of free software and open source solutions.

Participation and attendance is totally free, though the organisers gratefully accept donations and sponsorship.

The FOSDEM team feels it is very important for free and open source software developers around the world to be able to meet in “real life”.

To this end, we have set up developer rooms (devrooms) with network/internet connectivity and projectors where teams can meet and showcase their projects. Devrooms are a place for teams to discuss, hack and publicly present latest directions, lightning talks, news and discussions. We believe developers can benefit a lot from these meetings.

Sydney, 25 November 2016

PDF Day Australia

November 25 2016 is PDF Day in Australia! This event brings ISO committee members and electronic document and accessibility professionals together to discuss the significance of ISO standards for PDF as well as the technology and solutions available to business users of PDF documents.

In conjunction with a scheduled meeting of ISO TC 171 SC 2 working groups, this PDF Association event will be held in Sydney’s central business district.

Packed with 17 educational sessions, PDF Day Australia is a do-not-miss event for business and government professionals working in document management and accessibility technology and policy.

Track 1 will focus on PDF as a file-format with focus on archival considerations.

Track 2 will focus on PDF accessibility and interactive features.

The PDF Association will feature veraPDF, the industry-supported PDF/A conformance checker developed by the veraPDF consortium in the framework of PREFORMA.

Check out the agenda and speakers! and register now! Space is very limited – a maximum of 35 in each track, so sign up today!

For more information visit http://www.pdfa.org/event/pdf-day-australia-2016/.

Rome, 25 November 2016

Smart Specialisation and Cultural Heritage: an engine for innovation and growth

The PREFORMA project has been invited by the Smart Specialisation Platform of the European Commission to present the main results and the main lessons learned so far at their next S3 event on Smart Specialisation and Cultural Heritage that will be held in Rome on 25 November 2016. The main objective is to present effective ways to manage pre-commercial public procurement in the field of Cultural Heritage.

This S3 workshop, co-organised by the S3 Platform, LazioInnova (the regional Innovation Agency of Region Lazio) and Regional Government of Lazio, will focus on Innovation policy and Cultural Heritage as a key element to promote socio-economic development and will discuss it how to reach its full potential.

The workshop aims at supporting policy makers in the implementation of their Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3), with a focus on Cultural Heritage, to further integrate the smart specialisation community with a larger set of actors and institutions and finally, to discuss how to operationalise the alignment with complementary policies, exploiting synergies and finding more effective ways of working.

The workshop will have a mix of plenaries and parallel working groups.

The plenaries in the morning are intended to set the scene, to introduce what regional government and agencies (Lazio, Andalusia, Centre- Val de Loire and Norte) are doing in the scope of their RIS3s to address challenges and opportunities of cultural heritage and to present cases of innovation in the field of cultural heritage not directly related to smart specialisation but with possible links to be explored.

For more information please visit http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/smart-specialisation-and-cultural-heritage-an-engine-for-innovation-and-growth?inheritRedirect=true.

A new PCP project to address the challenge of implementing good quality standardised file formats for preserving data content in the long term

PREFORMA takes flight

On January 13th and 14th 2014, the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Padova hosted the PREFORMA Kick-off Meeting.

PREFORMA aims to address the challenge of implementing good quality standardised file formats for preserving data content in the long term. The main objective is to give memory institutions full control of the process of the conformity tests of files to be ingested into archives.

PREFORMA – PREservation FORMAts for culture information/e-archives – is Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) project co-funded by the European Commission, under its FP7-ICT Programme.

The consortium of PREFORMA is composed by 14 partners, from 9 European countries, ranging from the North to the South of the EU. Its good geographic spread is also complemented by a good scientific and technical spread of competences and expertise.

The Swedish National Archives is the coordinator of the project and leads the CSA-Sustainable Network WP. Promoter Srl is the Technical and Communication Coordinator, while the University of Padova is the Scientific Coordinator.

Project website: www.preforma-project.eu

Berlin, 15-16 May 2017

PDF Days Europe 2017

After the success of the 2016 edition, the PDF Days Europe 2017 will be held in Berlin again, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to learn about the applications and benefits of PDF, PDF/A, PDF/UA and more.

Across two days, you’ll be able to choose from German- and English- language presentations, user reports and workshops in order to assemble your own personal package of PDF knowledge.

Highlights of the 2017 edition include:

The future of PDF: PDF 2.0 and new initiatives
PDF/A: Archiving solutions
ZUGFeRD: E-invoicing solutions based on PDF/A
PDF/UA: Solutions for accessible documents
PDF/VT: Solutions for personalised printing
PDF/X: Pre-press solutions

Highlights from the 2016 edition

Over 150 attendees came to Berlin for the two-day conference more than ever before. With over 50 presentations, the conference programme covered all PDF standards, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to learn about the applications and benefits of PDF, PDF/A, PDF/UA and more. The key message throughout the event was that the PDF format has become a critical component of every business, forming the fundamental basis of a wide range of business processes. This was underscored by the user presentations, the specialist talks from experts from around the world, and the podium discussions at the event.

For further information visit https://www.pdfa.org/pdf-days-europe-sees-record-number-of-attendees/.

Slide decks and video recordings of the PDF Days Europe 2016 are available at https://www.pdfa.org/slide-decks-and-video-recordings-of-the-pdf-days-europe-2016/.

About the PDF Association

First established as the PDF/A Competence Center in 2006, today, the PDF Association is an international organization promoting awareness and adoption of open standards in digital document applications using PDF technology.

The association facilitates education, networking and communication, and the sharing of expertise and experience with interested parties worldwide. The current membership includes over 100 enterprises and numerous individual subject-matter experts from more than 20 countries.

The management board includes industry leaders from Adlib Information Systems Inc., Adobe Systems Inc., callas software GmbH, Datalogics Inc., DocuSign Inc., intarsys consulting GmbH, levigo solutions GmbH, LuraTech Europe GmbH, Nitro Software Inc. and Satz-Rechen-Zentrum (SRZ). The associations chairman is Olaf Drümmer, CEO of callas software GmbH. Peter Duff, President and CEO of Adlib Software, is the associations vice-chairman.

Riga, 15-18 May 2017

Archiving Conference 2017

Since the first meeting in 2004, Archiving has continued to offer a unique opportunity for imaging scientists and those working in the cultural heritage community (curators, archivists, librarians, etc.), as well as in government, industry, and academia, to come together to discuss the most pressing issues related to the digital preservation and stewardship of hardcopy, audio, and video.

The conference presents the latest research results on digitization and curation, provides a forum to explore new strategies and policies, and reports on successful projects that can serve as benchmarks in the field.

Archiving 2017 is a blend of short courses, invited focal papers, keynote talks, and peer-reviewed oral and interactive display presentations, offering attendees a unique opportunity for gaining and exchanging knowledge and building networks among professionals.

PREFORMA has been contacted to organise a series of courses on preservation formats and assessment of file formats. These courses, which are short workshop-like sessions with a mix of theory and practical hands-on exercises, will be organised on May 15, 2017.

For more information visit the Conference website.

Amsterdam, 28-30 May 2017

The Reel Thing

Curated by Grover Crisp and Michael Friend, The Reel Thing addresses current thinking and most advanced practical examples of progress in the field of preservation, restoration and media conservation.

A special 40th edition of the ongoing technical symposium will take place in Amsterdam over the course of three days, May 28 – 30, 2017, in conjunction with the EYE International Conference 2017.

The event, organised in cooperation with with EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam and the Association of Moving Image Archivists, will be composed of a three-day exploration of technologies for preservation and restoration, including an opening night reception and screenings of restored films.

As with all editions of The Reel Thing, this special edition will focus on the wide range of critical issues facing archivists, technicians, asset managers and curators of image and sound in the current media/digital landscape. Problems and solutions involving digital creation workflows (2K/4K/6K/8K), data storage access and recovery, image scanning and recording, image resolution metrics, traditional video and audio preservation and restoration issues are topics of interest. Of particular interest are the preservation and archiving issues surrounding Digital Intermediate and Digital Production workflows for motion pictures and television/streaming.

For further information please visit the Conference website.