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National Audiovisual Archive
Incorporation-Corporate Title
An unincorporated non profit Legal Entity, subject to Private Law, is founded with the distinctive title “National Audiovisual Archive” (The Archive), operating as the national archive for audiovisual and digital material and is supervised by the Minister, to whom the responsibilities of Minister of Press and Mass Media are assigned (Supervisor Minister).
The Archive does not belong to the Greater Public Sector, it operates for the benefit of Public Interest in accordance with the rules and provisions applicable to the Private Sector, it is exempt from the provisions of public sector accounting and is subject, additionally, to the provisions regulating the operations of limited liability companies by share capital-societe anonyms to the extent that these do not contradict with the provisions of this act.
Objects-Definitions
1. The objects of the Archive are the conservation and preservation of audiovisual and born digital material in order to make available the historic and cultural heritage of the Country to any interested party. The Archive collects, archives, stores, manages, maintains, preserves, processes, provides access and utilizes audiovisual and born digital material with informational-news, historical-political and in general social-cultural content related to the heritage of the Hellenic State and Hellenism in general.
2. a) Audiovisual material is defined as the recording by any means of:
aa) sound or sounds (mono or multiple), with or without any other type of accompanying data or
bb) moving images, with or without accompanying sound or any other type of accompanying data, as well as
cc) any other information accurately describing the material (descriptive metadata) or support material administration (administrative metadata) or describe in depth material structure (structural metadata).
b) Born digital material is defined as the content which includes information generated directly in digital form, as reflected over the internet, on digital discs and on any other media of digital storage.
Specific ObjectsAmong the objects of the Archive are specifically included:
a) the establishment and management of national audiovisual archives and born digital material,
b) the constant conservation of the archived material, its restoration and physically safeguarding for the benefit of future generations,
c) the development of collection policies for the addition of new material,
d) the detailed documentation of the archived material and the improvement of the archiving infrastructure via its enrichment with metadata,
e) the development of access to any interested party to the material of the archives either in the premises of the archive or through the internet (passive dissemination),
f) the advancement and promotion of the Archive, with the aim to increase the recognition of the national audiovisual and digital heritage (active dissemination), as well as the provision of access to specific categories of the public (such as members of the academic community, expatriate community, disabled),
g) the support of audiovisual archives of other institutions through transfer of know-how, use of technology, establishment of standards and assistance in maintaining and preserving material,
h) the research and enhancement of innovative technological solutions, which upgrade the value of archived material and its metadata,
i) the participation in international fora and organizations of the audiovisual industry,
j) the utilization of material, according to the prevailing provisions for intellectual property.
Activities of the Archive
Within its scope, the Archive: a)cooperates and consults on issues of documentation, preservation, conservation and utilization of audiovisual and digital material, with public institutions and the greater public sector, as well as with legal entities which are under the supervision of the public sector,
b) updates collection policies and procedures, aiming at the enhancement of collection policies and procedures with respect to acceptance and incorporation of material in the National Audiovisual Archive,
c) develops, evolves and enriches the existing metadata for the upgrade of archived material,
d) implements and develops technologies for the automatic retrieval of information of the archived material, in accordance with international standards and ensures its transfer between systems and institutions,
e) safeguards recorded material media by, implementing international practices, applying constant reviews of readability and availability of processing equipment and activates procedures for material preservation,
f) plans and implements risk management plan, aiming at the preservation of the archived material and at the readability of its content,
g) renders services to every institution preserving audiovisual archives and collections, during the archiving process,
h) develops access in the archiving material with the use of improved and advanced techniques of research and presentation,
i) establishes interactive and accessible infrastructure for the archived material, with the use of up to date technology and presentation techniques, including the complete utilization of Internet,
j) promotes and disseminates the audiovisual culture through exhibitions, educational – cultural programs or other actions, including production and promotion of relevant products and services,
k) participates in social and educational activities relevant with its objects and develops related initiatives,
l) founds or participates in legal entities or cooperatives of any kind, non profit institutions and non profit legal entities,
m) enters into contractual agreements with domestic or foreign persons or legal entities subject to Private or Public law,
n) pursues any other activity relevant with its objects.
Cooperation with other institutions
1. a) The Archive has access to the archives and collections, for the reception of copies for archiving and presentation, of material described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the second article, maintained by institutions of the Public sector, of the greater Public sector, as well as legal entities supervised by the Public sector.
b) The depositor of audiovisual material to the competent public authority for receipt and registration is obliged to deliver a copy to the Archive for archiving accompanied with the required data for the audiovisual material, as these are defined by the joint ministerial decision of paragraph 3.
c) The Archive grants to the National Library of Greece and the Library of the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic, upon their request, copies at no value consideration, from its digitised archived material for incorporation to their corresponding collections, for maintenance or use only within their library premises. The procedure for the utilization of this material by the National Library of Greece, specifically for educational and research purposes in general, exhibitions and events outside the library premises, is determined by the joint ministerial decision of paragraph 3.
2. a) The General Secretariat of Communication, founded in accordance with article 1 paragraph 6 and article 2 of act 3242/2004 (Government Gazette 102 A΄), grants to the Archive the audiovisual material of the Secretariat’s film archives, the total of its legal rights on these as well as the audiovisual media on which the recorded material is reflected. The General Secretariat of Communication maintains the right to use the material of the film archives for its own purposes.
b) The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation S.A. (HBC S.A.) grants to the Archive copies of audiovisual material in its possession as noted in article 2 paragraphs 1 and 2 of this act, for incorporation with the Archive’s collection and presentation. With the decision of the Board of Directors of HBC S.A., audiovisual prototype material which is in the possession of HBC S.A. may be also granted to the Archive, if it is considered necessary, for safeguarding and preservation. A joint Ministerial Decision issued by the Supervisor Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance regulates the consideration that is paid up by HBC S.A. to the Archive for the safeguarding and preservation of this material. The Archive, in cooperation with HBC S.A., may act for the utilization and promotion of the material of HBC S.A.
Competent Minister regulates the specific issues related to the applicable procedure of the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2.
