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NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS 'FUTURE OF AUDIOVISUAL MEMORY' TO BE THEME OF UNITED NATIONS WORLD TELEVISION FORUM, 19 - 20 NOVEMBER

17 November 1998


Press Release


NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS 'FUTURE OF AUDIOVISUAL MEMORY' TO BE THEME OF UNITED NATIONS WORLD TELEVISION FORUM, 19 - 20 NOVEMBER

19981117

Film Directors Round Table in Memory of Akira Kurosawa, Organized by Martin Scorcese, To Be Part of Television Forum's Events

The third United Nations World Television Forum, on the theme "The Future of Audiovisual Memory: Looking at the 20th century - Towards the 21st century", will take place on 19 and 20 November in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

The Forum provides a venue for an ongoing professional dialogue between the United Nations and the television industry to highlight themes of common interest and identify specific areas for cooperation. Following the first World Television Forum in 1996, the General Assembly designated 21 November as World Television Day.

Organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, the World Television Forum is sponsored by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana, the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Mediaset Group, France Télévision and NHK Japan television. Co-sponsors include EUTELSAT, the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and TV5, the French-speaking Worldwide Satellite Television.

The Forum opens on 19 November at 9:45 a.m. with statements by General Assembly President Didier Opertti, Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Lamberto Dini. Conrad Black, Chairman, Hollinger International, Inc., will be the keynote speaker. Kensaku Hogen, Under- Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, will chair the Forum.

Thursday's overall theme is "Looking at the 20th century". From 10:30 a.m. to noon, representatives of the sponsors and co-sponsors will present their introductory reflections on the themes of the Forum. From noon

to 1:15 p.m., there will be a special film directors round table, dedicated to the memory of Akira Kurosawa, entitled "Dialogue between past and present in narrative film-making". The round table, which has been organized by Martin Scorcese, President, The Film Foundation, will be moderated by Robert Rosen, Dean, School of Theatre, Film and Television, UCLA, and Chair, Archivists Council, The Film Foundation. It will include a video presentation by Mr. Scorcese and presentations by Gillian Armstrong, Olivier Assayas, Masato Harada, Sidney Lumet, Dariush Mehrjui and Giuseppe Tornatore.

Film Director Giuseppe Tornatore will also be the keynote speaker at the opening of the first working session: "The legacy of audiovisual memory". At 3 p.m., the first panel, "Reflections on the video exhibition. A century of images which have moved the soul: what should be preserved for posterity?" will be moderated by Bernard Rapp, Director, A Century of Writers Programme, France 3, France Télévision. At 4:30 p.m., a second panel, "Access to the audiovisual heritage: the controversy on audiovisual rights and standards", will be moderated by Arnold Vahrenwald, Professor, European Consortium for Audiovisual Training and European Secretary of CentreBar.

On Friday, 20 November, the overall theme is "Towards the 21st century". Working session two: "New scenarios, new memories?" begins at 9:45 a.m. with a panel entitled "We produce today the memory of tomorrow. Consumption and abuse of reality in the multimedia environment", moderated by Danny Schechter, Vice-President and Executive Producer, Globalvision. At 11:20 a.m., a panel on "The convergence between television and Internet: a technical or content race?" will be moderated by Don West, Editor at Large, Broadcasting & Cable Publishing Group, and Editor-in-Chief, Digital Television.

At 3 p.m., as part of working session three: "The impact of technology on the future of communication", Elisabeth Guider, Managing Editor, Variety, will moderate a panel on "The impact of digital television on programmes, forms of entertainment and advertising in the 21st century".

A special video demonstration of high-definition television, "From the Nagano Olympic Games to the Space Shuttle", produced by NHK, will be held at 4 p.m. At 4:20 p.m., a panel on "Bridging the gap among continents: the role of new technologies", will be moderated by Philippe Cayla, Head of New Market Development, EUTELSAT. This will be followed at 5:20 p.m. by a live video link with the World Junior Summit at MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The closing session, "Towards the third millennium", will take place from 5:35 p.m. to 6 p.m., moderated by Mr. Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. A summary statement of the Forum will be delivered by Carlo Sartori, Vice-Chairman, RAISAT S.p.A., and Secretary- General, PRIX ITALIA. There will also be statements by Yukio Satoh, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, and Francesco Paolo Fulci,

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Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations. Deputy Secretary- General Louise Fréchette will deliver a concluding statement.

In conjunction with the World Television Forum, a video-wall exhibit will be on display for the duration of the event in the first basement near the elevators. A total of 100 television monitors will continuously show television programmes produced by the United Nations, its agencies, and broadcast organizations participating in the Forum. The display is intended to illustrate the impact that audiovisual images have on collective consciousness. Also for the duration of the Forum, a high-definition television demonstration will be on display in the Delegates Lounge and the Public Concourse.

For further information, call the TV Forum Desk at 963-1895; for media accreditation, 963-6934; for United Nations television coverage, 963-7650.

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For information media. Not an official record.