BUDAPEST CONFERENCE 1997

This year's FIAT/IFTA Conference will be held in Budapest from the 7th to the 11th September and will be hosted by our colleagues from MTV. The Committee organising the conference met recently in Budapest to discuss the practical arrangements and the conference programme.

The base for our conference will be the Hotel Helia, which is a modern thermal hotel situated on the Pest bank of the Danube, overlooking the river and the Margaret Island, about 10 minutes by public transport from the city centre. The accommodation, the conference facilities and the catering are all of an excellent standard and not expensive. The hotel also has wonderful swimming, health and fitness facilities.

The Conference will begin on Sunday 7th September with the Open Meetings of the Commissions. Monday morning will see the Award screenings and voting and on Monday afternoon we will turn to the main theme of our Conference: "Television Archives: Between Cultural Heritage and Profit Centres".

On Tuesday 9th, we will enjoy a full day's excursion to the historic town and wine-producing district of Eger, including lunch and dinner. It is some years now since a FIAT/IFTA Conference has included a full day excursion and it was decided that, as this allows a welcome break in an otherwise heavy schedule, it should be re-instated.

On Wednesday we return to the main theme and on Thursday there will be a further full day of interesting and relevant sessions, including one on archival matters relating to classical music performances. A wide range of speakers has been invited from around the world.

The Conference will close on the evening of Thursday 11th September with our Award presentation and closing dinner. We can promise you a truly spectacular setting for this.

Registration information and forms will be circulated in April, together with full programme details. This year there will be specially reduced rates for extra delegates coming from each company. We look forward to seeing you in the beautiful city of Budapest in September.

Steve Bryant
General Secretary
Steve.Bryant@bfi.org.uk