Audiovisual Archives

Depositories of culture and democracy


Archives as cultural heritage, ground of change of legislation and policy, particularly as technology and digitization are evolving, as enablers or disablers of conditions of access of cultural memory and as creators of cultural content, are one of the areas in which the Media Governance and Industries Research Lab is developing research and advocacy. Our premise is that audiovisual archives constitute the repositories of historical heritage, documenting national and community cultures and histories. Through careful, thorough and unbiased curation of content produced in the course of storytelling, archives hold the treasure of memory, knowledge and identity about a society in any given time. Their preservation and accessibility are fundamental for democracy and especially for societies to document, reflect upon and create culture, generate research, education and information for the public good. Furthermore, the connection of the world's challenges, in particular regarding democracy and justice, make it imperative to think carefully about the role of archives also in this context. Our work is theory, policy, and practice-driven and is focusing on audiovisual archives, including those of public service providers, and their role for citizens and society to access, learn, remember, reflect, assess and evaluate their historical past and contemporary history.

Repository – Research on audiovisual broadcast archives

Media Governance and Industries Research Lab

  • 2018
    Kolokytha, O.; Korbiel, I.; Rozgonyi, K.; Sarikakis, K. (2018). 'Public service media between institution and organisation: the case of archives of four public service broadcasters'. International Communication Association (ICA) 68th Annual Conference 2018, Prague 24-28 May 2018.
  • 2018
    Media Governance and Industries Research Lab University of Vienna (2018), 'Contribution to the Public consultation on Europeana' (Contribution ID: 34e4ceea-96b4-4bd1-aacd-a17b6154cf68), available here.
  • 2017
    Sarikakis, K.; Bátorfy, A.; Kolokytha, O.; Korbiel, I.; Rozgonyi, K. (2017), 'The Governance of cultural memory through audiovisual broadcast archives: preservation and accessibility in four European countries' – A report by the Media Governance and Industries Research Lab University of Vienna for the Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT/IFTA); available here.
  • 2016
    Sarikakis, K. Kolokytha, O. Rozgonyi, K. (2016). Copyright (and) Culture: The governance of Audiovisual Archives in Info – The journal of policy, regulation and strategy for telecommunications, information and media, Volume 18, Issue 6, pp. 42-54.
  • 2000
    Feasibility Study on the Hungarian Audiovisual Broadcast Archive by the Media Laboratory of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (2000) (Authors: Galicza Péter, György Péter, Kovács András Bálint, Kovács Imre, Magyar Gábor, Rozgonyi Krisztina, Szakadát István)


About us


Major keynotes, invited talks, conference presentations, other writings

  • 2018
    Kolokytha, O., Korbiel, I., Rozgonyi, K., & Sarikakis, K. (2018). Communicating memory: Audiovisual archives as formats of remembering. Presentation at the ECREA Communication History Section Pre-Conference Towards a Polyphony of Memory? Media, Communication and Memory in the Digital Age, October 31, Lugano, Switzerland.
  • 2018
    Kolokytha, O., Rozgonyi, K., Korbiel, I., Sarikakis, K. (2018). Future data from audiovisual archives: Hurdles in knowledge and culture making in the cultural governance of global flows: The past and future. 10th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR 2018), Talinn University, August 21-25, Tallinn, Estonia.
  • 2017
    Kolokytha, O.: "Music libraries and collections in Greece and the importance of audiovisual archives". Open round table, Greek Society for Music Education, November 10, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • 2017
    Sarikakis, K., Kolokytha, O., Rozgonyi, K, Korbiel, I.: The Governance of cultural memory through audiovisual broadcast archives: preservation and accessibility in four European countries. FIAT/ IFTA World Conference: Living in the Digital Age; connecting roots and cultures. Fonoteca Nacional, October 18-21, Mexico City.
  • 2017
    Rozgonyi, K.: 'Copyright (and) Culture: the governance of audiovisual broadcast archives - legal en(dis)ablers', CopyCamp 2017 conference, September 28, Warsaw, Poland.
  • 2017
    Kolokytha, O. Rozgonyi, K., Korbiel, I, Sarikakis, K.: Archives as repositories of cultural memory and identity, and public use: issues of availability and accessibility. 13th Conference of the European Sociological Association: (Un)Making Europe: Capitalism, Solidarities, Subjectivities, August 29-September 1, Athens, Greece.
  • 2017
    Sarikakis, K., Kolokytha, O., Rozgonyi, K., Korbiel, I.: The Governance of cultural memory through audiovisual broadcast archives: preservation and accessibility in four European countries in CO:OPyright. Challenges and Practices of Copyright and Licensing of Digital Cultural Heritage, Universität Graz, April 12-13, Graz, Austria.
  • 2016
    Sarikakis, K., Kolokytha, O., Rozgonyi, K.: 'The case of "content exception" as a policy compromise between public needs and public interests'. EuroCPR/ the Centre for European Policy Studies Conference: Content Creation and Distribution in the Digital Single Market, March 14-15, Brussels, Belgium.
  • 2015
    Rozgonyi, K.: 'Creating fair legal access to sound heritage'. Europeana Sounds 2015: The Future of Historic Sounds conference, The National Library of France, October 2, Paris, France.
  • 2014
    Rozgonyi, K.: 'Access to AV broadcast archives: Legal issues: presentation on cases & solutions'. EUscreenXL Strategic Workshop on IPR Regulations for Audiovisual Heritage, May 13, The Hague, Netherlands.
  • 2006
    Rozgonyi, K.: 'Legal and regulatory design of the Hungarian National Audiovisual Archive', Speaker. The annual summit of Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT/IFTA); November 2006, Madrid.


List of funded projects

  • 2017
    The Governance of cultural memory through audiovisual broadcast archives: preservation and accessibility in four European countries. Project funded by FIAT/IFTA (Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives).