TIRANA, December 20 /ATA/ The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), the first institution of the print press in Albania, has undertaken one of the most important processes for the preservation of the country’s media and historical heritage: the digitization and indexing of its photographic archive.
ATA archive consists of over 300 thousand photographs and film negatives. This is a rare asset and a unique documentation of all the stages through which our country has gone through. This photographic fund is at the same time evidence of the tireless and professional work of generations of ATA photojournalists, who have captured the key moments of Albanian history in images.
The launch of this process marks an essential step for the long-term preservation of Albania’s historical and visual memory, as a process of documentation and reflection on all the stages of the country’s history.
This invaluable fund used to be for years stored in inadequate conditions and was really at risk of destruction. Rare photographs and negatives were exposed to humidity, depreciation and the time and they were gradually degrading, risking the loss of an irreplaceable part of national history.
To save the archive was no longer a choice, but a necessity. The digitization of the ATA photographic archive represents today a fair, responsible intervention carried out in accordance with professional standards, which aims not only to stop the degradation, but also to restore a national asset left for years in unacceptable conditions.
ATA General Director Valbona Zhupa has put the priority on the archive preservation as an institutional obligation towards history and future generations.
“ATA photographic archive is a national asset of extraordinary documentary value. For years, a part of this fund has been at risk of degradation. The intervention for its digitization was necessary to guarantee the long-term preservation, professional systematization and controlled access of this material, for the benefit of the public, researchers and future generations”, said Zhupa.
During the first phase of digitization, the materials are undergoing professional scanning, to be followed by a detailed inventory and indexing process. The digitization of the archive aims not only to preserve the original materials, but also to modernize the way they are managed and used.
After completing this phase, ATA will move into another important phase, that of publishing the photographic archive online. This step will allow the general public, researchers, historians, journalists and institutions to have access to a rich fund of images with special historical and cultural values.
The online publication of the ATA archive will transform this fund into an important reference source for studies, documentaries, publications and research projects, contributing to improving collective memory and preserving Albanian history through images.
With this project, ATA takes an important step towards digitization and alignment with contemporary media archiving standards, ensuring that Albania’s visual heritage is preserved, documented and passed down to future generations. /a.f/r.e/p.s./
