On 1 April 2009 Polish Audiovisual Publishing House was renamed to National Audiovisual Institute, which is to become a leading cultural institution in the field of digitisation and publishing of archives documenting Polish Audiovisual heritage – Michał Merczyński, director of Polish National Audiovisual Institute, writes about the mission, past, present and aspirations of the Institute.

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From the very beginning of its existence, the mission of the National Audiovisual Institute (Narodowy Instytut Audiowizulany, abbreviated to NInA) aimed at making the most noble and significant examples of Polish audiovisual culture widely available. As Polish Audiovisual Publishing House (PAPH), founded in 2005, it brought back excellent documentaries (“Polish School of Documentary Movies”) and animations (“The Anthology of Polish Animation” series), which having been digitised and reconstructed, enjoy new life and attract young audience.

In addition to publishing activities related to documentaries and animation, it also brought to the audience selected theatrical and opera performances and initiated cultural events drawing attention to artistic phenomena – such as the works of Paweł Szymański or Józef Robakowski.

With time the scope of tasks broadened, and in the past two years – due to increasing and urgent need to save audiovisual archives of Polish culture – PAPH substantially modified its mission.

On 1 April 2009 Polish Audiovisual Publishing House was renamed to National Audiovisual Institute, which is to become a leading cultural institution in the field of digitisation and publishing of archives documenting Polish Audiovisual heritage.

Effective implementation of these tasks goes beyond technological and structural processes. The topic of archives and making them available to the broad spectrum of audiences is also closely related to copyright issues, reflection on cultural memory (including continuous changes to the medium itself, which determines perception of contents) and the necessity to create a friendly and modern space giving the opportunity to familiarise oneself with digitised audiovisual resources.

In the world of overflowing content and increasing confusion of users in the chaos of information, it is necessary to build both wise and conscious context for experiencing works of art – their historical, social and cultural environment, as well as knowledge on how the development of the medium itself influenced their final shape.

Shaping competences, awareness and critical perception of audiovisual content calls for synergy of several components: education through media, distribution of material in formats available to all users, launching of projects combining artistic creation with theoretical reflection on modern world phenomena and promotion of active perception. These very objectives drive all activities of the National Audiovisual Institute and create the mindset, in which archives are a living space through which the world is experienced.