Call for seminar: Alternative Media Archives. Challenges of longue durée research and preservation practices
On 23-24 October 2025, the second seminar of Work package 4 will take place at University of Lausanne and online
The seminar is co-organised by the Cinématheque suisse, the University of Lausanne and CEU/Blinken OSA Archivum.
After the first WP4 ACTIVATE seminar, this second seminar further extends theoretical reflection and aim to present a range of case studies related to the challenges of archiving media activism from both a long-term and transnational perspective. The seminar will discuss theoretical approaches and archival collections embodying the entanglements of social transformation initiatives with the development of alternative media or alternative media ecosystems.
The seminar is conducted in a hybrid mode on site and online and is open to consortium partners and external contributors.
We invite proposals related to one of the following broadly defined areas:
1) Reflections on conceptualizing and historicizing media activism and/or alternative media from a transnational and context-specific perspectives.
2) Mapping archival collections within and beyond the Activate consortium that contain countercultural audiovisual media sources.
3) Challenges posed by the preservation and promotion of various media, including film, photo, video, and sound archives related to various forms of political activism in democratic and authoritarian contexts.
4) Approaches to heritage preservation in state, private, and community archives and elaboration of novel, participatory archiving practices.
Download and share the call for proposals
To apply: send your presentation abstract up to 300 words and your cv to archivum@ceu.edu, subject: ACTIVATE Seminar 2 Mediactivism
Application deadline: 31 August 2025. Acceptance notification will be circulated by September 10, 2025
Organizing Committee
François Vallotton (UNIL)
Oksana Sarkisova (CEU/Blinken OSA Archivum)
Achilleas Papakonstantis (Cinémathèque Suisse)