RECENT EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES AND
WORKSHOPS Educational Exchanges
Status of Media Preservation at Casa de
las Americas
In December 2002, Steve Weiss, a Sound and Image Librarian from the
University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, went to Havana to report on
the status of media preservation at Casa de las Americas. He
concentrated in the area of magnetic tapes to determine future programs
that Fundación Amistad should consider undertaking and followed up with
an excellent report on his findings and recommendations.
Conservation of Early Louisiana Documents
The week of January 19-25, 2003, Walter Newmen, a Senior Paper
Conservator from the Northeast Document Conservation Center, Weiss went
to Havana to organize and supervise a joint project to conserve early
Louisiana documents in the collections of the Museum of the City and the
National Archives. The documents preserved are among the oldest and
most historically significant in both institutions and relate directly
to an important chapter of Cuban/American history. The documents
suffered from extensive losses due to the acidic type of ink used, and
some were literally in shred. The project was a huge success and had
the enthusiastic support of the directors of both Cuban institutions.
Upcoming Trips to Cuba
World Dance Arts Foundation
Fundación Amistad is organizing an educational exchange for 30 members of the World
Dance Arts Foundation to go to Havana. Among the activities scheduled
is a dance competition in which Cubans are invited to participate. The
major interest in the trip is to learn about the evolution of Cuban
dance and music. Dr. Carreras, the head historian at the University of
Havana and extremely knowledgeable about Cuban culture, will accompany
the group and give lectures a variety of lectures to the group.
Blair Academy
Blair Academy is an old private secondary co-educational boarding school
in northwest New Jersey. Fundación Amistad is planning a trip for 10-15 Blair Academy
instructors to go to Cuba in early June to learn about Cuban history.
Their goal is to incorporate what they learn into their classrooms.
Recent workshops
Archival and Management Collections Workshop
Lauren Lassleben and William Roberts, archivists from the University
of California at Berkeley, are currently teaching an Archival and
Management Collections Workshop for 30 participants from the Office of
the Historian and Casa de las Americas. The workshops were held on
March 31 through April 4th 2003.
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