COTONOU, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has handed over a batch of audiovisual archive digitization and restoration equipment to the Benin Radio and Television Corporation (SRTB).
The handover on Monday forms part of the "digital transformation and restoration project for historical audiovisual archives," a key component of the China-Africa cooperation program on audiovisual innovation.
According to Chinese Ambassador to Benin Zhang Wei, the project, jointly implemented by the China Academy of Broadcasting Science and the SRTB, represents "a concrete practice of the partnership action on people-to-people and cultural exchanges and a vivid example of pragmatic China-Africa cooperation in the fields of media and cultural heritage."
The equipment package delivered to the Beninese side includes an initial batch of 300 minutes of historical audiovisual archives that have undergone high-quality digitization and restoration. China has also provided intelligent hardware and software systems for video restoration and the conversion of magnetic media into digital formats.
Beyond equipment provision, the project also includes a key capacity-building component. Chinese engineers will organize training sessions in Cotonou, the capital of Benin, and work with their Beninese counterparts to digitize an additional 500 minutes of video footage.
"Three online training sessions will also be organized to ensure that Beninese technicians can independently operate and maintain the system," Zhang said.
Kounde Ogouchina, acting director general of the SRTB, said, "Archives carry the memory, culture, and entire history of a country. I am very pleased to receive this equipment to safeguard our audiovisual heritage." ■