**Executive Summary**
Shri Guilherme CANELA, UNESCO Director for Digital Inclusion, Policies and Digital Transformation, visited the NFDC-NFAI in Pune on March 9, 2026. The visit aimed to discuss potential collaboration between UNESCO and NFDC-NFAI in film preservation, restoration, and digitization. Key discussions focused on organizing an international conference and future initiatives to promote India's audiovisual heritage globally.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Visit Objective:**
* Shri Guilherme CANELA's visit to NFDC-NFAI was part of his official mission to India.
* The purpose was to explore potential collaboration between UNESCO and NFDC-NFAI.
* **Discussions and Presentations:**
* Discussions were held with NFDC Managing Director Shri Prakash Magdum regarding the archive's workings.
* NFDC-NFAI officials presented an overview of their film preservation and restoration work, including the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM).
* A presentation highlighted progress in restoring and digitizing India's cinematic legacy and the archive's role in safeguarding audiovisual heritage.
* Shri CANELA toured NFDC-NFAI's Phase II film preservation and restoration facilities.
* **Collaboration Areas Explored:**
* Organizing an international conference on film digitization and restoration, involving archivists, technicians, film professionals, government representatives, and cultural heritage experts.
* Preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage.
* Future initiatives including knowledge exchange and international cooperation.
* Showcasing India's film heritage on global platforms.
* Collaboration in the areas of preservation and the Memory of the World Programme.
* **Statements:**
* Shri CANELA expressed pleasure with the visit, commending the NFDC-NFAI's professionalism, commitment, passion, and its multistakeholder consultative process, aligning with UNESCO's mandate.
* Shri Prakash Magdum expressed anticipation for active collaboration with UNESCO in preservation and the Memory of the World Programme.
**Impact Analysis**
**UNESCO**
* **Impact:** Potential to enhance global understanding and preservation of audiovisual heritage through collaboration with India's NFDC-NFAI, and to contribute to its mandate on digital inclusion and transformation.
* **Action Required:** Engage in active collaboration and planning for the proposed international conference and future initiatives.
**NFDC-NFAI**
* **Impact:** Opportunity to gain international recognition, knowledge exchange, and support for its film preservation and digitization efforts, including the National Film Heritage Mission.
* **Action Required:** Continue to develop and implement preservation and digitization projects, and actively participate in collaborative initiatives with UNESCO.
**Archivists, Technicians, Film Professionals, Government Representatives, and Cultural Heritage Experts**
* **Impact:** Opportunity to share knowledge, build capacities, and network globally in the field of audiovisual preservation through the proposed international conference.
* **Action Required:** Participate in the potential international conference by contributing expertise and engaging in discussions.
Key Entities Referenced
National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM): An ongoing initiative mentioned in relation to film preservation and restoration efforts.
UNESCO: An organization whose Director is visiting and exploring collaboration with Indian institutions.
NFDC-NFAI: The National Film Development Corporation of India - National Film Archive of India, the primary host institution for the visit.
Shri Guilherme CANELA: Director of the Division for Digital Inclusion, Policies and Digital Transformation at UNESCO.
Shri Prakash Magdum: Managing Director of NFDC.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
UNESCO Director Guilherme CANELA Visits
NFDC–NFAI in Pune
Posted On: 10 MAR 2026 2:42PM by PIB Mumbai
Pune/Mumbai: 10 March 2026
The Director of the Division for Digital Inclusion, Policies and Digital Transformation
at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Shri Guilherme CANELA visited the National Film
Development Corporation of India–National Film Archive of India (NFDC–NFAI) in
Pune on Monday (9th March 2026) as part of his official mission to India.
During the visit, he met with NFDC Managing Director Shri Prakash Magdum and
discussed the workings of the archive. Officials of the NFDC–NFAI presented an
overview of the institution’s work in film preservation and restoration, including the
ongoing efforts under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM). A detailed
presentation highlighted the progress made in restoring and digitizing India’s
cinematic legacy and the role of the archive in safeguarding the country’s
audiovisual heritage.
Shri CANELA also toured the NFDC–NFAI Phase II film preservation and restoration
facilities, where he observed the restoration and digitization processes first-hand
and interacted with technical teams involved in the project.
Discussions during the meeting explored potential areas of collaboration between
UNESCO and NFDC–NFAI, including the possibility of organizing an international
conference on film digitization and restoration in partnership with national andinternational stakeholders. The proposed conference would bring together
archivists, technicians, film professionals, government representatives, and cultural
heritage experts from across the world to exchange knowledge and build capacities
in audiovisual preservation.
The meeting also explored potential avenues of collaboration related to the
preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage. Discussions touched upon
possible future initiatives, including knowledge exchange, international cooperation,
and opportunities to showcase India’s rich film heritage on global platforms.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri CANELA said, “It was a great pleasure to have
visited the NFDC-NFAI. Both the institution’s leadership and its staff demonstrated
professionalism, commitment and passion towards this central mission of protecting
India’s audiovisual heritage. I was also very impressed with the multistakeholder
consultative process explained to me as well as the care for multilingualism — all
very much aligned with UNESCO’s mandate.”
Managing Director of NFDC Shri Prakash Magdum added, “We look forward to active
collaboration between NFDC–NFAI and UNESCO in the areas of preservation as well
as the Memory of the World Programme.”
PIB Pune/Mumbai | Sriyanka Chatterjee / Nitin Fulluke/ Priti Malandkar
Follow us on socuial media: @PIBMumbai /PIBMumbai /pibmumbai pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]com /PIBM
umbai /pibmumbai
(Release ID: 2237452) Visitor Counter : 43
Read this release in: Marathi