Paul Gerhardt obituary

My father, Paul Gerhardt, who has died aged 77, spent many years working in television on educational initiatives, including as head of commissioning at the BBC for its Open University content. He then became a specialist in how to manage televisual archival material, setting up a consultancy, Archives for Creativity, which advised cultural organisations, broadcasters and artists on how to de-license and re-license archive material to be used by artists, teachers and institutions. He finished his career at the British Film Institute (BFI) as their director of education. Paul was born in London to Fred Gerhardt, who worked at a Remploy facility, and Freda (nee Canham), a sales representative. After leaving Bromley grammar school he gained a degree in politics and sociology at Hull University in 1971, and then studied for a PhD in international studies at Oxford University, completed in 1979. He worked as a tutor organiser at the Workers’ Educational Association until 1982, when he moved to be head of learning channels at the BBC, after which he became deputy director of the International Broadcasting Trust for a five-year period and then producer and network education officer at Tha