Memory of the World Programme

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Logo of the Memory of the World Programme

UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction.[1] It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items.[1][2][3]

Background and the IAC[edit]

In 1992, the program began as a way to preserve and promote documentary heritage, which can be a single document, a collection, a holding or an archival fonds that is deemed to be of such significance as to transcend the boundaries of time and culture,[1] this recorded memory reflects the diversity of languages, people, and cultures.[4] UNESCO, the world agency responsible for the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage, realized the need to protect such fragile yet important component of cultural heritage. To this end, the Memory of the World Programme was established with the aim of preserving and digitizing humanity's documentary heritage.[5]

The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the UNESCO Director-General,[1][3] the IAC is responsible for the formulation of major policies, including the technical, legal and financial framework for the program. Regular meetings were held by the IAC in its interim capacity beginning in 1993 to sustain the momentum gained by the program, culminating in the creation of the Memory of the World Register during its second meeting in 1995,[1][6] with the inaugural batch of documents being inscribed on the Register in 1997, after the statutes that created the IAC as a standing committee took effect.[7] The IAC also maintains several subsidiary bodies:[8]

  • Bureau: Maintains an overview of the Programme between IAC meetings and makes tactical decisions in liaison with the Secretariat, reviews the use of the Memory of the World logo, and liaises with national Memory of the World committees and monitors their growth and operation.
  • Technical Sub-Committee: Develops, regularly revises and promulgates information guides on the preservation of documentary heritage, and offers advice on technical and preservation matters.
  • Marketing Sub-Committee: Develops strategies for awareness raising and for increasing financial support for Memory of the World, implements a marketing plan, and compiles and reviews guidelines for the use of the Memory of the World logo.
  • Register Sub-Committee: Oversees the assessment of nominations for the Memory of the World International Register and provides recommendations, with reasons, for their inscription or rejection to each meeting of the IAC.

Memory of the World Register[edit]

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was used to disseminate to the political community the first-ever French Constitution.[9]

The Memory of the World Register is a compendium of documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library, and archival holdings of universal value.[1] Inscription on the Register leads to improved conservation of the documentary heritage by calling upon the program's networks of experts to exchange information and raise resources for the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of the material,[3] the program also has the goal of using state-of-the-art technologies to provide wider accessibility and diffusion of the items inscribed on the Register.[3]

Any organization or individual can nominate a documentary item for inscription on the Register, during its meetings, the IAC examines the full documentation of the item's description, origin, world significance, and contemporary state of conservation.[10] In practice, however, it seems that only two proposals per country are considered in each cycle.[11]

As of 2015, the IAC has placed 348[citation needed] documentary items of significance on the Register. Items are inscribed onto the Register during the IAC's biennial meetings, which take place every odd year:

IAC Session Year Site Date IAC chairperson Number of nominations evaluated Number of inscriptions to the Register References
1st 1993 Pułtusk, Poland September 12–14 Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada)[7] none none [1]
2nd 1995 Paris, France May 3–5 Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada)[6] none none [1]
3rd 1997 Tashkent, Uzbekistan September 29–October 1 Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada) 69 38 [1][6]
Bureau Meeting 1998 London, United Kingdom September 4–5 Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada) none none [1]
4th 1999 Vienna, Austria June 10–12 Bendik Rugaas (Norway) 20 9 [7]
5th 2001 Cheongju, South Korea June 27–29 Bendik Rugaas (Norway) 42 21 [12]
6th 2003 Gdańsk, Poland August 28–30 Ekaterina U. Genieva (Russian Federation) 41 23 [3][13]
7th 2005 Lijiang, China June 13–18 Deanna B. Marcum (USA) 53 29 [4][14]
8th 2007 Pretoria, South Africa June 11–15 Alissandra Cummins (Barbados) 53 38 [5][15]
9th 2009 Bridgetown, Barbados July 27–31 Roslyn Russell (Australia) 55 35 [16][17]
10th 2011 Manchester, United Kingdom May 22–25 Roslyn Russell (Australia) 84 45 [18]
11th 2013 Gwangju, South Korea June 18–21 Helena R Asamoah-Hassan (Ghana) 84 56 [19]
12th 2015 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates October 4–6 Abdulla El Reyes (United Arab Emirates) 86 44 [20]

Of the 301 documentary heritage items listed on the Register by 2013, 181, or more than half of the documents, are accounted for by the region encompassing Europe and North America, which includes 39 countries and/or territories.

Region Number of inscriptions to the Register Number of countries/organizations
Africa 14 9
Arab States 9 5
Asia and the Pacific 80 24
Europe and North America 181 39 [A]
Latin America and the Caribbean 67 25
International Organizations 4 4
Private Foundation 1 1
Total 301 Registered items 107

Following the successful establishment of the Register, UNESCO and the Memory of the World Programme have encouraged the creation of national and regional organizations, presumably in part to streamline applications and fund-raising, as well as national and regional registers, which are to focus on documentary heritage of great regional or national importance, but not necessarily of global importance; in the Asia-Pacific region, in 2014-2015, there were 18 member nations of MOWPAC (6 without national committees), while in 2016, there were 16 national MOW committees. [21]

The program is not without controversy, during the 2015 cycle, for example, there was a significant degree of conflict within East Asia, as registry with the MOW Program was becoming viewed as an approval of particular views of contested history, specifically with respect to the Nanjing Incident and the comfort women.[22]


Jikji Prize[edit]

The Jikji is the earliest known book printed with movable metal type in 1377.

The Jikji Prize was established in 2004 in cooperation with the South Korean government to further promote the objectives of the Memory of the World Programme, and to commemorate the 2001 inscription of the country's Jikji on the Register,[14][23] the award, which includes a cash prize of $30,000 from the Korean government, recognizes institutions that have contributed to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage.[4]

The prize has been awarded biennially since 2005 during the meeting of the IAC.[4]

Recipients[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

^ A. The Europe and North America region includes the Transcaucasian States of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Russian Federation and Turkey. Furthermore, transcontinental documentary heritage like the Archives of the Dutch East India Company, shared among India, Indonesia, Netherlands, South Africa & Sri Lanka, has been classified under this region. The item from Netherlands Antilles is also included in this region, considering its political affiliation with the Netherlands.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "UNESCO Memory of the World Programme: The Asia-Pacific Strategy". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Archived from the original on 2005-02-28. Retrieved 2017-08-01. 
  2. ^ "Official website". UNESCO. Retrieved 2017-08-10. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "Twenty-three new inscriptions on Memory of the World Register of Documentary Collections". UNESCO Press. 2003-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  4. ^ a b c d e "Twenty-nine new documentary collections inscribed on the Memory of the World Register". UNESCO Press. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  5. ^ a b c Jasmina Sopova (2007-06-20). "Thirty-eight new inscriptions for Memory of the World Register". UNESCO Press. Archived from the original on 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  6. ^ a b c "Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b c "Fourth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "International Advisory Committee". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
  9. ^ "Original Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789-1791)". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  10. ^ "Memory of the World: General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage". UNESCO. February 2002. Retrieved 2009-12-08. [permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Mayumi Yamamoto, "Heritage and Diplomacy: A Cultural Approach to UNESCO's Document Registry Program in East Asia", Annual Journal of Cultural Anthropology, vol. 11 (2016)
  12. ^ "Fifth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Sixth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  14. ^ a b c "Seventh Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  15. ^ a b "Eighth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Joie Springer (2007-06-20). "Thirty-eight new inscriptions for Memory of the World Register". UNESCO Press. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "2009 Nominations". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Retrieved 2009-09-06. [permanent dead link]
  18. ^ MotW IAC (2011). "10th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee Memory of the World Programme Manchester, United Kingdom, 22-25 May 2011 REPORT" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 2012-01-10. 
  19. ^ MotW IAC (2013). "55 new inscriptions on UNESCO Memory of the World Register". UNESCO. Retrieved 2013-08-05. 
  20. ^ MotW IAC (2015). "12th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee". UNESCO. Retrieved 2016-04-29. 
  21. ^ Mayumi Yamamoto, "Heritage and Diplomacy: A Cultural Approach to UNESCO's Document Registry Program in East Asia", Annual Journal of Cultural Anthropology, vol. 11 (2016)
  22. ^ Mayumi Yamamoto, "Heritage and Diplomacy: A Cultural Approach to UNESCO's Document Registry Program in East Asia", Annual Journal of Cultural Anthropology, vol. 11 (2016)
  23. ^ UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
  24. ^ "UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World 2009 Prize awarded to National Archives of Malaysia". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2009-09-07. [permanent dead link]
  25. ^ "National Archives of Australia to receive UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize". UNESCO News Service. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2012-01-10. 

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