Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as 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 increased accessibility to, and dissemination of, these items.[1][2][3]
Overview[edit]
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 uses technology 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 via UNESCO Member States through their National Commission for UNESCO or, in the absence of a National Commission, the relevant government body in charge of relations with UNESCO, involving, if one exists, the relevant national MoW committee. Two proposals per UNESCO Member State are considered in each nomination cycle, joint nomination proposals from two or more UNESCO Member States are unlimited. During its meetings, the International Advisory Council (IAC) examines the full documentation of the item's description, origin, world significance, and contemporary state of conservation. The IAC recommends to the Executive Board of UNESCO the items proposed for inscription.[4]
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.[5] 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. The Memory of the World Programme was established to preserve and digitize humanity's documentary heritage.[6]
The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO.[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][7] 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.[8]
The IAC also maintains several subsidiary bodies:[9]