UNESCO Memory of the World Program

Readers of the Conservation DistList may be interested to know about
the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme and--for members in
Australia--that owners and custodians of nationally significant
documentary heritage material are now invited to submit nominations
for entry on the Australian UNESCO Memory of the World Register for
2004.

Documentary heritage reflects the diversity of peoples, languages
and cultures. It is the mirror of the world and its memory. The
Memory of the World Programme is part of a global UNESCO programme
that aims to preserve and provide access to the world's most
significant documentary heritage, and to raise awareness of its
existence and significance.

International, regional and national registers comprise important
components of the program. They list precious items of world
significance in the same way as the UNESCO World Heritage List
identifies precious natural sites and buildings.

The Programme is described at
<URL:http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/index_2.html>.

In Australia, one of the 47 countries with Registers, 6 outstanding
collections and documents, deemed by UNESCO to comprise precious and
irreplaceable parts of Australia's national memory, have already
been inscribed on the Australian Register at
<URL:http://www.amw.org.au>.

The Australian Committee are now calling for nominations for further
items of outstanding Australian significance. (Nominations close on
21 May, 2004). Nominations will be rigorously assessed against
selection criteria and custodians of those items deemed to be of
national significance will be presented with certificates of
inscription at a ceremony at the State Library of Victoria in
August.

To qualify for inclusion on on the register, documentary
heritage--on paper, in books and recordings, on film, photographs or
in a digital format--must be authentic, unique and irreplaceable.

Inscription on the Register confers many benefits--it enables the
use of the prestigious UNESCO logo, it brings the material to public
attention, and it strengthens advocacy for improved care and
preservation of the material.

Australian members of this list are encouraged to find out more
about the program and support nominations from their institution.
Full details are available at <URL:http://www.amw.org.au>.

Alan G. Howell
PO Box 822, Port Melbourne
Victoria 3207 Australia
+61 3 9646 7446 (hm)
+61 3 8664 7352 (wk)
Mobile +61 41 834 9601
Fax: +61 3 9639 6559 (wk)


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:61
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 24, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-61-003
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