Conference: The Memory of the World in the Digital age

Conference
"The Memory of the World in the Digital age: Digitization and
    Preservation"
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
26-28 September 2012

UNESCO proposes to organize an international conference from 26-28
September 2012 in Vancouver (BC) Canada, to explore the main issues
affecting the preservation of digital documentary heritage, in order
to develop strategies that will contribute to greater protection of
digital assets and help to define an implementation methodology that
is appropriate for developing countries, in particular.

The conference will bring together professionals from the heritage
sectors, as well as a range of government, IT industry,
rightsholders and other stakeholders to assess current policies in
order to propose practical recommendations to ensure permanent
access to digital documentary heritage.

Although knowledge is today primarily created and accessed through
digital media, it is highly ephemeral and its disappearance could
lead to the impoverishment of humanity. Despite the adoption of the
UNESCO Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage in 2003,
there is still insufficient awareness of the risks of loss of
digital heritage.

Digital information has economic value as a cultural product and as
a source of knowledge. It plays a major role in national sustainable
development as, increasingly, personal, governmental and commercial
information is created in digital form only. But digitized national
assets also constitute an immense wealth of the countries concerned
and of society at large. The disappearance of this heritage will
engender economic and cultural impoverishment and hamper the
advancement of knowledge.

Ensuring digital continuity of content requires a range of legal,
technological, social, financial, political and other obstacles to
be overcome. It is hoped that the Conference will lead to:

    The launch of specific initiatives related to digital
    preservation and to the fostering of access to documentary
    heritage through digitization;

    The upgrading or revision of the UNESCO Charter on the
    Preservation of Digital Heritage;

    The identification of the legal frameworks that would facilitate
    long-term digital preservation;

    The agreement on the promotion or development of exchange
    standards;

    The definition of the respective roles of professions,
    academics, industry and governments in addressing various issues
    and of a model for their cooperation.

For more information see:

    <URL:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/events/calendar-of-events/events-websites/the-memory-of-the-world-in-the-digital-age-digitization-and-preservation/>


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:7
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