On 24 May 2023 UNESCO announced 64 new inscriptions on its Memory of the World International Register, 20 of which originate in Asia and the Pacific. This year’s new inscriptions bring UNESCO’s global list to 494 collections, 119 of which are from Asia and the Pacific.

The successful nominations from Asia-Pacific celebrate traditional science and technology, women, peace and international relations, indigeneity and multilingualism, poetry and oral literature, and spiritual and religious diversity.

The Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO, UNESCO Bangkok and MOWCAP collaborated in organizing the ‘Memory of the World Seminar and Workshop’ in Ulaanbaatar on 24-25 May 2023. The two-day activity consisted of a one day seminar to raise awareness on the Memory of the World programme, its objectives and mechanisms, followed by a one day workshop to discuss good practices and experiences in managing a national committee and national register. This was followed by expert tips on completing the MOWCAP nomination form and feedback on proposed items for national, regional and international registers.

The activity was held at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and was organized with the financial support of the Mongolian Ministry of Culture and UNESCO Bangkok. The activity was designed to respond to national stakeholder needs in Mongolia and was attended by 83 participants — 33 in-person and 50 online, including stakeholders from provinces and national and international speakers.

For nomination submission details, go to https://www.mowcapunesco.org/core-activities/mowcap-regional-register-2024/

The MOWCAP Bureau wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks to Roslyn Russell, who has recently stepped down from her role as Chair of the Australian Memory of the World Committee, which she co-founded in 2000 and has been chairing since 2013. She spearheaded the Australian Memory of the World Committee into becoming a thriving and active programme with 78 inscriptions on its national register to date. Regionally, she has been participating in workshops across Asia and the Pacific as an expert to promote and build capacity in documentary heritage since 2007.

Roslyn has also been an active player in the global Memory of the World community as a member of the programme’s International Advisory Committee between 2005 and 2013, first acting as Chair of the Register Sub-Committee, then as Chair of the committee itself. More recently, in 2021 she helped to launch the children’s book Let’s Explore the Memory of the World, a publication she enjoyed sharing with her family, and in 2022 supported nomination teams in developing their dossiers for the MOWCAP Regional Register and promoting Indigenous collections.

Roslyn will continue to be involved in the Australian Memory of the World Committee as its Treasurer, leaving her previous role in the good hands of her successor, Shayne Breynard. We at MOWCAP hope to continue benefiting from Roslyn’s expertise, warmth, and her positive and nurturing personality in its future activities, and welcome Shayne to his new role.

The MOWCAP General Meeting was held on 24-26 November 2022, hosted by the Korean Studies Institute (KSI), in Andong, Republic of Korea. The hybrid meeting gathered 109 participants, including six MOWCAP Bureau members, 20 Member States, three UNESCO representatives and 80 observers from various institutions across the region.

Latest updates in national documentary heritage activities were shared, as well as the MOWCAP Register Sub Committee’s recommendations and Member State comments on the 2022 cycle of nominations to the MOWCAP Regional Register.

The 9th MOWCAP General Meeting will be held from 24-26 November 2022. The meeting is generously hosted by the Korean Studies Institute (KSI), Andong, Republic of Korea.

The event will be hybrid and delegates can attend in person or online.

A draft agenda for the General Meeting is available. Please note that this agenda may be subject to minor changes before the meeting.

For any enquiries or questions please contact MOWCAP Secretariat at: gm2022@mowcap.org

The UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) is pleased to share the results of the 2022 round of the Asia Culture Centre (ACC)-MOWCAP Grants Program.

In 2022, thirteen applications were assessed against the application criteria (outlined in the Grant Guidelines), with four organizations from eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region awarded grants. These grantees are from Australia, Mongolia, Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Tajikistan, and Vietnam. They will undertake projects to preserve and make documentary heritage collections accessible. The ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme is made possible through the generous financial support of the Asia Culture Center (ACC). $20,000 USD was awarded under the 2022 grants cycle.