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.

To further enhance inter-regional collaboration and promote common documentary heritage across Asia and Africa, the “Inter-regional

Dialogue: Sharing Good Practices in Documentary Heritage between Asia and Africa” was launched on 26 July by UNESCO Bangkok and Nairobi Regional Offices in cooperation with MOWCAP and Africa Regional Committee for the Memory of the World (ARCMOW).

The inter-regional dialogue between Asia/Pacific and Africa gathered 49 participants, comprising representatives from National MoW committees, National Commissions for UNESCO, and UNESCO Field Offices in Asia and Africa. Good practices in managing a regional Memory of the World committee and a regional register were shared, as well as areas for collaboration.

Following the call for nominations for the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register (15 February-15 June 2022), we are pleased to share that thirteen (13) nominations have been deemed admissible for assessment by the MOWCAP Register Sub-Committee (RSC) as outlined under Section D of the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register Process.

The title and a summary for each nomination form that has been accepted for assessment can be found in the table below. The summary is based on the information provided by nominators in Section 2 of the nomination form. A full text of nominations accepted for assessment will be provided on request to interested parties (a request can be submitted to the MOWCAP Secretary-General via email to mowcapinfo@gmail.com)

MOWCAP invites comments on these accepted nominations from National MoW
Committees and National Commissions or from any interested individual or organisations, to be submitted to the MOWCAP Secretary-General by 15 August 2022.

Comments that support or provide other information relevant to aspects of any current nomination are welcome, for instance, the sender may wish to provide information to supplement the nominator’s case. All comments received shall be transmitted forthwith to the Chair of the RSC for consideration by the RSC in the process of its assessment.

Any contestations must be made using the specified form and process outlined under
Section N of the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register Process.

1. Australia

The Australian Academy of Science received a grant for the Fenner Collection Digitisation and Digital Access Project.

The manuscript collection of Professor Frank Fenner in the archives of the Australian Academy of Science covers the life and work of a distinguished Australian scientist and was added to the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register in 2019.

Professor Fenner is widely known for his significant contribution to global public health as Chairman of
the World Health Organisation Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication. He has made major contributions to the understanding of viruses and the literature of microbiology and has stated that his proudest achievement was announcing on 8 May 1980 that smallpox was gone from the earth.

The collection records Professor Frank Fenner’s enormous contribution to scientific research and communication over more than eight decades. It is also an unexpectedly rich personal archive documenting Professor Fenner’s experience of his work, his broad-ranging intellectual interests, the history and development of the Australian National University, and his contribution to the broader community.

Applications for the 2022 round of the ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme are now open, with grants of up to $5000 USD available for documentary heritage related projects in the Asia-Pacific. Applications close on the 15 June 2022. 

The Asia Culture Center (ACC) and the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) launched the ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme to support archives, museums and libraries in the Asia-Pacific to undertake innovative projects and initiatives to preserve and provide access to their collections. The grants support the overall aim of the UNESCO Memory of the World to enhance preservation of and access to humanity’s documentary heritage.

Information on how to apply for a grant is available here.

The Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) invites nominations for the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register (MOWCAP Register). Nominations should be sent by email to MOWCAPinfo@gmail.com and must be received by 15 June 2022 for assessment in this round.

Before deciding to submit a nomination you need to read the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register Process. This document provides detailed information on all aspects of nomination to the MOWCAP Register and includes a list of the type of documents that may be inadmissible for nomination (section D) and the criteria against which your nomination will be assessed (section E).

A MOWCAP register nomination form has been developed to take account of the revised MOWCAP Register nomination process. Only nominations submitted on this form will be accepted.

Other documents that may be useful as you prepare your nomination are The International General Guidelines of the Memory of the World Programme and the International Memory of the World Register Companion.

Please email mowcapinfo@gmail.com if you need clarification on any aspects of the MOWCAP Register Process or Nomination Form. We will share any general questions and answers on our website if they are considered helpful to other nominators. The person who asked the question will not be identified.

Note: Process and structures for managing the MOWCAP Register Process, as far as possible, parallel those for the International Register. The Register Process has been developed to take account of regional variations and is consistent with but not the same as the register nomination process in section 8 of the  General Guidelines of the Memory of the World Programme, which were approved by the UNESCO Executive Board during its 211th session in April 2021.