Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific

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Sub-Regional Meeting for the Identification and Exchange of Documentary Heritage of Central and Western Asia

The UNESCO Tehran Office, the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the National Library and Archives of Iran, and the Iranian National MoW Committee for UNESCO, have cooperated to hold the Sub-Regional Meeting for the Identification and Exchange of Documentary Heritage, from the 3-4 September in Tehran, Iran.

The event brought together delegates from National MoW Committees and National archives and libraries from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  The objective of the meeting was to develop cooperation for joint MoW nominations, identify commonalities of documentary heritage in the region (particularly relating to the Silk Road), and increase cooperation between National MoW Committees in the region.

Prior to the meeting delegates completed a survey of documentary heritage relating to the Silk Road that exists at the national level in libraries, archives, museums, government repositories and private collections. The delegates submitted a report on the results of their survey during the meeting that can be accessed here.

The objective of the survey was to identify collections of significance relating to the Silk Road, that can become part of a national, international or regional Memory of the World nomination, including the potential for a joint nomination. In addition, this survey aimed help identify areas of commonality that could form the basis of wider cooperation projects, such as digital archives/platforms, academic research, preservation initiatives etc.

Andrew Henderson, Secretary-General of MOWCAP, was invited to facilitate the meeting. MOWCAP’s participation in the meeting was made possible through the generous support of the Asia Culture Center, Korea.

Call for speakers: Preserving and providing access to digital heritage at 2nd Inter-regional Conference for the Memory of the World

5-8 November, 2019, Republic of Korea: To support the preservation and access to the rich documentary heritage, including digital heritage, held in libraries, archives, museums and private collections from across the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage Including in Digital Form (2015) is an important standard-setting instrument.

To implement the Recommendation at the national and institutional levels, UNESCO organized a series of consultations in 2017-2018 across the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, involving delegates from more than 80 countries. In 2018, the 1st Inter-regional Conference for the Memory of the World was held, bringing together the different regions to discuss the implementation of the Recommendation and to exchange experiences and ideas.

The results of the consultation showed that while a number of important initiatives are taking place in regions relating to analogue documentary heritage, preserving digital heritage is a major challenge, with limited knowledge, expertise and guidelines available on the topic. This also extends to access, with outdated copyright laws, a lack of open access policies, and limited use of free and open-source software being key issues. 

At the global level, UNESCO and international partners are developing a number of important policy guidelines, tools and strategies relating to the preservation of digital documentary heritage. These include the Digital Strategy for Information Sustainability (PERSIST) initiative; UNESCO/PERSIST Guidelines for the Selection of Digital Heritage for Long-Term Preservation; UNESCO Software Heritage Initiative; and the Executive Guide on Digital Preservationdeveloped by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) in cooperation with UNESCO/PERSIST.

Conference objectives:

In this context, the conference bridges the gap between developments at the global, regional, national and organization levels for digital heritage preservation, and provides clear information to Memory of the World Committees from Asia/Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean on strategies and initiatives they can use. 

Following the conference, this information will be disseminated to national level stakeholders in government, archives, libraries, museums and the private sector through existing national and regional Memory of the World (MoW) Committee structures.

The meeting will also provide an opportunity for UNESCO MoW National Committees to report back on challenges and opportunities for digital heritage preservation, which is expected to lead to informal developments at the global level.

In addition, the meeting will build on the outcomes of the 1st Inter-regional Conference for the MoW held in Panama in October 2018, to further enhance cooperation between the established regional MoW Committees: Memory of the World Committee for Asia/Pacific (MOWCAP), the African Regional Committee for Memory of the World (ARCMOW), and UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (MOWLAC).

Conference themes:

The conference will be arranged around the five thematic areas of the UNESCO Recommendation: (1) Identification of digital documentary heritage, (2) Preservation of digital documentary heritage, (3) Access to digital documentary heritage, (4) Policy measures for digital documentary heritage, (5) National and international cooperation.

Within this framework, the conference speakers will share current tools, initiatives, guidelines and best practices covering:

Conditions for participation

Experts and delegates from National Memory of the World Committees in the Asia-Pacific are invited to attend as speakers. Travel and accommodation support will be available for selected speakers.

If you are interested in becoming a speaker, please complete the registration form and send it to Ms. Kamonwan Petchot, Communication and Information, UNESCO Bangkok (k.petchot [at] unesco [dot] org) no later than 10 September 2019 (COB, Bangkok time).

Attachment:

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Celebrates Documents 10th Year Anniversary of Inscription

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum curated a special exhibit this month to celebrate the 10th year of inscription of its archives left behind from the Khmer Rouge regime. Housed in the very site of terror itself, the archives are a central priority for the museum and are currently undergoing a process of digitization in a project funded by KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) and facilitated by UNESCO.

The temporary exhibit is located on the 2nd floor of Building A of the museum. Its panels feature the history of the founding of Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), its goals, an introduction to documentary heritage, a list of MOWCAP entries by country, and summaries of three Cambodian entries to the MOWCAP register: Panji, Reamker by Takrut, and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archive. A primary goal of the museum in opening this exhibition is to educate not only international visitors but especially Cambodian nationals. Nationwide knowledge of the Memory of the World program is scarce; thus, the exhibit hopes to familiarize Cambodians with the program, encourage Cambodians to take interest in the important archival work conducted by the museum and most importantly, foster collaboration.

As written on the panels, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archive consists of thousands of pages of forced confessions, biographies, official documents, photographs and more. They explicitly represent the inner workings of this dark era of Cambodian history and are crucial to the country’s remembrance, knowledge and reconciliation. Protection and dissemination of this invaluable evidence is needed for nationwide and worldwide awareness efforts. Thus, the inscription of the archives into the MOWCAP register helped further the museum’s efforts––a notable event to celebrate along with the museum’s 40th anniversary exhibit opening that month as well.

Tuol Sleng Exhibition 2019

Tuol Sleng Exhibition 2019

Tuol Sleng Exhibition 2019

Tuol Sleng Exhibition 2019

Announcements of the 2019 MOWCAP-ACC Small Grants Program

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2019 round of the MOWCAP-Asia Culture Center (ACC) Grants program. This year the grants will support fourteen (14) organisations from across the Asia-Pacific to safeguard and make their documentary heritage collections accessible.

Grants were awarded to organisations from Cambodia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Applications were received from organisations from over 35 countries.

The generous financial support of the Asia Culture Center (ACC), and operational support of the Asia Culture Institute (ACI), has made these grants possible.

Statements from MOWCAP, ACC and the ACI:

Dr. Lee Jinsik, Acting President of the ACC, congratulated all the successful organisations and shared that “their work to capture the memory of our region, expressed through its diverse documentary heritage, ensures that future generations can appreciate and understand our regions varied and diverse history for many years to come.”

Mr. Lee Gi Pyo, President of the ACI, outlined that he was “very impressed with the quality and range of the applications. The Asia Culture Institute is proud to work with MOWCAP to support important documentary heritage initiatives and help bring the region’s documentary heritage projects to life.”

Mr. Kwibae Kim, Chair of MOWCAP, shared that “the projects supported under the 2019 MOWCAP-ACC, grants, and the large number of applications received from across the region, demonstrates the broad range of amazing work being done in our region to preserve and share our documentary heritage. I sincerely thank our partner, Asia Culture Center, whose support has made these grants possible, and also Asia Culture Institute, who have supported the administration of the grants through the MOWCAP Office. MOWCAP congratulates the successful organisations and encourages applications for the next funding round which will open in early 2020.”

[Read more…]

Regional Workshop Focuses on Shared Memory of the World

The Asia-Pacific region is home to rich and diverse documentary heritage reflecting the cultures, histories, traditions and values of its nations. Taking various forms – from manuscripts and woodblocks to photographs, stone inscriptions, sound recordings and film – this heritage is crucial to understanding the past and the present of our societies. It is also a source of inspiration, creativity and learning for future generations.

Diverse heritage brings nations together and contributes to a culture of peace. That is most clearly seen in the joint nomination process, whereby countries recognize common heritage that transcends national borders. One example is the Kulliyyāt-i Sa’di, the compendium of works by the 13th-century poet and writer Abu Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi, known by the penname Sa’di, which is currently held at the National Library of Iran and inscribed on the Memory of the World Register. Given the shared heritage of the Persian-speaking communities in West Asia, the Kulliyyāt manuscript is now being considered for joint inscription with Afghanistan, with one version of the manuscript held in its National Archives.

[Read more…]

The 2019 MOWCAP-ACC Grants are now open

In the Asia Pacific region, many libraries, archives and memory institutions face formidable challenges: economic, climatic and geographic. The newly established MOWCAP-ACC Grants Program aims to contribute to addressing this challenge by assisting with the preservation of, and universal access to, the documentary heritage of the Asia/Pacific region, and also to increase awareness of the existence and significance of the heritage.

The MOWCAP-ACC grants program supports the efforts of the many groups and organisations that collect, and preserve and provide access to documentary heritage from the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to encourage collaboration and partnerships to undertake projects (e.g. preservation of materials, digitizing, exhibitions, publications etc) as well as to develop skills and resources (eg. workshops, training programs, expert assessments etc).

Grants of up to $US 5,000 are available for the preservation and sharing of the documentary heritage of the Asia-Pacific. Grants are required to be fully expended, and the project completed and acquitted, within a 6-month period (July-December 2019). The grants are administered through the MOWCAP Office, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.

The Grants Program is made possible through the generous support of the Asia Culture Center.

Download the Grants Guidelines

Download the Application Form

Applications for the grants close on 31 May 2019

For all grant enquiries, please contact us at: grants@mowcap.net

Results of the 2018 MOWCAP-ACC Grants

The Envoyship Journey to China : Documentary heritage inscribed on the UNESCO MoW Regional Register in 2018 and translated/published as part of the MOWCAP-ACC grants program.

The 2018 MOWCAP-ACC Grants Program has led to some diverse and exciting projects and partnerships across the Asia-Pacific. Below is a brief summary of the results of the 2018 Program.

The MOWCAP-ACC Small Grants Programme is made possible through the generous support of the Asia Culture Center.

  • In Timor-Leste, Timor-Aide worked to make digital copies of the Baguia Collection available to the people of Timor-Leste. This collection has 300 black and white photographs circa 1935, which include original images of the communities of Makasae and Naueti.
  • In the Philippines, the Center for New Cinema held a two-day workshop in cooperation with UNESCO, focusing on the study and use of motion pictures and how they can provide knowledge about the rich documentary heritage of the Southeast Asian region.
  • Tuvalu has recently formed a National Memory of the World Committee, and the MOWCAP-ACC Grants were used to hold a workshop to develop a national register of documentary heritage and a work plan for the Committee.
  • The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) archives, located in Fiji, contain a wealth of documentary heritage relating to the Pacific region. The MOWCAP-ACC Grants is helping bring an expert in the ICA-AtoM (web-based archival description software) to implement the system at USP and improve access to this collection through.
  • The Save Myanmar Film Organization is an NGO dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich cinematic heritage of Myanmar. The grant funds were used to procure archival equipment that is crucial for preserving a film archives collection.
  • The Envoyship Journey to China collection, held in Vietnam, was recognized on the regional Memory of the World register in 2018 for its significance for understanding Vietnamese-China relations. The grant was used translate the documentary heritage into English and publish the English translation, making the collection accessible to the wider world.
  • The Archaeological Documents and Reports of Iran (from 1908 to 1941) relating to the Persepolis and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, held by the Documentation Centre of Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, have begun to be digitized and made accessible through a web-based platform.
  • The MOWCAP-ACC Grants grant supported the creation of a documentary film about the Hikayat Hang Tuah, documentary heritage from Malaysia recognized on the international MoW Register in 2001

The 2019 round of the MOWCAP-ACC Grants are now open: http://www.mowcapunesco.org/grants/

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: UNESCO Memory of the World Regional Workshop on Joint Nominations

The UNESCO Bangkok Office will host the Memory of the World Regional Workshop on Joint Nominations from 20-21 June 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The workshop aims to:

  • Increase participants’ knowledge on UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme and inscription criteria and processes to the International and Regional Registers,
  • Build capacity for transnational joint nominations of new documentary heritage to the Regional and International MoW Registers, and
  • Promote regional cooperation through documentary heritage and Memory of the World programme.

Participants will be from memory institutions, private collection holders or individuals in the Asia-Pacific region who have previously identified collections of documentary heritage for the purpose of joint nominations across several countries.

If you are interested to participate, please complete the participation form (link below) and send it to Ms Misako Ito, Adviser in Communication and Information, UNESCO Bangkok (m.ito@unesco.org) by 10 May 2019, indicating whether you require travel support or not. Selection will be made based on the proposal of joint nominations as well as available funding.

UNESCO will provide the lunches and coffee breaks to all participants of the training. However, as the funding for travel is limited, participants are encouraged as much as possible to seek travel support to their own institutions or UNESCO field offices in Asia and the Pacific.

AgendaDownload
Participation FormDownload

Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles 3rd Edition


Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles 3rd Edition is now available in the Myanmar language.

The addition of a version in the Myanmar language means that this valuable publication is now available in 7 languages: Chinese  English Japanese Portuguese Spanish Thai and Myanmar language.

The English text was written by Dr Ray Edmondson and released as a third edition in 2016.

The book was published under UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, and provides the rationale and theoretical basis of audiovisual archiving.

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