Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific

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Results of the ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme 2021

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.

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Applications Open for ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme

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.

Call for Nominations for the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register 2022

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.

MOWCAP-Nomination-Form-Feb-22Download

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.

Remembering Dr Rujaya Abhakorn

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our beloved friend, colleague and mentor Dr Rujaya Abhakorn. Rujaya made a significant contribution to the development of the Memory of the World Programme in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

In 2005 Rujaya was appointed a MOWCAP “Goodwill Patron“ and took every opportunity to promote the work of MOWCAP. By 2010 he had travelled to all the ASEAN countries to promote the Memory of the World Programme and encourage the establishment of National Memory of the World Committees.

He was the chair of the Register Sub-committee from its inception until the latest MOWCAP General Meeting in 2018. In this role he demonstrated a focussed dedication to researching nominations and identifying those that met the criteria for insciption on the MOWCAP register.

Rujaya was a sought after speaker on the Memory of the World programme and its importance for contributing to the preservation of and access to documentary heritage. He also contributed his knowledge to international Memory of the World workshops held to increase understanding of the register nomination process.

Ray Edmondson who has known Rujaya for many years described the respect all those associated with MOWCAP had for Rujaya and his contribution to MOWCAP. “Rujaya was a good friend and colleague and we will miss him, his gentle ways, his knowledge, his wisdom and – not least – his sense of humour. He had the great gift of transcending cultural boundaries and his contribution to MoW and MOWCAP was immense. We have all been enriched by his presence among us over the years.”

After Rujaya retired from his MOWCAP roles he summed up so well what we all feel about the achievements of MOWCAP from its beginnings until now – “I think we would all agree that working with MOWCAP has been a unique experience because we had the privilege of building it up and live long enough to see it flourish and the happiness that successful nominations bring to so many countries and communities in the region.”

We will always remember Rujaya’s infectious smile, his dry humour, witty remarks, strength, wisdom and kindness as well as his passion for the preservation of documentary heritage and ensuring that its value was shared and understood by all. He has been an integral part of the success of MOWCAP and he leaves a rich legacy for those that follow him.

Memories of Dr Rujaya Abhakorn

International Seminar on Establishing National Memory of the World Registers Held on the 25th of August 2021

An international seminar on establishing the National Memory of the World Registers was held online on the 25th of August 2022. The seminar was hosted by the National Archives of Indonesia and the Indonesian National MoW Committee for Indonesia. Over 1000 participants from Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and Korea joined the seminar.

Image courtesy of Minh Huong

The objective of the seminar was to discuss the benights of establishing national MoW registers in general, as well as the plan to develop the Indonesian National MoW Register. Misako Ito (Regional Advisor for Communications and Information for UNESCO Bangkok), Minh Huong (Vice-Chair of MOWCAP, Helen Jarvis (Chair of the MOWCAP Register Sub-Committee), Kyung-ho Suh (MOWCAP Register Sub-Committee), and Andrew Henderson (Secratary-General of MOWCAP) joined the meeting.

Andrew Henderson presented on behalf of MOWCAP on the topic of ‘Establishing National Memory of the World (MoW) Registers’. Andrew shared three (3) main messages in his presentation: (i) There is a large potential for a National Memory of the World (MoW) Registers across the Asia-Pacific, with a diversity of documentary heritage, however, only three registers are currently established in the region (ii) national registers are essential as they deepen the impact of the MoW Programme and facilitate engagement with archives, libraries, museums, NGOs, government, the private sector, and the wider public across the whole country; (iii) The process of establishing the National MoW Register is important and should follow the UNESCO MoW General Guidelines with a strong coordinating role for the National MoW Committee.

Roslyn Russell, Chair of the Australian MoW Committee, also joined the meeting and provided an overview of how the Australian National MoW Register operates. The Australian MoW register began in 2001 and now contains 78 inscriptions (www.amw.org.au). The register contains diverse documentary heritage from across the country and is an important tool for raising awareness around the need to safeguard and provide access to this important heritage.

This report on the seminar was developed by Minh Huong (Vice-Chair of MOWCAP) and Andrew Henderson (SG of MOWCAP).

Documentary Heritage Grants Announced for 2021

The UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP) is pleased to share the results of the 2021 round of the Asia Culture Centre (ACC)-MOWCAP Grants Program.

In 2021, twenty-six (26) applications were assessed against the application criteria (outlined in the Grant Guidelines), with twelve (12) organizations from nine (9) countries in the Asia-Pacific region awarded grants. These grantees are from Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Tuvalu and Vietnam and will undertake projects to preserve and make their documentary heritage collections accessible.

The ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme is made possible through the generous financial support of the Asia Culture Center (ACC). Over $50,000 USD was awarded under the 2021 grants cycle.

Quote from the President of the ACC: Mr Choi Wonil

“Congratulations to all the 2021 grantees. Your 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. The projects include a number of initiatives to digitise documentary heritage, which is extremely important given the COVID-19 pandemic and the need and make documentary heritage accessible online. The Asia Culture Center is proud to work with MOWCAP to support important documentary heritage initiatives and help bring the region’s documentary heritage projects to life.”

Quote from the Chair of MOWCAP: Mr Kwibae Kim

“The projects supported under the 2021 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, the Asia Culture Centre, whose support has made these grants possible, and also the 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 2022.”

Projects Supported in 2021

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The first pilot Memory of the World State of Preservation Report 2020 for Southeast Asia reveals interesting findings

In Southeast Asia, there are currently 30 inscriptions on the MoW International Register, recognized for their global significance. However, until now, no data had been collected on their state of preservation and accessibility to the public. With the aim to address these issues, UNESCO Bangkok Office with the support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT) initiated a pilot survey in order to analyse the MoW inscriptions from Southeast Asia.

The survey had a high completion rate, with information received from 28 inscriptions, that resulted in the State of Preservation Report for Southeast Asia 2020 providing interesting findings with recommendations to be considered.

In terms of the type of memory institutes holding the MoW inscriptions in Southeast Asia, 34% are libraries, 30% are archives, 15% are archaeological sites, and 12% are museums. The high number of MoW inscriptions at archaeological sites can be attributed to stone inscriptions, which are a prevalent form of documentary heritage in Southeast Asia.

In relation to preservation, UNESCO and Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), along with stakeholders and the private sector, as stated in the conclusions of the report, should leverage efforts to mobilize funding and collaboration to improve serious concerns related to the environment and tropical weather in the region that are highly affecting the MoW collections. Trainings should also be developed to help address management, preservation, disaster risks issues and the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

The results of the survey related to access suggest that financial and technical support is needed to ensure that all MoW collections are digitised and made available for the public in line with 2015 UNESCO’s Recommendation on Documentary Heritage which is available in several languages of Southeast Asia and promotes among others the principle of open access. Further work in promoting open access licenses is required, in particular with the use of Creative Commons copyright licenses.

When addressing the issue of outreach, the report recommended that custodians of inscriptions who do not have a logo should request it to UNESCO Secretariat in order to use their logos according to the guidelines. In fact, it is a key aspect to mobilize funding and raise the visibility of collections to internal and external stakeholders. Training on social media to enhance the visibility and communications around these inscriptions could also be enhanced.

UNESCO established the Memory of the World Programme in 1992 to facilitate preservation of the world’s documentary heritage, assist with universal access to it and increase awareness of the existence and significance of documentary heritage. UNESCO would like to thank all the custodians of the MoW inscriptions for their time to complete the survey and for providing valuable information.

For more information, access the State of Preservation Report for Southeast Asia 2020.

Some interesting results extracted from the report:

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Children and Documentary Heritage

UNESCO’s Memory of the World Book for Children Let’s Explore the Memory of the World introduces young children to the value of documentary heritage and stimulates their interest in diverse histories and cultures. The Book was printed with the support of the Asia Culture Center and the Asia Culture Institute in Republic of Korea.

UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme was created with the aim to preserve and provide access to the world’s documentary heritage. The MoW Children’s Book highlights important themes embedded in documentary heritage such as languages, religions, geography, gender equality, cross-cultural understanding and human rights, and comprises a visually rich sequence of collections from the Asia-Pacific region together with carefully compiled information relating to the programme. The three main characters depicted in the narrative make discoveries and gradually collect their stories as part of their exploration driven by a quest for wisdom, knowledge and peace.

The last section includes creative exercises to encourage young readers in collecting and archiving documentary heritage to safeguard their memories and create their stories.

Click here for more information and a link to download the book.

MOWCAP-ACC Grants 2021

Applications for the 2021 round of the ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme are now open, with grants of up to $7000 USD available for documentary heritage related projects in the Asia-Pacific. Applications close on the 31st of May 2021. 

Here is the link to information about the Programme and making an application.

New MOWCAP-ACC Publication highlights diverse collections from the Asia-Pacific

MOWCAP and the Asia-Culture Centre (ACC) have collaborated to create a publication that highlights the many interesting projects undertaken under the ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme (2018-2020).

Over the past three years, MOWCAP has partnered with the ACC to support 28 innovative projects in 13 countries aiming to protect the documentary heritage of the Asia-Pacific region. So far over $100,000 USD has been awarded as part of the programme.

The projects aim to safeguard and share the precious recorded memories that are at risk of damage, including films and documentaries containing the unique culture and identity of our region. This publication aims to create a snapshot of the important work completed under the various projects and highlight the importance of preserving these cultural records in the Asia-Pacific region.

MOWCAP would like to deeply thank everyone at the ACC and Asia Culture Institute (ACI) for their endless support during the past three years to launch the successful ACC-MOWCAP Small Grants Programme, and look forward to further strengthening our partnership in the future.

The publication can be downloaded in English or Korean.