Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific

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MOWCAP joins the Glocal Humanities in the Era of Hyperconnectivity Conference, Daegu, Republic of Korea, 6-7 September 2019.

Kwibae Kim, Chair of MOWCAP, and Andrew Henderson, Secretary-General of MOWCAP, participated in the recent conference  Glocal Humanities in the Era of Hyperconnectivity. The conference was held at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, and was organized by the Commemorative Association of the National Debt Redemption Movement, Kyungpook National University and the Korea Association of Digital Humanities.

This  seminar aimed to review international trends in digital humanities research in relation to the rapidly emerging AI technology and the utilization of big data in research programs. In this context, Kwibae Kim and Andrew Henderson, addressed various aspects of the UNESCO MoW Program in the context of digital heritage and preservation, including the role of the UNESCO Recommendation on Documentary Heritage, as well as open source archival description tools such as the Atom (Access to Memory) system.

A further theme of the meeting was the on establishing digital archives, especially in the context of the recent initiatives by the Commemorative Association of the National Debt Redemption Movement to create a digital archive of their collection, which was inscribed on the UNESCO MoW Register in 2017 (http://www.gukchae.com/eng2/main.aspx).

The papers delivered can be accessed here:

Andrew Henderson_Memory of the World in the Digital Age- Bridging the Gap between Global Policy and PracticeDownload
4-session2-1, Kim KwibaeDownload

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:

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.”

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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.

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Film World Meets Memory of the World

An Asia Pacific Cinema Documentary Heritage Conference took place in Manilla from 26-28 October. MOWCAP and the Asia Culture Center  are very pleased to have supported (along with many others) this important initiative through our 2018 small grants program.

Moving images are how the memory of the world of the 20th and 21st centuries has been and is being captured, preserved and transmitted. Photojournalists’ recording of historic events as they take place and filmmakers’ efforts to document, investigate and look below the surface or to convey literary works or fantasy — in all these ways film represents the quintessential modern means of communication.

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MOWCAP Contributes to First UNESCO MoW Inter-regional Meeting

MOWCAP was well represented at the first UNESCO Memory of the World Inter-regional Conference on Preservation and Accessibility of Documentary Heritage. The conference was held in Panama City from 25-26 October 2018. One of the objectives was to foster co-operation among the members of the MoW community. This objective and others were all achieved in the dynamic two days of sharing MoW experiences. The conference programme can be found here.

The opening remarks were made by Lidia Brito, Regional Director, UNESCO Montevideo; Luis Oporto, Chairperson of MOWLAC and H. E. Mr Flavio Mendez, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Panama to UNESCO. This was followed by two days of sharing Memory of the World experiences and challenges from around the world.

The following is a brief report on the contribution made by the MOWCAP representatives. It also includes an update on the international Memory of the World Review.

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Celebration of the Inscription of the National Debt Redemption Movement Archives

The Spirit of the National Debt Redemption Movement Spreads across the Globe

This was the title of an international conference organized by the Commemorative Association of the National Debt Redemption Movement to celebrate the first anniversary of the inclusion of the Archives of the Korean Debt Redemption Movement in UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register. The conference was held in the Grand Hotel in Daegu on 2 October 2018, with over 200 attentive listeners.

The opening speech was given by Mrs Dong-Hak Shin, President of the Association, followed by welcoming and congratulatory speeches on behalf of Mr Young-Jin Kwon, Mayor of Daegu, by Mrs Ji-Sook Bae, Chairperson of the Daegu Metropolitan Council and by Mrs Eun-Hee Kang, Superintendent at the Daegu Metropolitan office.

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Petitions Inscribed on International Memory of the World Registers

An International Symposium on Petition Movements in the Nineteenth Century was held on 13 September 2018 at the Advanced Center for Korean Studies in Andong, Republic of Korea.

There are two inscriptions on petition movements on international registers. The New Zealand Women’s Suffrage Petition was inscribed on the Memory of the World International Register in 1998. The Maninso: Ten Thousand People’s Petitions was inscribed on the MOWCAP register in 2018.

The Women’s Suffrage Petition requested the New Zealand Parliament to extend the franchise to women aged 21 years and over. It consists of 546 sheets of paper, glued together to form one continuous roll, 274 metres long. It was presented to the New Zealand Parliament with great drama. John Hall, a Member of Parliament and suffrage supporter, brought it into the House and unrolled it down the central aisle of the debating chamber until it hit the end wall with a thud. The number of women who signed was close to one quarter of the female adult population.

On 19 September 1893, 125 years ago,  New Zealand was the first country in the world to pass legislation to give women the same voting rights as men.  The Women’s Suffrage petition made a major contribution to this achievement.

The Maninso: Ten Thousand People’s Petitions consist of two massive paper scrolls, each measuring some 100 metres in length. The petition for the Posthumous Enthronement of Crown Price Sado, dated 1855, was signed by 10,094 like-minded individuals and presented to the King. The Ten Thousand People’s Petitions against dress reform, dated 1884, was signed by 8,849 people and was not presented to the King. The petitions represent collective actions taken to influence reforms in important state affairs to achieve the ethical politics prescribed by Confucian ideology.

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International Conference on Safeguarding and Increasing Access to the Documentary Heritage of the Silk Routes

The International Conference on Safeguarding and Increasing Access to the Documentary Heritage of the Silk Routes has been held in Fuzhou, China, from the 6-8 November 2018. The meeting was organised by the National Archives of China, in cooperation with the East Asian Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (EASTICA), and hosted by the Fujian Provincial Archives.

The meeting brought together delegates from China, SAR Hong Kong, SAR Macau, Japan, Korea and Mongolia to share information the different documentary heritage relating to the Silk Road and Spice Routes held in their collections, and then discussing cooperation strategies for safeguarding and increasing access to them.

A number of MOWCAP Bureau members and Special Advisors were invited to participate and speak at the seminar, including: Misako Ito, who gave an overview of UNESCO’s Silk Road initiatives; Ray Edmondson, who shared an update on the current state of the MoW program; and Andrew Henderson, who outlined how MOWCAP acts to support regional cooperation for documentary heritage preservation/access.

An exhibition on Documentary Heritage Along the Silk Road was also held in conjunction with the seminar at the Fujian Provincial Archives. The exhibition featured documents from the National Archives of Chine, some of which had never been exhibited before.

The program from the seminar can be found here.

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