Past Meetings
Expert Meetings
First Experts’ Meeting (12-14 December 1994, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
First Special Experts Group Meeting (10-12 December 1997, Xiamen, China)
General Meetings
First MOWCAP General Meeting (17-21 November 1998, Beijing, China)
Second MOWCAP General Meeting (7-9 November 2005, Manila, the Philippines)
Third MOWCAP General Meeting (17-18 February 2008, National Library of Australia, Canberra)
Fourth MOWCAP General Meeting (8 – 10 March 2010, Macao Special Administrative Region of China)
Fifth MOWCAP General Meeting (14 – 16 May 2012, Bangkok, Thailand)
Sixth MOWCAP General Meeting (13 – 14 May 2014, Guangzhou, China)
Seventh MOWCAP General Meeting (18 – 20 May 2016, Hue, Vietnam)
Eighth MOWCAP General Meeting (29 May – 1 June 2018 Gwangju, Republic of Korea)
Ninth MOWCAP General Meeting (24 Nov – 26 Nov 2022, Andong, Republic of Korea)
Bureau Meetings
First MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (26-28 April 1999, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Second MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (12-15 March 2002, Kunming, China)
Third MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (9-10 December 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Fourth and Fifth MOWCAP Bureau Meetings ( 6th and 8th November 2005, Pasig City Philippines)
Sixth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (6 – 8 November 2006, Shanghai, China)
Seventh and Eighth MOWCAP Bureau Meetings (Canberra, Australia)
Third UNESCO International Memory of the World Conference
Ninth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – Bangkok, 2 to 4 February 2009
Tenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 7 March 2010, Macao Special Administrative Region of China
Eleventh MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 3 to 7 March 2011, Hanoi
Thirteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 12 to 14 March 2013, Phnom Penh
Fifteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 15 to 16 May 2015, Bagan, Myanmar
Seventeenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 19 to 21 July 2017, Tokyo, Japan
Eighteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 16 to 17 May 2019, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
International Workshop-Seminar – 8 January 2013 in Hanoi, Vietnam
First Experts’ Meeting (12-14 December 1994, Kuala Lumpur)
The MOW Experts’ Meeting for the Asia Pacific region was convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the auspices of UNESCO and the National Archives of Malaysia. It was attended by official delegates from 20 countries, 2 resource persons and 75 other participants as well as the UNESCO representative.
The meeting adopted a number of recommendations, urging all member countries in the region to establish national MOW committees, as well as setting up a MOW Regional Coordinating Committee. It recommended that necessary steps should be taken to seek appropriate representation of the Asia/Pacific Region in the International Advisory Committee. The Asia/Pacific Regional Committee was not established at that point.
First Special Experts Group Meeting (10-12 December 1997, Xiamen, China)
This meeting brought together 9 experts from 6 countries plus 7 observers from institutions within China, and a UNESCO representative. Among the recommendations adopted was a detailed action plan, including the establishment of a Regional Committee in the Asia/Pacific region.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes.
First MOWCAP General Meeting (17-21 November 1998, Beijing, China)
First MOWCAP General Meeting (17-21 November 1998, Beijing, China)
This meeting formally established the Regional Committee. It elected a Bureau, adopted objectives and terms of reference, and prepared a work plan. The Bureau was charged with the task of drafting a set of by-laws for the Committee.
It was further agreed that the initial Bureau’s terms of office would be 3 years (until 2001) and thereafter the Bureau would be elected for 4 years (to mirror the International Advisory Committee IAC). The full Committee would meet every two years and the Bureau annually.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Second MOWCAP General Meeting (7-9 November 2005, Manila, Philippines)
It was held in Manila , the Philippines and was attended by some 30 delegates from 15 countries including Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, Tajikistan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
The second general meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP) established the framework for the future growth of the Program in the region, adopted a set of statutes and operational rules, and put in place criteria for the Regional Register of documentary heritage.
The three-day meeting cum workshop was convened by the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, through the Philippines Information Agency, the UNESCO National Commission and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines. The occasion was attended by some 30 delegates from 15 countries including Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, Tajikistan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
The main outcomes of the Meeting were:
- Presentation of reports, including a region-wide assessment of the Program and the mentoring work of the Goodwill Patron, Dr Rujaya Abhakorn;
- Adoption of statutes and rules for MOWCAP, which will now meet every two years, with its bureau meeting held annually;
- Adoption of criteria for an Asia-Pacific Regional Register of documentary heritage, with the first inscriptions to be announced at the third MOWCAP meeting in 2007;
- Settling of a structure for the new MOWCAP website planned for launching in January 2006;
- Election of a new Bureau (to hold office until the 4th MOWCAP meeting in 2009) and establishment of subcommittees;
- Identification of a range of projects for which funding would be sought. Such included for example, a survey of audiovisual collections, and a scheme to safeguard the “Memory of the Tsunami” which swept South East Asia on 26 December 2004; and
- Identification of and encouragement to several new National Memory of the World Committees currently in the process of formation.
The workshop explored the practical issues in setting up and running National MOW Committees, and preparing nominations for the MOW Registers.
Here are photos and minutes from the meeting. A special report on progress with establishing MOWCAP was also presented and discussed (Annex E).
Third MOWCAP General Meeting (17-18 February 2008, National Library of Australia, Canberra)
The third MOWCAP General Meeting was hosted by the National Library of Australia, in Canberra in February 2008. The business of the meeting included decision-making on the first set of nominations to be inscribed to the Regional MOW Register.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Fourth MOWCAP General Meeting (8 – 10 March 2010, Macao Special Administrative Region of China)
The fourth MOWCAP general meeting, over 8 and 9 March, was by far the largest to date, attracting some 58 participants from 18 countries. Serving as the biennial meeting point for the national MOW committees across the region, the two day gathering reviewed the activities and strategies of MOWCAP, which are aimed at strengthening the work of libraries, archives and museums, raising awareness of the documentary heritage, and improving preservation and access skills and capabilities.
The new inscriptions to the MOWCAP Regional Register were a highlight of the meeting.
To support the growing MOWCAP programme, an enlarged Bureau and officers were elected to serve MOWCAP for the next four years. All of them serve in a personal capacity for the benefit of the whole, not as representatives or advocates of countries or groups.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes.
For papers presented at the General Meeting, please see Macau Methodology, Youth Delegate, Front of China Pamphlet, Back of China Pamphlet
Fifth MOWCAP General Meeting (14 – 16 May 2012, Bangkok, Thailand)
The fifth General Meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia Pacific was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 14 to 16 May 2012. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Education of Thailand and the Thai National Committee on Memory of the World Programme of UNESCO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Thailand and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Archaeolgy and Fine Arts.
This was the biennial gathering of representatives of national Memory of the World Committees in the Asia Pacific region, and of UNESCO National Commissions from countries which still do not have national MOW committees.
The agenda covered a general review of the program across the region and a symposium on preservation issues specific to the region. It included the announcement and presentation of a third group of inscriptions on the Asia Pacific MOW Register.
For details of the proceedings, please see the agenda and attached minutes.
Other papers available from the meeting are: Participants, Chairman’s Report, Secretary-General’s Report , Goodwill Patron’s Report , Register Sub-Committee’s Report , Country Reports
Sixth MOWCAP General Meeting (13 – 14 May 2014, Guangzhou, China)
The sixth General Meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia Pacific was held in Guangzhou, China on 13, 14 May 2014. The meeting was co-hosted by the State Archives Administration of China (SAAC), the Guangdong Province and the Guangzhou municipal government, with support from the UNESCO offices in Bangkok and Beijing.
This was the biennial gathering of representatives of national Memory of the World Committees in the Asia Pacific region, and of UNESCO National Commissions. Reports were given by Bureau members and by representatives of National Committees and National Commissions.
There were a record number of inscriptions to the MOWCAP register. The number of inscriptions had stood at 17 and during the 6th General Meeting another 16 inscriptions were added taking the total to 33 inscriptions. Dr Ray Edmondson stood down as the Chair after two terms and Mr Li Minghua was elected as the new Chair. New Bureau members were also elected.
A symposium on Memory of the World Register Nominations was held at the Guangzhou City Archives on 15 May.
For details of the proceedings, please see the agenda and attached minutes.
For the country reports, go to Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Iran, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Samoa,Sri Lanka,Tajikistan,Thailand,Vietnam
Other papers available from the meeting are: Participants, Chairman’s Report, Secretary-General’s Report , Bureau Elections
Seventh MOWCAP General Meeting (18 – 20 May 2016, Hue, Vietnam)
The seventh General Meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia Pacific was held in Hue, Vietnam from 18-20 May 2016. The meeting was hosted by the Monuments Conservation Centre with the permission of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee and in coordination with the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO. The meeting was convened by the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the MOWCAP Bureau.
Fourteen items were added to the MOWCAP register.
For the list of participants and the details of the proceedings, please see the Appendix A List of Participants Appendix B agenda and the minutes.
Other papers presented at the meeting were:Appendix C Chair’s Report , Appendix D Secretary-General’s Report , Appendix E Goodwill Patron’s Report
Appendix F For the country reports go to Australia, Cambodia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Thailand, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam,
Papers discussed at the 7th general meeting included:
6th general meeting minutes
UNESCO Recommendation on documentary heritage
Review of the Memory of the World guidelines and documents
Safeguarding documentary heritage
The Eighth MOWCAP General Meeting (29 May – 1 June 2018, Gwangju, Republic of Korea)
The eighth General Meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia Pacific was held in Gwangju, Republic of Korea, from 31 May – 1 June 2018. The meeting was hosted by the Asia Culture Centre and MOWCAP.
Ten items were added to the MOWCAP register.
The agenda documents the items discussed in each session. The draft
minutes record the decisions made by the General Meeting.
In session 2 the chairperson, secretary-general(a), secretary-general(b), goodwill patron and UNESCO senior advisor in Bangkok provided updates on MOWCAP activities since the last General Meeting in 2016.
Session 3 covered MOWCAP operations from 2016 – 2018. The papers presented and discussed in this session were: MOWCAP Office Roles and Responsibilities, MOWCAP Office Activity and Budget Plan for 2018 and MOWCAP Communications.
Session 4 was an overview of the international Memory of the World Programme. Papers presented and discussed were: An update from UNESCO on the review of the MoW Programme and a MOWCAP position paper. There was also a discussion on category 2 centres.
In session 5 countries presented their reports on Memory of the World activities since the last General Meeting. A record number of countries attended the General Meeting and provided annual reports. These countries were: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China and Macau SAR, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
A seminar on implementing the UNESCO Recommendation was held on the last day of the meeting. Here is the agenda for the seminar.
The Ninth MOWCAP General Meeting (24 Nov – 26 Nov 2022, Andong, Republic of Korea)
The ninth General Meeting of the Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia Pacific was held in Andong, Republic of Korea, from 24 Nov – 26 Nov 2022. The meeting was hosted by the Korean Studies Institute and MOWCAP.
Nine items were added to the MOWCAP register.
The draft minutes of the Ninth General Meeting are still being prepared. The following papers/presentations were tabled at the General Meeting . The appendices will be referred to in the minutes when they are published.
Appendix B The General Meeting agenda which documents the items discussed in each session was adopted
Appendix C The minutes of the eighth General Meeting
Appendix D The Secretary-General presented a summary of the key actions, projects and programmes undertaken by MOWCAP since the previous General Meeting
Appendix E Communications report
Appendix F Presentation on the proposed changes to the MOWCAP Statutes
Appendix G Process used to update the MOWCAP General Guidelines
Appendix H Budget report
Appendix I Report from UNESCO Bangkok on activities since the eighth General Meeting
Appendix J Strategic Overview of the Memory of the World Programme
Appendix K The country reports from national Memory of the World Committees and UNESCO National Commissions
Appendix L The Chair of the Register Sub-Committee reported on the processes used by the Register Sub-Committee prior to making recommendations on inscription.
First MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (26-28 April 1999, Kuala Lumpur)
Subject to approval at the next Committee meeting, the Bureau adopted a set of Statutes and Rules. A work program of MOWCAP for the year 1999-2000 was discussed and formulated. The second Regional Committee Meeting had also been tentatively set in December 2000.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Second MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (12-15 March 2002, Kunming, China)
The meeting adopted a work plan and the concept of a “Goodwill Ambassador” was pursued. The Bureau recognized that the Second Regional Committee General Meeting was well overdue and decided it should be held in Kuala Lumpur; this did not eventuate.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Third MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (9-10 December 2004, Kuala Lumpur)
A number of resolutions were adopted. These are still in force.
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Fourth and Fifth MOWCAP Bureau Meetings ( 6th and 8th November 2005, Pasig City Philippines)
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos.
Sixth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting (6 – 8 November 2006, Shanghai, China)
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes and photos
Third International ‘Memory Of The World’ Conference – Canberra, 19 To 22 February 2008
It had been 8 years since the last international conference (held in Manzanillo, Mexico in 2000) so this was a major event, surveying, celebrating and reassessing the Memory of the World Program. Like the MOWCAP meeting, it was hosted by the National Library of Australia. The theme, Communities and memories – a global perspective” attracted a strong representation from the Asia Pacific region. For more information on the outcomes of the conference and the papers given, visit the conference report by rapporteur Linda Young.
Seventh and Eighth MOWCAP Bureau Meetings – Canberra
No minutes are available from these meetings.
Ninth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – Bangkok, 2 to 4 February 2009
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes.
Tenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 7 March 2010, Macao Special Administrative Region of China
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes.
Eleventh MOWCAP Bureau Meeting – 3 to 5 March 2011, Hanoi, Vietnam
For details of the proceedings, please see the attached minutes.
Appendix 2
Appendix 3a
Appendix 3b
Thirteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 12 – 14 March 2013, Phnom Penh
For details of the proceedings, please see the agenda and the attached minutes.
For the country reports, please see Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand
Fifteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 15 – 16 May 2015, Bagan, Myanmar
For details of the proceedings, please see the agenda and the attached minutes
Seventeenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 19 – 21 July 2017, Tokyo, Japan
For details of the proceedings, please see Appendix 2 the agenda and the the minutes
Appendix 1 Minutes of the 7th General Meeting
Appendix 3 Chair’s Report
Appendix 4 Secretary-General’s Report
Appendix 5 Discussion Paper
Eighteenth MOWCAP Bureau Meeting 16 – 17 May 2019, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
For an overview of the discussions, please see the agenda (Annex A) and the Minutes of the 18th Bureau Meeting
Papers discussed at the meeting included the following:
Draft Minutes of the 8th General Meeting
Chair’s Report (Annex B)
Secretary-General Report (Annex C)
MOWCAP Grants (Annex D)
ACI/ACC MOWCAP Roles and Responsibilities (Annex E)
ACI/ACC MOWCAP Working Group Members (Annex F)
MoW Comprehensive Review Update (Annex G)
MOWCAP Draft Archives Policy (Annex H)
Communications Report (Annex I)
International Workshop-Seminar – 8 January 2013 in Hanoi, Vietnam
To take a further step in implementing MOW activities, The State Records and Archives Department of Viet Nam organized the International Workshop-Seminar Sharing experience on participating in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Program.
The International Workshop-Seminar brought together nearly one hundred participants from the archives, libraries, museums and institutions of Viet Nam, including the custodians of documentary heritage inscribed on MOW registers.
Full Report and photos
UNESCO article covering the event