The Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific are pleased to announce that the 10th MOWCAP General Meeting will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 6 to 10 May 2024, generously hosted by the Ministry of Culture of Mongolia and the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO.
10th MOWCAP General Meeting Programme 6-10 May 2024
List of Hotels in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
For more information or to register, please contact mowcapgm2024@gmail.com.
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.
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).
The 2nd Inter-regional Conference for the Memory of the World (MoW): Preserving & Providing Access to Digital Heritage was held from the 5-8 November, 2019, in Gwangju and Daegu, Republic of Korea. The conference was organised by UNESCO Bangkok with the support of the Asia Culture Center (ACC), the Asia Culture Institute (ACI), the Commemorative Association of the National Debt Redemption Movement, and the Memory of the World Committee for the Asia Pacific (MOWCAP).
The conference brought together over 100 delegates and speakers from 28 countries, including: Australia; Bhutan; Cambodia; Canada; Côte D’ivoire; Chile; China; Egypt; Indonesia; Iran; Jamaica; Japan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Malaysia; Mexico; Mongolia; Myanmar; Philippines; the Republic of Korea; Samoa; Senegal; Singapore; Switzerland; Vietnam; the United Kingdom; the Unites States of America; and Uzbekistan. A majority of the delegates are members of the MoW Committees from Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa
Within the overall framework of the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage Including in Digital Form (2015), the conference aimed to bring together experts and MoW Committees from Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa to discuss strategies and initiatives for the preservation and access to digital heritage, including the latest policy tools and guidelines.
In addition, the meeting aimed to 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).
The conference program can be accessed here:
The conference proceedings can be accessed here:
The National training workshop on “Awareness raising on UNESCO Memory of the World Program” organized by Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO in cooperation with People’s Committee of Bac Giang province opened this morning, September 12, 2019, at Bac Giang city.
Attending the workshop were Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Member of Central Party Committee, Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO; Mr. Michael Croft, UNESCO Head of Office in Vietnam, PhD. Vu Thi Minh Huong, Vice Chairperson of UNESCO Memory of the World Committee of Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP), Mr. Andrew Henderson, MOWCAP Secretary General, Ms. Helen Jarvis, Acting Chairman of the Sub-Committee for Registration of Documents MOWCAP, Mr. Le Anh Duong, Vice Chairman of Bac Giang People’s Committee and 130 representatives from museums, archives and libraries from Bac Giang province and across Vietnam.
The seminar will be run from September 12-13 2019, and will include a site visit to the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda woodblock collection, inscribed on the MOWCAP register in 2012: https://mowcaparchives.org/items/show/94
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.
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).
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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.
The Pacific Action Plan was initially developed at a workshop held on Wednesday 6 September 2017 in Suva, Fiji. The workshop was held in conjunction with the PARBICA (Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives) biennial meeting and was made possible through the support of PARBICA and funding from the Asia Culture Centre.
Delegates who attended all or part of the workshop were from Australia, Federated States of Micronesia (including YAP, Ponhnpei ), Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
Following the workshop there was consultation with other Pacific documentary heritage experts.
Information on all the action plans can be viewed here
Countries of Western and Central Asia such as Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan share cultural and historical commonalities. These commonalities are reflected in the documentary heritage of the region such as the Medieval manuscripts on medicine and pharmacy kept by the Institute of Manuscript of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences or the Old Assyrian Merchant Archives of Kültepe from Turkey, already inscribed into the UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MoW) Register. The shared history and the shared documentary heritage enable also joint nominations to MoW.
In a view to strengthen regional cooperation amongst these countries for the preservation of and access to documentary heritage and within the framework of UNESCO’s 2015 Recommendation, a workshop was organized by the UNESCO Office in Tehran, the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and the National Library and Archives of Iran on 28 and 29 August 2017.
Opened by Dr Ashraf Boroujerdi, Head of the National Library and Archives of Iran and Chairperson of the Iranian MoW Committee, the workshop was attended by the MoW representatives from seven countries of the sub-region as well as members of the Iranian MoW Committee, including the Library of the Islamic Parliament of Iran, the Centre for Promoting Documentary Heritage, the Iranian Cultural Heritage, the Handcrafts and Tourism Organization and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Facilitated by Ms Misako Ito, Adviser for Communication and Information at UNESCO Bangkok, and Dr Roslyn Russell, Chairperson of the Australian Memory of the World Committee, the workshop explored opportunities for regional collaboration for Memory of the World, including the mechanisms for joint nominations.
In her opening remarks, Ms Esther Kuisch-Laroche, Director and Representative of UNESCO Tehran Office, reminded that the UNESCO MoW programme expresses “the great humanist idea that people from all cultures and faith can unite around common heritage”. Talking about the MoW Register, she added that it “is not just a list of marvelous documents. It is a vision for peace, embodied in maps, books and manuscripts, with the power to change the minds of men and women, to shape a different future for all.”
The UNESCO MoW programme was created in 1992 to protect and promote world’s documentary heritage. The workshop in Tehran resulted in the adoption of a Regional Cooperation Plan for the Implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on Documentary Heritage in Western and Central Asia.
Participants of the regional workshop on UNESCO Recommendation on Documentary Heritage at the National Library and Archives of Iran © UNESCO
regional-cooperation-plan-implementation-unesco-recommendation
The symposium is the first global event of its kind. It starts on 8 May with the aim of developing an action plan, for Southeast Asian countries, for the implementation of the landmark UNESCO Recommendation on documentary heritage.
All sessions of the symposium will be streamed live on UNESCO Bangkok’s Facebook page (www.Facebook/UNESCOBKK). Detailed information about the symposium, including the agenda is available here.
