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Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative that recognises documentary heritage of global importance. It aims to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections, and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity and increased accessibility to, and public awareness of, these items.
Following the establishment of the Memory of the World International Register, UNESCO and the Memory of the World Programme have encouraged the creation of autonomous national and regional committees as well as national and regional registers which focus on documentary heritage of great regional or national importance, but not necessarily of global importance.
The Memory of the World International Register is a list of the world's documentary heritage with outstanding global significance – such as manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, and library and archive holdings. It catalogues documentary heritage that has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, using the selection criteria "world significance and outstanding universal value." As well as raising awareness of this heritage, the register aims to promote its preservation, digitization, and dissemination by calling upon the programme's networks of experts. The program also uses technology to provide wider accessibility and diffusion of information about the items inscribed on the register.
The first inscriptions on the International Register were made in 1997. The various properties in the register include recordings of folk music; ancient languages and phonetics; aged remnants of religious and secular manuscripts; collective lifetime works of renowned giants of literature; science and music; copies of landmark motion pictures and short films; and accounts documenting changes in the world's political, economic, and social stage.
As of April 2025, 570 pieces of documentary heritage had been inscribed in the International Register.
The program is not without controversy. During the 2015 cycle, for example, there was a significant degree of conflict within East Asia, as registry with the MoW Program was becoming viewed as an approval of particular views of contested history, specifically with respect to the Nanjing Massacre and the comfort women.
Any organization or individual can nominate a documentary item for inscription on the International Register via UNESCO Member States through their National Commission for UNESCO. In the absence of a National Commission, the nomination is sent through the relevant government body in charge of relations with UNESCO, involving, if one exists, the relevant national MoW committee. Two proposals per UNESCO Member State are considered in each nomination cycle. There is no limit on joint nomination proposals from two or more UNESCO Member States.
The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO. During its meetings, the IAC examines the full documentation of the item's description, origin, world significance, contemporary state of conservation and other criteria for admissibility. The IAC recommends to the Executive Board of UNESCO the items proposed for inscription. The IAC is responsible for the formulation of major policies, including the technical, legal and financial framework for the program. It also maintains several subsidiary bodies:
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Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative that recognises documentary heritage of global importance. It aims to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections, and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity and increased accessibility to, and public awareness of, these items.
Following the establishment of the Memory of the World International Register, UNESCO and the Memory of the World Programme have encouraged the creation of autonomous national and regional committees as well as national and regional registers which focus on documentary heritage of great regional or national importance, but not necessarily of global importance.
The Memory of the World International Register is a list of the world's documentary heritage with outstanding global significance – such as manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, and library and archive holdings. It catalogues documentary heritage that has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, using the selection criteria "world significance and outstanding universal value." As well as raising awareness of this heritage, the register aims to promote its preservation, digitization, and dissemination by calling upon the programme's networks of experts. The program also uses technology to provide wider accessibility and diffusion of information about the items inscribed on the register.
The first inscriptions on the International Register were made in 1997. The various properties in the register include recordings of folk music; ancient languages and phonetics; aged remnants of religious and secular manuscripts; collective lifetime works of renowned giants of literature; science and music; copies of landmark motion pictures and short films; and accounts documenting changes in the world's political, economic, and social stage.
As of April 2025, 570 pieces of documentary heritage had been inscribed in the International Register.
The program is not without controversy. During the 2015 cycle, for example, there was a significant degree of conflict within East Asia, as registry with the MoW Program was becoming viewed as an approval of particular views of contested history, specifically with respect to the Nanjing Massacre and the comfort women.
Any organization or individual can nominate a documentary item for inscription on the International Register via UNESCO Member States through their National Commission for UNESCO. In the absence of a National Commission, the nomination is sent through the relevant government body in charge of relations with UNESCO, involving, if one exists, the relevant national MoW committee. Two proposals per UNESCO Member State are considered in each nomination cycle. There is no limit on joint nomination proposals from two or more UNESCO Member States.
The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO. During its meetings, the IAC examines the full documentation of the item's description, origin, world significance, contemporary state of conservation and other criteria for admissibility. The IAC recommends to the Executive Board of UNESCO the items proposed for inscription. The IAC is responsible for the formulation of major policies, including the technical, legal and financial framework for the program. It also maintains several subsidiary bodies: