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2 February 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS - MEMORY OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON DIGITZATIONS AND PRESERVATION
UNESCO has called for papers for an international conference from 26 to 28 September 2012 in Vancouver (BC) Canada, to explore the main issues affecting the preservation of digital documentary heritage, in order to develop strategies that will contribute to greater protection of digital assets and help to define an implementation methodology that is appropriate for developing countries, in particular.
Full details are at http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/call_for_papers_mow_digital_age_en.pdf
25 November 2011
UNESCO EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTS NEW CHAIRPERSON
UNESCO’s Executive Board has elected Alissandra Cummins of Barbados as its Chairperson for 2012-2013. Ms Cummins, an acclaimed authority on Caribbean heritage, museum development and art, received 53 votes from the 58-member Board. Four countries abstained, and another was absent.
Alissandra Cummins has a long association with UNESCO. From 2004 to 2010 she served as President of the International Council of Museums, a leading UNESCO partner in cultural activities. A widely published author, she has also held high-level posts on a number of key UNESCO committees, including the World Heritage Committee and the International Advisory Committee for the Memory of the World Programme. Since 1985 she has held the position of Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.
UNESCO’s Executive Board oversees the execution of the programme adopted by the General Conference. It meets twice a year.
26 October 2011
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR MOWCAP REGISTER
Nominations of documentary heritage to the Asia Pacific Memory of the World Register are presently open.
The Register works on a biennial calendar and nominations for the current intake close on 30 November 2011. The nomination form and other details can be found at
http://www.unesco.mowcap.org/nominations.htm
and to help you prepare nominations you can read the new MOW Companion at
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/Register%20Companion.pdf
Nominations will be researched by the MOWCAP Register Subcommittee, and will be presented for decision at the next MOWCAP General Meeting, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2012.
For further information, please contact Ray Edmondson (ray@archival.com.au) or the Chair of the MOWCAP Register Subcommittee, Dr Rujaya Abhakorn (rujaya2000@yahoo.com)
24 October 2011
DEED OF SETTLEMENT FEATURES IN INNOVATIVE DISPLAY
The Deed of Settlement of the South Australia Company (inscribed on the Australian Memory of the World Register in 2004) has formed part of a large scale audiovisual installation in the Port Festival 2011 on 8-9 October. You can see the Deed at http://inhabited.illuminart.com.au/380
24 October 2011
CALLS FOR NOMINATIONS FOR MEMORY OF THE WORLD INTERNATIONAL REGISTER 2012/13
UNESCO is inviting new nomination proposals for inscription on its Memory of the World International Register, a list of library collections and archive holdings of world significance, which was established in 1997 to promote documentary heritage of universal value.
Full details can be found at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/news-and-in-focus-articles/all-news/news/calls_for_new_nominations_for_memory_of_the_world_international_register-6/
1 June 2011
NATIONAL ARCHIVES NAMED AS WINNER OF THE 2011 UNESCO/JIKJI PRIZE
UNESCO has announced the National Archives of Australia as the laureate of the 2011 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize for its work, which includes publications and innovative initiatives in the preservation of digital records.
The US$30,000 Prize, wholly funded by the Republic of Korea, is awarded every two years to individuals or institutions that have made significant contributions to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage.
The NAA has announced it will use the Prize to fund a paid work experience placement for a student of conservation, as an investment in the future of documentary heritage preservation.
The Prize-giving ceremony will take place in Cheongju City (Republic of Korea) on 2 September.
4 April 2011
NEW INSCRIPTIONS ON THE AUSTRALIAN MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER
At a function on Friday 1 April at the Allport Library, State Library of Tasmania, the Australian Memory of the World Committee announced the inscription of three new items on the Australian Memory of the World Register: William Buelow Gould’s Sketchbook of Fishes, the Sydney Theatre Playbill of 1796 and the Minute Books of Pre-Federation Australian Trade Unions.
Richard Flanagan, author of Gould's Book of Fish, spoke at the reception about his work and the Register, and paid a special tribute to Tasmanian archivists, curators and librarians. A record of his speech is published here.
Photos of the presentation of Certificates of Inscription.
17 March 2011
MEMORY OF THE WORLD IN HOBART
The UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Program will be conducting two events in association with the State Library of Tasmania on Friday 1 April. The first will be an afternoon workshop led by Ray Edmondson and Bob Pymm from the Memory of the World Committee, aimed at institutions that may be interested in nominating a document or a collection for the Australian Memory of the World Register. Following the Workshop, there will be a Reception at the State Library to announce the 2011 inscriptions to the Register.
For further information about the Workshop and the Reception, please contact Caroline Homer on caroline.homer[at]education.tas.gov.au
19 January 2011
AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS REGISTER OF DISASTER AFFECTED ARCHIVES AND ORGANISATIONS
The ASA is compiling a register of disaster affected archives and organisations in Australia. This register covers archival collections, current business records of organisations and the control and other records used to manage collections (for example: archival management systems, finding aids and recordkeeping systems).
The information from the Register of Disaster Affected Archives and Organisations in Australia (‘the Register’) will be used to assist Blue Shield Australia (www.blueshieldaustralia.org.au and www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Shield-Australia/) in determining the most effective response from the cultural heritage community in Australia. ALIA has already started a similar register for the library sector. This register is available at www.alia.org.au/disasterrecovery/.
The ASA will publish a summary of the Register on its website (www.archivists.org.au). The full register will be used by the ASA to inform the ASA Council as it plans its support for the archival and recordkeeping community in response to the current situation and for ongoing support in the event of other natural disasters. It will also be an invaluable resource in formulating the ASA’s and broader sector’s contribution to the various inquiries relating to the recent disasters.
If your archives or organisation has been recently affected by a disaster or you know of an organisation or archive that has been recently affected by a disaster, please let us know so we can add their details to the Register.
You may email your responses to events@archivists.org.au (with a cc to Jackie@cims.com.au)
The details we are seeking are brief and cover the following:
• The name of the organisation or archival collection (to be published)
• Contact name, email, phone and address
• Web address (to be published)
• Description of damage or loss - types of records, format (digital, photos, negatives, objects, books, videos, CD, etc.) volume of records, significant records lost, equipment damaged, premises damaged, etc. (if detailed, then only an overview will be published)
• photos of damage available (yes/no)
• Support required (e.g. funding, advice, materials, equipment, labour)
• Details of support required
• Date information provided (to be published)
• Follow up details and comments
For those who prefer to use a template, you may download one from www.archivists.org.au from tomorrow, Thursday 20 January 2011.
Kind regards
Jackie Bettington
Vice President
Australian Society of Archivists Inc.
www.archivists.org.au
0432 150 446
10 January 2011
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL MEMORY OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE
The Fourth International Memory of the World Conference will be held in Warsaw, Poland from 18-21 May 2011.
There's more information at the Conference website.
8 January 2011
UNESCO/JIKJI MEMORY OF THE WORLD PRIZE
UNESCO is inviting nominations for the fourth award of the UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize. This invitation is extended to all Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions, as well as to international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) maintaining official relations with UNESCO and whose work is in the field of preservation and conservation of documentary heritage.
All necessary information can be found at these links:
General information about the call for nominations for 2011
The Guidelines for Nominators and Adjudicators
Nominations should be submitted by completing the nomination form, adding all necessary documents and sending it (electronically or by post), no later than 31 January 2011 to:
Ms Joie Springer
Universal Access and Preservation Section
Information Society Division
UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15
France
Tel: (331) 45.68.44.97
Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83
Email: j.springer@unesco.org
21 December 2010
ICOM ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY 2011
The International Council of Museums has announced that 18 May will be the International Museum Day for 2011.
Every year since 1977, International Museum Day is held worldwide sometime around 18 May. From America and Oceania to Europe, Asia and Africa, International Museum Day aims to increase public awareness of the role of museums in developing society.
The theme for International Museum Day 2011 is Museum and Memory. Museums preserve memories and tell stories. They have in their collections numerous objects that are fundamental to the memory of the communities we live in. These objects are the expression of our natural and cultural heritage. Many of them are fragile, some endangered, and they all need special care and conservation. International Museum Day 2011 will be an opportunity to discover and rediscover your individual and collective memory.
Visit the Internation Museum Day 2011 site at http://network.icom.museum/imd2011.html
23 November 2010
REGISTER SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE UNESCO MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME MEETS IN PARIS
The Register Sub-Committee (RSC) of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme met in Paris between 17 and 19 November to consider a bumper load of over 80 nominations to the International Register, as well as other agenda items including a draft Companion to the General Guidelines written by Australian Committee member Ray Edmondson. The RSC's recommendations on the nominations will go to the International Advisory Committee for its consideration and the outcome will be decided at the 10th International Advisory Committee meeting in May 2011 and will be announced shortly after, once the new inscriptions are approved by the Director-General of UNESCO.
Australia is represented on the RSC by Ray Edmondson, who is the nominee of the Coordinating Council on Audio Visual Archive Associations (CCAAA) and Chair of MOWCAP, and by Ros Russell, former RSC Chair and currently Chair of the International Advisory Committee, and also of the Australian Memory of the World Assessment Sub-Committee.
The RSC at its Paris meeting in UNESCO's Bonvin building (left to right) Danielle Neirinck, ICA representative (France); Maria Liouliou, UNESCO Paris; Nada Itani, Arab States (Lebanon); Ros Russell, IAC Chair (Australia); Rujaya Abhakorn, MOWCAP goodwill patron and Asian region (Thailand); Joie Springer, Chief of Secretariat, UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, Paris; Jan Bos, RSC Chair and IFLA representative; Lourdes Blanco, Latin America and Iberia (Venezuela); and Ray Edmondson, CCAAA (Australia)
16 November 2010
THE AUSTRALIAN MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAM TO CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Tomorrow night the Program will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an event at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. The Program's Patron, Geraldine Brooks, has sent a message on this occasion:
"When the National Library of Bosnia was ablaze, shelled by deliberately targeted phosphorus bombs, I thought of Caliban in The Tempest, exhorting the rogues to steal away Prospero's books before they attacked him:
'Remember first to possess his books, for without them he's but a sot, as am I, and hath not one spirit to command.'
The despots, the ethnic cleansers, the Nazis and the inquisitors have always understood this: that our power as a people resides in our books, our cultural memories. In the Memory of the World Program, we are creating a powerful defence against those who would strip bare our civilization and leave us naked in the dark."
28 August 2010
CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS EXTENDED
At its Planning Day on 27 August the Australian Memory of the World Committee decided to extend the closing date for nominations for 2011 inscriptions to the Australian Register until 31 October 2010.
Nominations are accepted from institutions and individuals for documents or collections.
Go to http://www.amw.org.au/content/how-nominate to check the nomination criteria, and to download the nomination form.
And you can ask for help!
If you’d like advice on developing your nomination, contact a member of the Assessment Sub-Committee through http://www.amw.org.au/contact
6 July 2010
GERALDINE BROOKS ACCEPTS INVITATION TO BE PATRON OF THE AUSTRALIAN MEMORY OF THE WORLD COMMITTEE
The Australian Memory of the World Committee is pleased to announce that well known Australian author Geraldine Brooks has accepted the invitation to be Patron.
“As a newspaper reporter in Sarajevo during the siege of the city, I witnessed first hand the brutality of a war waged not only against a civilian population, but also against the idea that those civilians embodied: that people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds could live together harmoniously over centuries, creating a rich vibrant culture. In the war waged upon that idea, libraries were incinerated and cultural treasures lost. But the idea was not destroyed. Sarajevo survived as a multiethnic city. It is an inspiration, but also a reminder of the fragility and preciousness of the memories that make us human”, said Ms Brooks in accepting the patronage.
2 May 2010
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
UNESCO AUSTRALIAN MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER 2011
It’s time to start thinking about submitting a nomination of significant documentary heritage to the Australian Memory of the World Register.
Nominations for the next round close on 30 September 2010, and successful inscriptions will be announced in early 2011.
Nominations are accepted from institutions and individuals for documents or collections.
Go to http://www.amw.org.au/content/how-nominate to check the nomination criteria, and to download the nomination form.
And you can ask for help!
If you’d like advice on developing your nomination, contact a member of the Assessment Sub-Committee through http://www.amw.org.au/contact
14 October 2009
KEY DOCUMENTS IN AUSTRALIA’S EARLY HISTORY HONOURED BY UNESCO
Documents relating to Indigenous languages, the voyage of the First Fleet and the foundation of the colony of New South Wales, the convict system, and the establishment of private legal transactions in the growing colony have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Australian Memory of the World Register for documentary heritage of world significance.