The African perspective: Memory of the World , presented by Ms Ellen Ndeshi Namhila

The paper illustrate through the case of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon that Africa has a rich and unique oral, documentary, musical and artistic heritage to offer to the world. However most of this heritage was burned down or captured during the wars of the scramble for Africa, and what had survived by accident was later intentionally destroyed or discontinued during the whole period of colonialism. In spite of this, the Memory of the World Register has so far enlisted 158 inscriptions from all over the world, out of which 12 come from 8 African countries . Also, while all UNESCO regions have Regional Committees on Memory of the World, Africa remains the only region that has not formed a regional committee to date. This paper will attempt to explore the reasons for the apathy from the African continent, within the framework of definitions and criteria for inscribing into the register. It will illustrate the breakdown and historical amnesia of memory and remembrance of the African heritage within the context of colonialism and its processes that have determined what was considered worth remembering as archives of enduring value, and what should be forgotten deliberately or accidentally. The paper argues that the independent African societies emerging from the colonial regimes have to make a conscious effort to revive their survived cultural and historical heritage before it gets extinct to Africa and to the World.

The Arab world and the collective memory, presented by Mme Nada Itani

This paper describes the perspective of the Arab states in relation to the Arab collective memory. It brings to light the less conservative point of view of modern history in relation to the national Arab memories. It aims at highlighting obstacles and barriers in the Arab societies to bridge the information gap, through a description of an ambitious project `The memory of the Arab world.' Moreover, it describes the current status of the Arab states and their contribution to the Memory of the World programme and it draws the attention to the factors that could undermine a more efficient role in the programme.

Audiovisual documentation and its role in the transmission of knowledge, presented by Dr Wim van Zanten

One of the key issues in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage is the transmission of knowledge. I shall discuss how audiovisual recordings could play a role in the transmission of knowledge about performing arts. The documentation of intangible cultural heritage is not the same as passing on the repertoire of a performing art. However documentation could enhance, for instance, visibility in- and outside the community concerned. Further, it may be used for analysis and support the process of transmission. Therefore the documentation may play a significant role in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, if it has been carried out in the right way.

Cultual diversity and human rights, relevance to Memory of the World, presented by Professor Willian (Bill) Logan

UNESCO engages with its member states in projects aimed at safeguarding cultural heritage as a key part of a campaign to protect the world’s cultural diversity. A human rights strand has developed in UNESCO’s thinking that seeks to provide a philosophical and legal basis for achieving greater respect for cultural difference. The Memory of the World programme sits within the UNESCO framework of cultural heritage programs alongside those relating to heritage places, intangible heritage and museums. There are many points of overlap between these various forms of cultural heritage, including their interface with human rights issues. Closer linkage between the four programme areas might lead to new ideas and activities as well as achieving useful economies of effort.

Digital Preservation: the need for an open source digital archival and preservation system for small to medium sized collections, presented by Mr Kevin Bradley

Though the solution to the problems of digital preservation of all types of digital objects is a convoluted and difficult problem, the sustainable preservation of simple digital materials, such as sound or images, is quite well understood. However, though the processes are understood for this subset of the digital heritage, simple, complete and affordable tools to undertake all the preservation tasks are not available. Thus small collections that exist to preserve such content do not have the tools to undertake that process. As a first step in addressing this issue the Memory of the World Sub Committee on Technology released a document called Towards an Open Source Repository and Preservation System: Recommendations on the Implementation of an Open Source Digital Archival and Preservation System and on Related Software Development which argues that many of the components of such a possible system exist, but that there is a need to develop a software package that draws together the components, and to build a support community around it. The document lays out a broad specification for such a tool and suggests where development is needed. This talk will discuss the findings described in the document and describe developments and plans to achieve its aims.

Digitisation as a preservation strategy, presented by Mr Jonas Palm

When the possibilities of digitisation became apparent for a broader user group in the early 1990s the first thought among many archivists, librarians and museum curators was` Yes! Let’s digitise everything. Then we will be able get rid of all the troublesome glass negatives etc.' Others thought that anyone could scan anything. `I want the entire staff to have a scanner on their desk so they can digitise as soon as they have a moment of spare time' one library director said. We know now these assumptions were wrong, but the road to insight has been winding and bumpy. The use of digitisation in preservation strategies needs thorough planning and custom design to fit in a given context as well as budget.

Digitising and handling Indigenous cultural resources in libraries, archives and museums, presented by Dr Alex Byrne

Indigenous cultural resources expose long memory trails which extend from understandings of origins to engagement with contemporary challenges. The tangible traces of aeons old intangible experience, they include practical and ceremonial artefacts housed in museums, sites of cultural significance, testimony and stories collected in libraries and records of experience deposited in archives. Many feature images and other elements which may be culturally bound, requiring sensitive and informed handling. Curation of Indigenous cultural resources, including digitisation, raises special and complex issues which go beyond the usual concerns of professional practice, both challenging professional norms and demanding appropriate protocols.

A fragmented mirror: The European and North American perspective on the Memory of the World Programme, presented by Mr Jan Bos

In most European and North American countries there is a clearly growing interest for cultural heritage, including documentary heritage. Gutenberg and Shakespeare have been elected ‘Men of the Millennium’. LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries, has issued an important Statement of Principles on Special Collections, also endorsed by the IFLA RBMS Section. However these developments have not yet resulted in a greater brand awareness of the Memory of the World – at least not in all these countries. A short survey has indicated that people who have been involved in Memory of the World activities tend to have too optimistic a view about its reputation.

How can the International Committee for Literary Museums (ICLM) help promote the Memory of the World Programme?, presented by Mr Erling Dahl jr and Professor Lothar Jordan

The presentation reflects some means of giving information about the programme through its members. It focuses the questions: What kind of information about a registered document would be good for journalists, museum professionals and other users? What type of presentation (internet, CD, book) and type of commentary is necessary for users all over the world to understand the importance, role, singularity, and so on, of a Memory of the World document? In addition we plan to present a film trailer (3 minutes). The presentation develops a three year plan for realising the objectives and possible results of the discussion.

IFLA and the UNESCO framework for Memory of the World, presented by Dr Alex Byrne

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the peak global organisation for libraries and information services, has long held a particular focus on the conservation and preservation of documentary heritage. The special role of IFLA and its sister organisation the International Council on Archives (ICA) is recognised in the statutes of the International Advisory Committee for the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme which were approved by the Executive Board of UNESCO in May 1996. Close cooperation between IFLA and UNESCO, especially through the IFLA Core Programme for Preservation and Conservation (PAC), has fostered the development of Memory of the World.

The illusion of the tangible: music and its recordings, presented by Dr Anthony Seeger

This paper takes a rather extreme position with the intention of stimulating discussion. Many of us have become so used to listening to audio recordings, or to viewing performances through someone else’s camera lens, that we have forgotten the great gap that exists between music and its recorded manifestations. Music is not just those sounds that can, under some situations be satisfactorily recorded onto tangible media and reproduced on playback devices of varying quality. Music is an intention to make meaningful sounds. it is the wisdom behind the construction and use of significant sound producing devices. it is the movement of the body to produce and accompany the sounds. Essential to most music are the emotions evoked through its production, appreciation and performance as well as a set of aesthetic ideas that govern these. Emotions and interpretation vary from community to community and often vary according to age, gender, and status. The artifacts of sound—the musical instruments and audiovisual recordings of performances—are not the same as live performances of music within communities. Numerous studies have shown how recording media have shaped the way music is understood in the age of mechanical reproduction, but it is very important to avoid the illusion that recorded sound is the same as musical performance. Recordings do provide memory of oral traditions no longer performed, and for this reason must be documented and preserved, but they are not the same as music. Ideas, meanings, values and aesthetics are lost in existing forms of recording. The safeguarding of the musical traditions and languages of the world requires attention both to the intangible aspects of sound production as well as the reduced representation of them fixed on endangered tangible media and sound producing artifacts.

The Information for All Programme (IFAP), presented by Dr Dietrich Schueller

The Information for All Programme of UNESCO was established in 2001 to follow the General Programme of Information (PGI) and the International Informatics Programme (IIP). Because of the central importance of modern communication and information technologies (ICTs) for the development of education, culture and science at large and hence for all sectors of UNESCO, this programme was established to advise the Director General and the secretariat though its Intergovernmental Council and Bureau on the latest development of ICTs in relation to UNESCO's mission. One of IFAP's priority areas is information preservation, with Memory of the World in its core.

International registers, presented by Ms Roslyn Russell

This paper will explain the way the Register Sub-Committee is composed and the process it undertakes when assessing nominations to the International Register. Changes over the last few years in the composition of the Register Sub-Committee and to the guidelines are directed towards achieving an International Register that will reflect the nature and extent of documentary heritage of world significance. The paper will explore initiatives by the Memory of the World programme to ensure that significant documentary heritage from all geographical and cultural regions of the world is proposed and nominated, and then evaluated and inscribed on the International Register.

Landscape and memory, presented by Emeritus Professor Ken Taylor

One of our deepest needs is for a sense of identity and belonging and a common denominator in this is human attachment to landscape and how we find identity in landscape and place. Landscape therefore is not simply what we see, but a way of seeing: we see it with our eye but interpret it with our mind and ascribe values to landscape for intangible – spiritual – reasons. Landscape can therefore be seen as a cultural construct in which our sense of place and memories inhere. Critical to this has been the increasing attention given to the study of cultural landscapes, even to the extent of recognition in 1992 of World Heritage Categories of outstanding cultural landscapes. The paper explores some of the associated ideas of landscape and memory and how landscape permeates much of our thinking of who we are.

Manuscripts and Indian knowledge systems: the past contextualising the future, presented by Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan

The paper seeks to examine the significance of India’s ancient knowledge systems in contemporary life. India has a rich tradition of intellectual inquiry, and a textual heritage that goes back to several hundreds of years. In an attempt to probe how India’s knowledge systems may become the foundation for future research, the paper is set in the context of the work done by the National Mission for Manuscripts, India from 2003 to 2008. The paper also probes issues relating to the access, documentation of manuscripts and how sharing and dissemination of information can be facilitated through the appropriate use of the digital technology.

Memory of the World 2008 – Finding contemporary expression for a great concept in New Zealand and the Pacific, presented by John Mohi

The paper explores the impact of the electronic revolution on the Memory of the World objectives. It addresses a range of user perspectives and behaviours, including those of education groups, diaspora, indigenous peoples and travellers, all seeking credible sources of information. It considers the range of options for accessing information in nations that are developed, in transition or developing, and explores the rapid increase of new user-driven alternatives. The paper draws mostly on the New Zealand experience.

Memory of the World and intellectual property, presented by Dr Shubha Chaudhuri

The Memory of the World Programme is a critical initiative in times when documentary heritage held in archives and museums are threatened in a number of ways. As is known the Memory of the World programme supports the digitization, access and dissemination of these materials, assuring rights of ownership, cultural sensitivities and adherence to the law. However putting these ideals in practice brings up a host of challenges that vary across cultures and regions and are hard to deal with in a universal manner. This presentation will provide a perspective on issues of fieldwork and archiving from my work in India - an individual and institutional perspective of the challenges.

The Memory of the World Programme in China, presented by Mr Li Minghua

The paper gives a brief review about what the Chinese National Committee of Memory of the World has done. In 1995 the Chinese National Committee of Memory of the World was formally established to carry out the programme in China. Then in 2000 the State Archives Administration of China decided to include the work of the Memory of the World programme in its working plan as a scientific research project, delineated the scope of Chinese documentary heritage and set up the selection criterion for the Chinese National Register of Memory of the World. Measures have been taken to constantly strengthen the preservation of archives as follows: Firstly, to carry out the work of recovering and preserving the archives of national importance at the national level; Secondly, to excise divided levels of management over the permanent archives kept by the state archives at different levels; Thirdly, to centralize the management of precious and rare documents and to give them special care in terms of conditions and finally, to set up National Catalogue Centres to grasp the distribution of historical archives for better management and preservation.

Memory of the World Programme - how can it achieve greater media recognition and public status? presented by Ms Marsali Mackinnon

Public interest in heritage and history is higher than it has been for years. is UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme taking full advantage of this trend to achieve greater media recognition and public status? If not, why not, and what can be done about it? South Pacific regional media specialist and former Australian diplomat Marsali Mackinnon addresses this question from three perspectives: a journalist, an Australian government bureaucrat and a marketing consultant. The paper then offers some suggestions to enhance the Memory of the World’s public recognition and status,

Memory of the World: the CCAAA perspective, presented by Ms Jacqueline von Arb

In just one century, audiovisual media has revolutionized society. For all its impact, the world’s audiovisual heritage still requires a major preservation commitment, lest the challenges of decay, obsolescence, lack of expertise and training and the world’s migration into a digital domain, leave a century of audiovisual documentation forever `in the dark'. The CCAAA is the expert body on audiovisual heritage. It works, not only for its preservation and accessibility, but also on increasing the awareness within governments, the archival community and society, of the dangers of not doing enough, soon enough, to ensure that the audiovisual heritage is preserved for future generations. The CCAAA sees the Memory of the World as a powerful tool to achieve those goals and looks forward to supporting and enriching the programme.

The Memory of the World Programme: its aims and architectures, presented by Ms Joie Springer

The Memory of the World Programme was created by UNESCO as its flagship project to ensure protection of endangered documentary heritage and enable wider access to it. Designed to be a global undertaking, the Programme operates on three levels -international, regional and national- to build awareness of the need for urgent and continual action to preserve this heritage and to coordinate measures for its successful implementation. It is closely related to similar heritage preservation programmes within UNESCO whose overall objectives are to encourage the transmission of the outputs of cultural creativity and endeavours to future generations.

The Memory of the World Programme: The International of Archives perspective, presented by Mr Ken Hall

The paper reviews the reasons for the caution shown in the past by the International Council on Archives concerning the Memory of the World Programme, with particular reference to the International Register. It explains that the particular characteristics of archives made it difficult with the concept of picking out particular items for registration. The paper explains the discussions that have led to an agreement which will allow the archival community to give its full support to develop the Memory of the World Programme.

Memory of the World - the Pacific perspective, presented by Mr Setareki Tale

The paper presents the views held by the Pacific Islands in relation to the Memory of the World - what constitutes the memory of the world? There is a need to broaden the scope of the Memory of the World to allow cultures of oral tradition to feature in the programme. The significance of the programme cannot be overstated. In the Pacific region however, to ensure the long term viability of such programmes, our concerns are a little more immediate. There is a need for resourcing and skills enhancement of those responsible for the preservation of our documentary heritage to enable us to satisfy the requirements of the programme, and in an arena of competing priorities, the paper offers suggestions on possible ways forward for the programme to gain recognition.

MOWLAC: Privileging memory in Latin America and the Caribbean, presented by Ms Elizabeth Watson

This paper will examine the Memory of the World Programme from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective.

The National Recording Project for Indigeneous Performance in Australia: using digital resources to support endangered traditions, presented by Professor Allan Marett

This paper outlines the history, present activities and future plans of the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia, a project that aims to record, document and archive the major traditions of Indigenous music and dance in Australia and to make them available in local Indigenous communities in culturally appropriate ways. Particular attention will focus on a new proposal to train local Indigenous people to record and document their own traditions and the development of new digital infrastructure to support the preservation and ongoing viability of these highly endangered tradition.

Potentials and pitfalls: issues and challenges for the Memory of the World registers, presented by Mr Ray Edmonson OAM

This paper examines the roles of the national, regional and international registers, their relationship to each other and perceived levels of prestige. It revisits fundamental definitions and looks at categories and types of documentary heritage that are under-represented or missing entirely from the registers. It looks at the under-utilised dimension of `lost and missing heritage' and at regional and chronological imbalances. It proposes ways of addressing perceived problems in all these areas.

Preserving memories: India's experience through the National Mission for Manuscripts, presented by Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan

The memories and ideas from our past are recorded in manuscripts handed down to us through centuries. India’s estimated five million manuscripts are marked by their variety and richness. Scattered in public and private collections, they were untll recently unidentified and undocumented. The presentation focuses on the challenge taken up by India to revitalize its knowledge heritage through a unique strategy of setting up of a mission - the National Mission for Manuscripts - to locate, document, preserve and revitalize the manuscript wealth of India. It would highlight its several programmes, including surveys, cataloguing (one million manuscripts), conservation, digitisation, research and outreach.

Progress report on the development of a methodology for complementing the three UNESCO programmes - intangible, tangible and documentary heritage, presented by Ms Susanne Ornager

The core question is Why do we want a common methodology?, and the short answer is that we want to demonstrate a synergy between the programmes. To clarify let us utilize a metaphor. A jigsaw represents a full picture but when we start playing the picture is scattered into multiple parts. One piece shows nothing but more pieces provide a glimpse of the full picture. An idea is that by looking a one list it can be linked up to either inscribed sites and items on the register, or it may suggest sites and documentary heritage which should be safeguarded according to these instruments.

Socio-technical and socio-cultural challenges of audio and video preservation, presented by Dr Dietrich Schueller

Audio and video documents are the most significant primary sources of linguistic and cultural diversity. Although the technical solution of their long-term preservation by subsequent digital content migration has been developed and internationally accepted over the past two decades, the paper explains why the greater part of this audiovisual heritage is still at risk of getting lost. Neither stakeholders, governments, nor the public at large seem fully to be aware of the logistic and financial implications to preserve these documents in the long-term. Additionally, cooperative models, the only viable solution for success are widely met with mistrust.

To be or not to be: what are the greatest challenges for the Memory of the World programme? presented by Ms Alissandra Cummins

Pierre Ryckman's 1996 statement that a National Library ‘is a place where a nation nourishes its memory, and exerts its imagination - where it connects with its past and invents its future' provides the stimulus for examining the role of UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme in the marking and, in some sense, making of memory within communities. The ‘re/construction’ of national and regional consciousnesses, voices ,values and identities questions traditional views where particular forms are valued as having primacy as sources for historical information, relegating others to a lower status on the scale of evidentiary importance. In the context of negotiating these tensions, to what extent has Memory of the World succeeded in mediating/nuancing the biases which often inform the discourse of selection, and opening our minds to the need to restore the dignity of ‘worth’ to the disenfranchised? This paper will examine the challenges: resources and relevance accorded the programme to date and considers whether strategies to achieve resonance and respect will assure its sustainability in the future.

What being on the Australian Memory of the World Register has meant to the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, presented by Ms Maggie Shapley

In 2003 the archives of the Australian Agricultural Company were added to the Australian Memory of the World Register. The company is the oldest pastoral company in Australia, beginning operations in 1824 and is still operating. Its records were deposited in the Archives of Business and Labour in the 1950s through the efforts of Professor Noel Butlin. The Noel Butlin Archives Centre as it became known, was threatened with closure several times from the mid-1990s until 2001, and it was treasures such as the Australian Agricultural Company collection its supporters rallied to save.