APSIG Newsletter

Memory of the World come to Canberra

Communities and Memories - a global perspective : Preliminary announcement The third UNESCO International Memory of the World Conference will be held in the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 19-22 February, 2008.

In the 15 years since the UNESCO Memory of the World programme was established much has been achieved. The time is now ripe to celebrate its many successes, to identify its shortcomings and to propose potential improvements.

The Conference will be held in association with representatives from the Intangible Cultural Heritage sector and will be preceded by a meeting of the Regional Memory of the World Committee for the Asia-Pacific Region (MOWCAP) on 17-18 February. The conference program is now being planned around five key topics:

1. Memory of the World in the UNESCO framework - examining its relationship to other relevant UNESCO activities
2. Unravelling the Registers - how effectively the range of international, national, and regional registers fulfil the aims of the programme
3. Preservation and access - taking a fresh look at technical and practical issues
4. Sustaining the programme - ideas, strategies and experiences helping Memory of the World to grow
5. Evaluating success - identifying gaps, inconsistencies and inequities in the programme and proposing solutions.

Eminent invited speakers will deliver keynote papers to open up these topics and ample discussion time will allow active contributions from all conference participants. The final day will be devoted to workshops examining issues such as determining significance, submitting nominations, and establishing and developing national committees.

Preliminary information is available at http://www.amw.org.au where you may register your interest in the conference and receive updates as the program develops.

Contact: Alan Howell, Website Manager, UNESCO Australian Memory of the World program at alan.howell@preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au