Memory of the World Programme
Memory of the World Programme
4.1 WORLD, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL REGISTERS
4.1.1 The Memory of the World Register will list all documentary heritage which has been identified by the International Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO as meeting the selection criteria for world significance. The listing will be maintained by the Secretariat. In due course, the Register will be made available on-line to all countries.
4.1.2 There will also be Regional and National Registers. Collections or fond s accepted for inclusion on National or Regional registers will have a title of the form 'Memory of Country' or 'Memory of the Region'. For example, 'Memory of Peru' or 'Memory of the Pacific'.
4.1.3 The Regional and National Registers will comprise documentary heritage of regional and national significance. Regional and National Registers are not inferior versions of the Memory of the World Register, but fundamental tools for safeguarding the documentary heritage of a region or nation. Not all documentary heritage is of world significance. But every region and nation has documentary heritage which is integral to the memory of those entities. Its preservation is as important to them as preservation of world heritage.
4.1.4 Documentary heritage may be listed on more than one register, that is, international, regional and national, provided it meets the relevant Selection Criteria. The Justification for Inclusion (see Appendix B) of the same documentary heritage in different Registers may differ: for example, papers relating to a European explorer may be significant in different ways for the memory of the world, the memory of his country of origin, and the memories of the countries he explored. However, International, Regional and National Committees should liaise to ensure that the identification of specific documentary heritage follows the same format in each register ( see Appendix B).
4.1.5 Decisions about inclusion of documentary heritage on a particular register - World, Regional or National - are separate from decisions about management of that documentary heritage. No formal limits to the number of registrations are prescribed.
4.2.1 The Memory of the World Register will comprise documentary heritage which meets the Selection Criteria for world significance (see 4.4). It is the primary list for the Memory of the World Programme.
4.2.2 The Memory of the World Register will be a significant document in itself, as well as an inspiration to nations and regions to identify, list and preserve their documentary heritage.
4.2.3 Considerable status will accrue to documentary heritage from listing in the Memory of the World Register. Listing will serve as a significant tool in raising awareness of governments, non governmental organizations, foundations and members of the public to the significance of their heritage and will assist in obtaining funds from governments and sponsors.
4.2.4 The Memory of the World Register may include the documentary heritage of minority cultural groups within nations, as well as the heritage of majority cultures.
4.2.5 The World Register may include documentary heritage which is geographically dispersed, that is neither nationally nor regionally based, such as material deemed to be of world significance which relates to a dispersed ethnic group.
4.2.6 Developments in technology have provided mechanisms for the reconstruction of national documentary heritage which has been dispersed or displaced. In addition, many countries now have movable cultural heritage legislation which encourages restitution of cultural material which has been illegally exported. The more information that is amassed about collections and holdings, the easier it will be to identify missing documentary heritage. The Memory of the World Programme may thus play an integrative role in the area of cultural reconstitution.
4.2.7 Where documentary heritage remains dispersed, the Memory of the World Registers should nevertheless assist access and preservation by listing physical locations.
4.3 REGIONAL AND NATIONAL REGISTERS
4.3.1 Individual nations are encouraged to set up their own documentary heritage registers, which will parallel the Memory of the World Register. National Registers identify the documentary inheritance of the nation.
4.3.2 The National Registers will also have the function of making governments and institutions aware of the total cultural heritage in the form of documentary heritage held by libraries, archives, museums, centres of education, cultural centres and private individuals and non-governmental organizations within the nation, and the need for a coordinated and integrated policy to ensure that endangered documentary heritage is preserved.
4.3.3 Groups of nations may compile Regional Registers to list the documentary heritage of the region. Regional Registers may be in addition to or as substitutes for National Registers. Certain nations with political ties or cultural affinities may choose to establish Regional rather than National Registers. They may also establish Regional Registers, in addition to their own National Registers, to list documentary heritage which is chiefly of regional rather than national significance. Regional Registers may also afford an opportunity for cultural minorities and sub-cultures within a nation to be appropriately represented.
4.4.1 Each register - World, Regional and National - must be based on clearly-defined criteria for assessing the cultural significance of documentary heritage. These criteria relate to influence, time, place, people, subject/theme, form and style, and social value. Documentary heritage may need to meet only one criterion for inclusion in the World Register, but it is more likely to be assessed by reference to several criteria.
4.4.2 Contextual Assessment: There is and can be no absolute measure of cultural significance. Accordingly, there is no fixed point at which documentary heritage qualifies for inclusion in the Register. All assessment is relative. Selection for inclusion in the Register will therefore result from assessing documentary heritage against the selection criteria and in the context of other documentary heritage. The International Advisory Committee will develop detailed specifications for applying the criteria.
4.4.3 Criterion 1 - Influence: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it had a major influence on the history of the world, transcending the boundaries of a national culture.
4.4.4 Examples include political and religious tomes which have helped shape the history of the world. The content of this form of documentary heritage is likely by definition to be well preserved. However, original versions are nevertheless major parts of the documentary heritage of the world.
4.4.5 Criterion 2 - Time: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it reflects in an outstanding way a period of momentous change in world affairs or makes an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the world at a particularly important time in its history.
4.4.6 Such change may be political, social, economic, technological, philosophical or religious, and may take place over a long or short term. For example, documentary heritage may be significant because it dates from a period of revolution or contact between peoples with contrasting cultures, or because it demonstrates a high degree of creative or technological achievement at a particular period.
4.4.7 Documentary heritage is not necessarily of great significance simply because it is old. The concept of antiquity is relative: some countries would consider documentary heritage dating back 100 years as recent. For younger nations, documentary heritage from a comparable period might be regarded as very old. In either case, the documentary heritage can be of world significance.
4.4.8 For example, audio-visual heritage is very recent in relative terms, but may nevertheless be highly significant because of its age relative to other audio-visual heritage. Documentary heritage from the beginnings of the cinema industry may be significant because it illustrates the earliest days of what is now a major worldwide industry. It may also be significant because of its content, relating for example to independence movements or the customs of a particular time and place.
4.4.9 Criterion 3 - Place: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it contains important information about a locality or region which made a crucial contribution to major developments in world history or culture.
4.4.10 Possible examples include documentary heritage relating to places which were especially significant during agricultural and industrial revolutions in various parts of the world, or which witnessed the birth of political, social and religious movements which had a major influence on the history of the world.
4.4.11Criterion 4 - People: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it has a special association with the life or works of a person or people who have made an outstanding contribution to world history or culture.
4.4.12 This includes documentary heritage created by, written to, or documenting the life of an individual or group of people who had a major impact on the history of the world.
4.4.13Criterion 5 - Subject/Theme: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it documents in an outstanding way an important subject or major theme of world history or culture.
4.4.14 For example, the Radziwill Chronicle project from the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg, which is one of the pilot projects for the Memory of the World Programme, has subject as a major category determining its significance. The Chronicle traces the origin of the peoples of Europe and the important events of their history. A rare example of an illustrated Russian medieval chronicle, its drawings and almost 600 miniatures reproduce some of the most important thirteenth century buildings in Europe. For its subject matter, its form and its rarity (see 4.4.21) it is of world significance.
4.4.15Criterion 6 - Form and Style: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it is an important example of an outstanding form or style.
4.4.16 This includes documentary heritage which exhibits aesthetic or stylistic characteristics which are highly valued beyond the boundaries of a single region or nation. It may also be significant because it represents a medium or a technology which has either disappeared or is fast disappearing.
4.4.17 Some examples of forms which are extraordinary and are endangered are palm leaf manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, and modern media which have been replaced by other forms in the rapid development of technology.
4.4.18 A pilot project for the Memory of the World Programme seeks to preserve and make accessible manuscripts and documents from the National Library in Prague. Beautiful manuscripts and early printed books are being transferred to digital form to avoid handling of these delicate and endangered documents, and to make them accessible through electronic means.
4.4.19Criterion 7 - Social Value: Documentary heritage is of world significance if it has outstanding social, cultural or spiritual value which transcends a national culture.
4.4.20 This is especially applicable to documentary heritage which relates to one of the world's major belief systems. For example, a specific political or religious document might not be especially significant in terms of form or content, but might nevertheless be regarded as profoundly significant by large numbers of people.
4.4.21Secondary Criteria: In addition to these seven major criteria, two further criteria should be taken into account. These may enhance the world significance of documentary heritage, though they are not sufficient in themselves to establish its significance.
(a) Secondary Criterion 1 - Integrity: The significance of documentary heritage may be enhanced if it exhibits an extraordinary degree of integrity or completeness.
(b) Secondary Criterion 2 - Rarity: The significance of documentary heritage may be enhanced if it is unique or extraordinarily rare.
4.4.22 Documentary Heritage with a Range of Values: Documentary heritage will probably have a range of values relating to two or more criteria. For example, if documentary heritage is significant because of its subject or its creator, it will often be significant for other reasons. If secondary criteria, integrity and rarity, are added, its cultural richness will be further enhanced.
4.4.23 Expert Advice: In assessing documentary heritage, the International Advisory Committee may seek expert advice from scholars, librarians, archivists and other professionals who have expertise relating to the content and form of the documentary heritage being assessed.
4.4.24 Selection Criteria for Regional and National Registers: The Selection Criteria described above may be amended by Regional and National Committees for use when establishing Regional and National Registers. It is however strongly recommended that the World register criteria are used as a model.
4.5.1 The nomination of documentary heritage and its selection for registration have no legal implications.
4.5.2 Memory of the World Committees should, under normal circumstances, ensure that owners and custodians of documentary heritage are willing to have their collections or holdings included on the relevant register. There may, however, be circumstances in which the cause of preservation may be assisted by registration, even though the owners or custodians object.
4.5.3 The International Advisory Committee will take immediate steps to reserve use of the Memory of the World name and logo in all countries.
