Building Capacity for the Monitoring and Preservation of Documentary Heritage at Risk in South-East Asia

The JFIT-UNESCO initiative aims to support archive, libraries and museums in South-East Asia to preserve documentary heritage at risk. This will be done by developing and piloting a state of preservation monitoring mechanism for important collections as well as providing regional training to address key preservation issues, such as general restoration, utilization of paper materials and others.

Background

South-East Asia is home to a rich variety of documentary heritage – from palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions, photographs to film and many other media. This heritage carries values and knowledge that are essential for understanding the present and shaping a better future for all. However, despite the importance of this documentary heritage, many collections in Southeast Asia are exposed to natural disasters and unfavourable climate conditions.  

In the initial phase of this project between 2019 and 2020, UNESCO Bangkok carried out the survey “Build Capacity for the Monitoring and Preservation of Documentary Heritage at Risk in South-East Asia” in which memory institutions in the region provided data that were used to identify the main risks and threats to documentary heritage preservation, as well as to ascertain needs for capacity building, garnering data from 28 out of 30 institutions, representing a 93% response rate. The results of the monitoring of exercise conducted are compiled in the publication Memory of the World State of Preservation Report for Southeast Asia 2020.  

Following the survey report, the current phase of the project aims to develop technical capacity among archivists, librarians and museum professional in Southeast Asia to enhance the preservation of documentary heritage and its monitoring process. 



Implementation 

Based on the results of the survey from the monitoring exercise conducted in the Phase 1 survey, memory institutions in South-East Asia have identified disaster risk management as a major need for capacity-building. Furthermore, various threats to documentary heritage in the surveyed institutions, where humidity and floods are common, call for practical knowledge and skills in applied conservation and restoration for materials at risk.  

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