Executive Board Hundred and ninetieth session 190 EX/16 PARIS, 13 August 2012 Original: English Item 16 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE EXPERTS MEETING ON STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME SUMMARY This document, presents the results of the experts meeting, convened by the Director-General, to discuss modalities for strengthening of the Memory of the World Programme as adopted by the General Conference at its 36th session (36 C/Resolution 59). After an in-depth evaluation of the Programme, including its shortcomings and achievements, the experts drew up a list of recommendations which they addressed to the Director-General and to Member States. These recommendations are attached. The Executive Board is invited to take note of the summary report and the recommendations emanating from the meeting, and to request the Director- General to ensure that all appropriate measures are undertaken for their follow-up. The financial and administrative implications that may be related as a result of action requested by the Executive Board fall within the parameters of document 36 C/5. Action expected of the Executive Board: Proposed decision in paragraph 15.
190 EX/16 INTRODUCTION 1. In 2011, UNESCO's General Conference adopted 36 C/Resolution 59 which had been submitted by Poland and co-sponsored by Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Israel, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. 2. The Resolution requested the Director-General to initiate reflection on evaluating and strengthening the Memory of the World Programme (MoW). It further requested her to convene a meeting of experts to analyse the results of the evaluations and formulate proposals, and subsequently to submit the report of the meeting with its recommendations to the Executive Board at its 190th session. 3. Evaluation and reflection were facilitated by surveys, especially those carried out within the past year by the National Commission for Latvia and by the Communication and Information Sector. These surveys revealed unanimous agreement on the importance of the MoW Programme and its role at international, regional and national levels. The need for its strengthening and promotion as the flagship global programme for documentary heritage preservation was also stressed, as was the necessity for greater awareness of its role and increased visibility of its action, which can only be ensured through the provision of secure and adequate resources. The establishment of educational programmes and training workshops, as well as promoting the creation of MoW Studies received considerable support. 4. The results of these surveys provided the background to the discussions of the experts meeting which took place in Warsaw from 8 to 10 May 2012 with the generous support of the Government of Poland. REPORT ON THE MEETING 5. The 50 experts from all geographic regions unanimously agreed that the Memory of the World Programme had become the recognized brand for documentary heritage and, in its 20 years of existence, had achieved considerable success by mobilizing the professional community and a range of stakeholders that include an enthusiastic community of volunteer experts, active in the area of documentary heritage, as well as several of UNESCO Member States. It had demonstrated a capacity to meet the evolving challenges of documentary heritage preservation, which unlike other types of heritage is constantly changing, and had developed tools and guides that contribute towards achieving the Programme's mission and objectives. 6. There was consensus that the Programme had reached a critical stage in its growth and that for it to maintain its capacity to manage the effective preservation of documentary heritage and to continually adapt to future trends and developments, reinforcement of all its aspects was indispensable, with particular emphasis to be given to four main areas: increased resources, cooperation, advocacy and building of capacities. Resources 7. Despite its many achievements, MoW remains understaffed and under-resourced for its assigned mission. Its small secretariat relies heavily on volunteers to attain its goals. In the current global economy, this has become unsustainable as retrenchments will inevitably impact on the ability to deliver. Furthermore, since the concept of document is constantly mutating, resources,
190 EX/16 page 2 along with preservation and management standards also need to evolve. The ephemeral nature of digital documentary heritage and its explosive growth as the transmission vector of knowledge translates into the necessity for adequate resourcing to ensure continuity of both digital and analogue documentary heritage. 8. Participants in the Third and Fourth International Memory of the World Conferences (Canberra, 2008 and Warsaw, 2011) debated whether a legal instrument could lead to enhanced resources. A working group commissioned in 2011 by the MoW International Advisory Committee to examine the issue of changing the legal status of MoW concluded that the status quo was inadequate and unsustainable. After presentations of the types of programmes currently existing within UNESCO and of the implications of different normative instruments, the experts expressed the view that a Recommendation was the most appropriate form of an instrument to address their concerns for the introduction or continuation of effective national documentary heritage policies, that would in turn, result in increased funding for the protection of heritage at all levels. They also committed to assisting the development of the instrument through their knowledge and skills in the area and their experience with the Memory of the World Programme. Cooperation 9. Strengthening of MoW also can be facilitated through greater cooperation with NGOs, programmes and others documentary heritage actors, and extending this collaboration to other potential stakeholders such as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) or Europeana where currently contact is minimal. The World Digital Library, which already maintains close ties to MoW, was singled out as a major mechanism to promote and provide access to documentary heritage across the globe. 10. In addition, cooperation between all MoW committees international, regional and national should be fostered as a means of ensuring a grass-roots approach to preservation, noting that while MoW cannot dictate policies and procedures, it can develop the framework that shapes national policy, which would strengthen institutional, legal, technical and capacity-building in support of preservation and access to documentary heritage. In particular, networking of national committees is a source of potential benefit to the Programme to build on the particular strengths of information institutions and heritage bodies in each country. Specific examples confirmed the driving force of national committees in changing public perception. 11. Synergies between UNESCO s programmes, especially with the World and Intangible Heritage, could be beneficial and the experts evoked a possible harmonization of their lists since documentary heritage underpins and corroborates the authenticity of sites, expressions and performances. Furthermore, the three lists serve to demonstrate the integral nature of heritage while respecting the specificities of each Programme. Advocacy 12. Despite its undisputed impact within the professional community and the increasing visibility that it enjoys, the Memory of the World has yet to attain a similar profile with the general public which remains oblivious that documentary heritage underpins the expansion of knowledge and sustainable development. The registers and the twentieth anniversary are key elements that can raise the profile of MoW and should form the basis of a more targeted plan to maintain momentum. Ambassadors or patrons in each country as well as stronger ties to companies in the private sector with shared interest in preserving heritage need to be actively encouraged as part of the MoW promotional strategy. Equally important were raising public awareness of MoW and promoting the value of documentary heritage through various forms including, but not limited to: films, publications, exhibition, educational programmes, and other mechanisms for sharing experiences and for problem-solving.
190 EX/16 page 3 Capacity-building 13. One major area to be developed concerns research and education which have the potential to become the most effective means of establishing the MoW Programme in global consciousness and activities. A MoW working group has been created to examine the development of concepts for institutionalizing education and research on MoW and world documentary heritage in an innovative and sustainable manner and operationalizing these concepts. 14. Greater use of interactive online training programmes, international studies, research and studies would be the basis of capacity-building initiatives, including involving youth either through academic research on education, or through personal initiatives in cooperation with schools or teachers. An e-learning programme for the Memory of the World is currently being explored as another possible foundation for capacity-building. DRAFT DECISION 15. In light of the above, the Executive Board may wish to adopt the following draft decision: The Executive Board, 1. Having examined document 190 EX/16, 2. Thanks the government of Poland for hosting the experts in Warsaw from 8 to 10 May 2012 noting with satisfaction that the meeting was attended by 50 experts from all regions; 3. Takes note that the meeting showed the determination of the experts to adopt and recommend all appropriate measures for strengthening of the Memory of the World Programme, thereby improving the protection of the documentary heritage of humanity; 4. Takes further note that the recommendations formulated by the experts, urge the Director-General, among others things, to propose to the Executive Board at its 190th session the need for the development of a Recommendation on preservation and access to documentary heritage; 5. Requests the Director-General to undertake a preliminary study of the technical and legal aspects on the desirability of a standard-setting instrument on preservation and access to documentary heritage for examination by the 191st session of Executive Board. 6. Further requests the Director-General to keep the Executive Board informed on a regular basis of measures taken to implement the other recommendations formulated by the experts.
190 EX/16 Annex ANNEX Recommendations of Experts Meeting, 8-10 May 2012, Warsaw, Poland The 50 experts participating in the meeting in Warsaw convened by UNESCO s Director-General agreed that: 1. On reaching its 20th anniversary and building on all the previous work, the Memory of the World Programme has become the internationally recognized brand and umbrella for documentary heritage in all its forms, analogue and digital. It provides a solid framework for international knowledge cooperation and the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage. It embodies the values of UNESCO s Constitution for international knowledge cooperation and solidarity by raising awareness of the value and significance of documentary heritage. 2. The success factors for UNESCO s sustainable leadership in this field through the Memory of the World Programme are: Effective mobilization of professional expertise and inter-institutional cooperation on national, regional and international levels; Continuous involvement and support from Member States; Registers, publications, and guidelines developed to publicize and advance the Programme s mission, goals and impact; Evolving foresight capacity towards emerging challenges in the fields of preservation, access and promotion of documentary heritage. 3. However, the success and expansion of the Programme, also enabled through a considerable effort by volunteer experts, has not been matched by adequate resources allocated to the Programme s operations and this makes it difficult to sustain the successes achieved over the past 20 years. 4. In the light of current and envisaged challenges, and in order to ensure the sustainability of and to strengthen the Programme, the Experts Meeting urges UNESCO to develop a normative instrument in the form of a Recommendation on preservation and access to documentary heritage. This Recommendation should be based on continued involvement of experts in the field, and guide efforts in the field of information preservation and access to documentary heritage, based upon the experience of the Memory of the World Programme. 5. Such an instrument would respond to the need for effective policy grounds in and for Member States regarding the preservation of and access to documentary heritage. It would also allow for upgrading and enhancing national legislative and implementation strategies as needed, alongside the strengthening and development of the Memory of the World Programme. 6. In order to launch the work process for developing a Recommendation on preservation and access to documentary heritage through the Memory of the World Programme, experts at the Warsaw meeting urge the Director General to propose to the Executive Board at its 190th session in autumn 2012 the need for a Recommendation on preservation and access to documentary heritage. Furthermore, a preliminary study of the technical and legal aspects relating to the desirability of a standard-setting instrument on preservation and access to documentary heritage is needed for
190 EX/16 Annex page 2 examination by the 191st session of Executive Board, for this proposal to be examined by the 37th General Conference in 2013. 7. In view of this procedure, experts at the Warsaw meeting are committed to contributing to the development of such a standard-setting instrument and to sharing their knowledge, skills and experiences in the field of promoting preservation and access to documentary heritage as well as to the strengthening of the Memory of the World Programme. 8. The participants in the Experts Meeting also propose to the Director-General the following steps for strengthening the Memory of the World Programme: Clearly and visibly reflect the Memory of the World Programme in UNESCO s strategic, budgetary and programmatic documents (C4 and C5) for 2014-2021; Secure adequate human and financial resources for the Programme Secretariat, including UNESCO s Regional and National Offices; Encourage cooperation between National Commissions for UNESCO and Memory of the World Committees and Advisory Bodies; Support regional structures within the Memory of the World Programme; Promote the Memory of the World Programme in various other relevant regional strategies and regional cooperative platforms, including for increased funding for the Programme (EU, African Union, Arab League, OAS, Mercosur, ASEAN etc.); Enhance inter-agency cooperation possibilities on documentary heritage and further strengthen cooperation with other UNESCO networks, initiatives and programmes, including UNESCO s networks in Education, Sciences and Culture; Ensure a stronger presence for the Memory of the World Programme in all UNESCO s communication and media strategies, including social media and UNESCO s webpage; Continue the strong cooperation between the Memory of the World and the Information for All Programme (IFAP) and its priority area on Information Preservation; Pursue synergies among all three heritage programmes (World Heritage, Intangible Heritage and the Memory of the World), including their common promotion and visibility on the UNESCO webpage and other publications (a one-stop-access point); Integrate the Memory of the World Programme and reflect its existing and potential partnerships in the overall UNESCO partnership strategy; Recognize that many of the annual UNESCO World Days or International Days have a documentary heritage dimension, and take advantage of opportunities to promote documentary heritage within existing frameworks; 9. The participants in the Experts Meeting also propose the following steps to the UNESCO Member States: Strengthen the cooperation of National Commissions with the Memory of the World Programme, and encourage the creation and the work of Memory of the World National Committees;
190 EX/16 Annex page 3 Provide adequate resources for the operation of the Memory of the World Programme at the national level; Encourage liaison with the World Digital Library by institutions in Member States that are custodians of listed documentary heritage; Facilitate education and research on Memory of the World and documentary heritage on all levels, and explore the possibilities to introduce Memory of the World Studies. Promote the Memory of the World Programme in national policy documents, including for increased funding for the programme; Encourage cooperation among relevant institutions for preservation and access of documentary heritage; Recognize the body of expertise within the Programme and seek advice from these experts on national policy relating to documentary heritage. Printed on recycled paper