Memory of the World Programme

UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as deliberate destruction.

[1] It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections, and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and increased accessibility to, and dissemination of, these items.

[1] Inscription on the register aims to improve conservation of the documentary heritage by calling upon the program's networks of experts to exchange information and raise resources for the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of the material.

During its meetings, the International Advisory Council (IAC) examines the full documentation of the item's description, origin, world significance, and contemporary state of conservation.

[4] In 1992, the program began as a way to preserve and promote documentary heritage, which can be a single document, a collection, a holding or an archival fonds that is deemed to be of such significance as to transcend the boundaries of time and culture.

[1] It catalogues documentary heritage that has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, according to the selection criteria regarding "world significance and outstanding universal value.

Former logo of the Memory of the World Programme
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) was used to disseminate to the political community the first French Constitution . [ 10 ]
The Jikji is the earliest known book printed with movable metal type in 1377.