page_title: Memory of the World Programme
section_title: Background and the IAC
hierarchical_section_title: Memory of the World Programme / Background and the IAC
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Représentation de la «&#160;Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen de 1789&#160;». العربية: تصوير لـإعلان حقوق الانسان والمواطنة 1789 Deutsch: Repräsentation der Erklärung der Menschen- und Bürgerrechte von 1789 Ελληνικά: Απεικόνιση της Διακήρυξης των Δικαιωμάτων του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη το 1789 English: Representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789Includes "Eye of providence" symbol (eye in triangle). Español: Representación de la Declaración de los Derechos del Hombre y del Ciudadano de 1789 Euskara: 1789ko Gizonaren eta Herritarraren eskubideen Adierazpenaren irudikapena 日本語: 1789年の「人間と市民の権利の宣言（フランス人権宣言）」の図 Nederlands: Voorstelling van de Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens en de Burger uit 1789 Português: Representação da Declaração dos Direitos do Homem e do Cidadão de 1789 Русский: Изображение Декларации прав человека и гражданина 1789 года Tiếng Việt: Thể hiện Tuyên ngôn Nhân quyền và Dân quyền năm 1789 中文: 一七八九年法國《人權和公民權宣言》
context_page_description: UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction. 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.
context_section_description: 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. This recorded memory reflects the diversity of languages, people, and cultures. UNESCO, the world agency responsible for the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage, realized the need to protect such fragile yet important component of cultural heritage. The Memory of the World Programme was established to preserve and digitize humanity's documentary heritage.
  People the world over are creating [memories] in forms that are less and less permanent—be it sound recordings, film, videotape, newsprint, photographs, or computer-based documents. It must be said that the output of the present century alone is probably greater than the total output of all previous centuries put together; and ironically and tragically, it is being lost faster than ever before. It is a tragedy indeed, for what is at stake is the recorded memory of mankind.
  — Dato’ Habibah Zon, Director-General of the National Archives of Malaysia, introduction from
  UNESCO MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: The Asia-Pacific Strategy, 17 April 1999
  The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the UNESCO Director-General. The IAC is responsible for the formulation of major policies, including the technical, legal and financial framework for the program. Regular meetings were held by the IAC in its interim capacity beginning in 1993 to sustain the momentum gained by the program, culminating in the creation of the Memory of the World Register during its second meeting in 1995, with the inaugural batch of documents being inscribed on the Register in 1997, after the statutes that created the IAC as a standing committee took effect.
  The IAC also maintains several subsidiary bodies:
  Bureau: Maintains an overview of the Programme between IAC meetings and makes tactical decisions in liaison with the Secretariat, reviews the use of the Memory of the World logo, and liaises with national Memory of the World committees and monitors their growth and operation.
  Technical Sub-Committee: Develops, regularly revises and promulgates information guides on the preservation of documentary heritage, and offers advice on technical and preservation matters.
  Marketing Sub-Committee: Develops strategies for awareness raising and for increasing financial support for Memory of the World, implements a marketing plan, and compiles and reviews guidelines for the use of the Memory of the World logo.
  Register Sub-Committee: Oversees the assessment of nominations for the Memory of the World International Register and provides recommendations, with reasons, for their inscription or rejection to each meeting of the IAC.
caption: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was used to disseminate to the political community the first-ever French Constitution.[11]
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