UNESCO adds 74 new collections to Memory of the World Register

Total entries rise to 570

Several collections also document multilateral milestones: UNESCO

Bringing the total number of entries to 570, the United Nations’ specialised agency United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has made 74 additions to the Memory of the World Register.

In a press statement, UNESCO says that these register includes books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, sound and video recordings that represent the shared documentary heritage of humanity.

It adds that these collections are included following a decision by the agency’s Executive Board, based on evaluations conducted by an independent international advisory committee.

As per press statement, UNESCO says that 14 of the new inscriptions relate to scientific documentary heritage. One example is Itẓāf Al-Mahbūb, submitted by Egypt, which documents Arab contributions to astronomy and astrological analysis during the first millennium. Other scientific archives include the collections of Charles Darwin in United Kingdom, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (Germany), and Carlos Chagas (Brazil).

Additionally, the United Nations agency also states that the register also includes collections related to the memory of slavery, submitted by Angola, Aruba, Cabo Verde, Curaçao and Mozambique. Additional entries include archives on historical women, such as Raden Ajeng Kartini, linked to Indonesia and the Netherlands, Katherine Mansfield from New Zealand and Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart from Switzerland.

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As per the statement, UNESCO says that several collections also document multilateral milestones, such as the Geneva Conventions (1864–1949) and their protocols (1977–2005) (Switzerland), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), and the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (Namibia).

Audrey Azoulay

“Documentary heritage is an essential yet fragile element of the memory of the world. This is why UNESCO invests in safeguarding, such as the libraries of Chinguetti in Mauritania or the archives of Amadou Hampâté Bâ in Côte d’Ivoire, shares best practices, and maintains this register that records the broadest threads of human history,” says Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO.