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During 28-29 October 2024, governmental ministers, leading international experts, and representatives of memory institutions from around the world gathered at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris for the International Conference of the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme and the 4^th Global Policy Forum to address the pressing challenges for the world’s documentary heritage.

Below the banner of ‘Memory of the World: At the Crossroads of International Understanding and Cooperation’, the forum sought to address how documentary heritage can be a tangible force for social good.

The manuscripts, maps, photographs and irreplaceable documents that form the world’s documentary heritage are at risk of permanent loss due to a range of threats. In his opening remarks, Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, noted that 80 percent of audiovisual collections face inadequate safeguarding and 60 percent of memory institutions lack funding for preserving their collections.

Meanwhile, the risks posed by of armed conflict and in the face of the climate crisis threaten to further aggravate the manifold challenges to preserving the collective memory of the world.

Cause for optimism

However, with an attendance of 590 participants, including 325 participating in-person, Tawfik Jelassi described the assembly as “a testament to our collective commitment to preserving shared documentary heritage, which shapes our cultural identity and the broader tapestry of human history.”

Keynote speeches and panel discussions sought to determine a roadmap for navigating present and future challenges for preserving and accessing documentary heritage.

Speakers pointed towards the instruments available for governments, civil society, experts and international organizations to utilize. These included the MoW International Register, which has inscribed 496 items and collections of documentary heritage into its tapestry, MoW National Committees—nearly 100 of which have been established by Member States—and crucially, the 2015 Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage including in digital form.

Participants praised the model built by the MoW Programme as functional, while acknowledging that further steps are needed to better harmonize practices at national, regional and international levels, as well as to establish deeper awareness of the significance of documentary heritage among the general population, especially young people.

A shared purpose forward

The conference saw recognition of the urgent need to explore public-private sector partnerships in order to bridge the gaps in funding and technology. Opportunities offered by new technologies were also highlighted by Tawfik Jelassi. In his remarks, he reflected UNESCO’s enthusiasm for the ethical use of AI: “By leveraging AI, we can bring forgotten or under-represented stories to light and ensure our collective memory evolves with the present and future needs of society.”

Ultimately, with the universal nature of the threats to preserving and accessing documentary heritage, the conference recognized that remedies, responses and the roadmap for the future must be a shared effort, and require a coalition across borders with a cohesive, standardized, and international framework.