Information about the programme

United Nations Education, Culture and Science Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World programme was established in year 1992 with the aim to preserve world documentary heritage, enlarge access to it and promote its investigation all around the world despite of the origin of the document. Programme strives to study documentary heritage, to provide its preserving and protection and  to make it widespread and known in different places of the world.

Documentary heritage is a part of humanity cultural heritage, which includes information about humanity, cultural and language diversity, also information about course of history and are written down, drawn, incised or in some other documentary way recorded on information medium. Documentary heritage is a part of memory of the world. At the same time it is very fragile and endangered heritage – its ruination would mean the loss of humanity memory sources as well.

In the framework of Memory of the World programme, UNESCO member states are invited to form their national Memory of the World registers with the aim to promote the most important documentary heritage identification and protection at national level. All around the world there are documentary heritage evidences with influence at global, regional or national level. UNESCO member states are invited to make available and known to the world documents with national historical impact which ruination would be essential loss for memory of the entire world. The uniqueness, irreplaceability and authenticity of documentary heritage are the main qualities that create the significance of heritage at the world’s level. The International Memory of the World programme register is a rich source of becoming acquainted with the diversity of the world’s documentary heritage. The task of national registers is to promote the familiarization with the diversity of national documentary heritage.

Brochure "Safeguarding the Documentary Heritage of Humanity"