View source for Memory of the World Programme

{{Short description|UNESCO initiative to preserve heritage}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
[[File:UNESCO-MOW-text.svg|thumb|120px|right|Former logo of the 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.<ref name=strategy>{{cite web|title=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme: The Asia-Pacific Strategy |url=https://en.unesco.org/programme/mow|publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=2017-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228192535/http://www.geocities.com/seapavaa/whatsnew/memory.htm |archive-date=2005-02-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It calls for the [[historic preservation|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.<ref name=strategy /><ref name=official>{{cite web| title=Official website |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=2025-06-17}}</ref><ref name=2003_memory>{{cite web| title= Twenty-three new inscriptions on Memory of the World Register of Documentary Collections | date=2003-09-01 |url= http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php@URL_ID=14264&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |publisher=UNESCO Press |access-date=2009-09-06}}</ref>

Following the establishment of the international register, UNESCO and the Memory of the World Programme have encouraged the creation of national and regional organizations as well as national and regional registers which focus on documentary heritage of great regional or national importance, but not necessarily of global importance.

==Overview==
The Memory of the World International Register is a compendium of documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library, and archival holdings of universal value.<ref name=strategy /> 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.<ref name=2003_memory /> The program also uses technology to provide wider accessibility and diffusion of the items inscribed on the register.<ref name=2003_memory />

Any organization or individual can nominate a documentary item for inscription on the register via [[Member states of UNESCO|UNESCO Member States]] through their [[National Commissions for UNESCO|National Commission for UNESCO]] or, in the absence of a National Commission, the relevant government body in charge of relations with UNESCO, involving, if one exists, the relevant national MoW committee. Two proposals per UNESCO Member State are considered in each nomination cycle, joint nomination proposals from two or more UNESCO Member States are unlimited. 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. The IAC recommends to the [[UNESCO#Executive Board|Executive Board of UNESCO]] the items proposed for inscription.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=UNESCO |title=General Guidelines of the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme |access-date=3 March 2025 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378405}}</ref>

==History==
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.<ref name=strategy /> This recorded memory reflects the diversity of languages, people, and cultures.<ref name=2005_memory>{{cite web| title= Twenty-nine new documentary collections inscribed on the Memory of the World Register | date=2005-06-21 |url= http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28029&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |publisher=UNESCO Press |access-date=2009-09-06}}</ref> UNESCO, the world agency responsible for the protection of the world's [[cultural heritage|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.<ref name=2007_memory>{{cite web | title=Thirty-eight new inscriptions for Memory of the World Register | author=Jasmina Sopova | date=2007-06-20 | url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38423&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | publisher=UNESCO Press | access-date=2009-09-06 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111132741/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D38423%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html | archive-date=2009-11-11 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|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<br>''UNESCO MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: The Asia-Pacific Strategy'', 17 April 1999<ref name=strategy />}}
The program is administered by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), whose 14 members are appointed by the [[Director-General of UNESCO]].<ref name=strategy /><ref name=2003_memory /> 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 International Register during its second meeting in 1995,<ref name=strategy /><ref name="1997_report">{{cite web|title=Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, Tashkent, 29 September-1st October 1997: final report |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109753 |date=October 1997|access-date=2025-06-17|publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme}}</ref> 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.<ref name="1999_report">{{cite web|title=Fourth meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, Vienna, 10-12 June 1999: final report |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000116830 |access-date=2025-06-17|publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme|date=July 1999}}</ref>
The IAC also maintains several subsidiary bodies:<ref name=IAC>{{cite web | title=International Advisory Committee | date= 2009-08-11 | url= http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2254&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | archive-url= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160311102614/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2254&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2016-03-11 | publisher= UNESCO Memory of the World Programme | access-date= 2009-12-09 }}</ref>
* ''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.

[[Image:Declaration of Human Rights.jpg|thumb|The [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] (1789) was used to disseminate to the political community the first [[Constitution of France|French Constitution]].<ref name=rights_of_man>{{cite web| title= Original Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789–1791) |url= https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/original-declaration-rights-man-and-citizen-1789-1791 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=2025-03-03}}</ref>]]

==Memory of the World International Register==
The '''Memory of the World International Register''' is a compendium of the world's documentary heritage – such as [[manuscript]]s, [[oral tradition]]s, audio-visual materials, and library and archive holdings.<ref name="strategy" /> 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."<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 December 2023 |title=Memory of the World: Documentary heritage treasures of Africa |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/memory-world |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250217100352/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/memory-world |archive-date=2025-02-17 |access-date=2025-06-17 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |language=en}}</ref>

The first inscriptions on the international register were made in 1997.<ref name="2003_memory" /><ref name="1997_report" /> The various properties in the register include recordings of [[folk music]]; [[ancient language]]s and [[phonetics]]; aged remnants of religious and secular manuscripts; collective lifetime works of renowned giants of literature; science and music; copies of landmark motion pictures and short films; and accounts documenting changes in the world's political, economic, and social stage.

As of April 2025, 570 pieces of documentary heritage had been inscribed in the register.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memory of the World |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme}}</ref>

The program is not without controversy. During the 2015 cycle, for example, there was a significant degree of conflict within East Asia, as registry with the MoW Program was becoming viewed as an approval of particular views of contested history, specifically with respect to the [[Nanjing Massacre]] and the [[comfort women]].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Yamamoto |first=Mayumi |date=2016 |title=Heritage and Diplomacy: A Cultural Approach to UNESCO's Document Registry Program in East Asia |url=https://www.academia.edu/32367448 |journal=Annual Journal of Cultural Anthropology |volume=11 |access-date=May 26, 2022}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 1em 0 0; font-size:95%;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Region
! Number of inscriptions to the Register
! Number of countries/organizations
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – Africa]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 35
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – Arab States]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 154
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – Europe and North America]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 274
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – Latin America and the Caribbean]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 77
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| [[Memory of the World Register – International Organizations|Memory of the World Register – Other]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! align="right" | '''Total'''
! 494
! 523 main{{#tag:ref|Some of these were joint submissions.|group=Note}} + 4 additional
|}

===Top 10 Countries by Number of Inscriptions===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank
! Country
! Number of inscriptions
|-
|1
| {{flag|Germany}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 30
|-
| 2
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
|-
| 3
| {{flag|Netherlands}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 21
|-
| 4
| {{flag|France}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
|-
| 4
| {{flag|South Korea}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
|-
| 6
| {{flag|Poland}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
|-
| 7
| {{flag|Austria}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
|-
| 8
| {{flag|China}} 
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
|-
| 8
| {{flag|Russia}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
|-
| 10
| {{flag|Spain}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
|-
| 10
| {{flag|India}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
|}

===Memory of the World IAC meetings===

Biennial meetings of the International Advisory Committee are used to discuss and inscribe items onto the register. The meeting normally takes place in odd-numbered years:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:0 1em 0 0; font-size:90%;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! IAC Session
! width="60" | Date
! Site
! IAC chairperson
! width="70" | Number of nominations evaluated
! width="70" | Number of inscriptions to the register
! References
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1st
| style="text-align:center;" | 1993<br/><small>Sept 12–14</small>
| [[Pułtusk]], Poland
| [[Jean-Pierre Wallot]] (Canada)<ref name="1999_report" />
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="strategy" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 2nd
| style="text-align:center;" | 1995<br/><small>May 3–5</small> 
| Paris, France
| Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada)<ref name="1997_report" />
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="strategy" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 3rd
| style="text-align:center;" | 1997<br/><small>Sept 29 – Oct 1</small>
| [[Tashkent]], [[Uzbekistan]]
| Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada) 
| style="text-align:center;" | 69
| style="text-align:center;" | 38
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="strategy" /><ref name="1997_report" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | ''Bureau Meeting''
| style="text-align:center;" | 1998<br/><small>Sept 4–5</small>
| London, United Kingdom
| Jean-Pierre Wallot (Canada)
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | none
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="strategy" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 4th
| style="text-align:center;" | 1999<br/><small>Jun 10–12</small>
| [[Vienna]], Austria
| [[Bendik Rugaas]] (Norway)
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="1999_report" />
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 5th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2001<br/><small>Jun 27–29</small>
| [[Cheongju]], [[South Korea]]
| Bendik Rugaas (Norway)
| style="text-align:center;" | 42
| style="text-align:center;" | 21
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2001_report">{{cite web|title=Fifth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000123628 |access-date=2025-03-03|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 6th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2003<br/><small>Aug 28–30</small>
| [[Gdańsk]], Poland
| [[Ekaterina Genieva]] ([[Russian Federation]])
| style="text-align:center;" | 41 
| style="text-align:center;" | 23
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2003_memory" /><ref name="2003_report">{{cite web|title=Sixth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234017 |access-date=2025-03-03|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 7th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2005<br/><small>Jun 13–18</small>
| [[Lijiang City|Lijiang]], [[People's Republic of China|China]]
| [[Deanna B. Marcum]] (US)
| style="text-align:center;" | 53
| style="text-align:center;" | 29
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2005_memory" /><ref name="2005_report">{{cite web|title=Seventh Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000142730 |access-date=2025-03-03|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 8th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2007<br/><small>Jun 1–15</small>
| [[Pretoria]], South Africa
| [[Alissandra Cummins]] (Barbados)
| style="text-align:center;" | 53
| style="text-align:center;" | 38
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2007_memory" /><ref name="2007_report">{{cite web|title=Eighth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234032|access-date=2025-03-03|publisher=UNESCO|date=2007}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 9th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2009<br/><small>Jul 27–31</small>
| [[Bridgetown]], [[Barbados]]
| Roslyn Russell (Australia)
| style="text-align:center;" | 55
| style="text-align:center;" | 35
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2009_memory">{{cite web|author=Joie Springer|date=2007-06-20|title=Thirty-eight new inscriptions for Memory of the World Register|url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24786&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20150314182231/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24786&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|archive-date=2015-03-14|access-date=2009-09-06|publisher=UNESCO Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=9th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, Christ Church, Barbados, 29-31 July 2009: report|date=December 2009|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234040|access-date=2025-06-17|publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 10th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2011<br/><small>May 22–25</small>
| [[Manchester]], [[United Kingdom]]
| Roslyn Russell (Australia)
| style="text-align:center;" | 84
| style="text-align:center;" | 45
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2011_report">{{cite web|year=2011|title=10th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee Memory of the World Programme Manchester, United Kingdom, 22–25 May 2011 Report|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234043|access-date=2025-03-03|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 11th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2013<br/><small>Jun 18–21</small>
| [[Gwangju]], [[South Korea]]
| [[Helena Asamoah-Hassan|Helena R Asamoah-Hassan]] (Ghana)
| style="text-align:center;" | 84
| style="text-align:center;" | 56
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2013_report">{{cite web |year=2013|title=54 new inscriptions on UNESCO Memory of the World Register|url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/54-new-inscriptions-unesco-memory-world-register |access-date=2025-06-17 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 12th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2015<br/><small>Oct 4–6</small>
| [[Abu Dhabi]], [[United Arab Emirates]]
| Abdulla El Reyes (United Arab Emirates)
| style="text-align:center;" | 86
| style="text-align:center;" | 44
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2015_report">{{cite web|date=October 2015|title=12th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, 4-6 October 2015, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: final report |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265143|access-date=2025-03-03|website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 13th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2017<br/><small>Oct 24–27</small>
|[[Paris]], [[France]]
| Abdulla El Reyes (United Arab Emirates)
| style="text-align:center;" | 132
| style="text-align:center;" | 78
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="2017_report">{{cite web|date=November 2017|title=Report of 13th Meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC), UNESCO, Paris, 24-27 October 2017|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265145|access-date=2025-06-17 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 14th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2023<br/><small>Mar 8–10,<br/>Apr 11</small>
|[[Paris]], [[France]] + online
|
| style="text-align:center;" |88
| style="text-align:center;" |64
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Nominations of new items of documentary heritage to be inscribed on the Memory of the World international register: list of nominations |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385138 |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 15th
| style="text-align:center;" | 2025<br/><small>Feb 26–28</small>
|[[Paris]], [[France]]
|
| style="text-align:center;" |122
| style="text-align:center;" |74
| style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Nominations of new items of documentary heritage to be inscribed on the Memory of the World International Register: list of nominations|date=18 March 2025  |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000393153 |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref>
|}

== National and regional registers ==
Some national or regional offices of UNESCO maintain their own Memory of the World registers, highlighting documentary heritage of great national or regional importance. Examples include:

* [[Brazil Memory of the World Register]]
* Canada Memory of the World Register<ref>{{Cite news |last=Monkman |first=Lenard |date=11 September 2019 |title=National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation archives added to UNESCO world register |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/national-centre-for-truth-and-reconciliation-archives-added-to-unesco-world-register-1.5280185 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231205044951/https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/national-centre-for-truth-and-reconciliation-archives-added-to-unesco-world-register-1.5280185 |archive-date=2023-12-05 |access-date=2025-06-17 |work=CBC |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada Memory of the World Register |url=https://en.ccunesco.ca/initiatives/memory-of-the-world/canada-memory-of-the-world-register |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=Canadian Commission for UNESCO |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao]]
* [[List of Memory of the World Documentary Heritage in the Philippines|Philippines Memory of the World Register]]
* [[UK Memory of the World Register]]
* Latin America and the Caribbean regional register<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean - List |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/lac/list?hub=84793&f%5B0%5D=dataset_filters:fac53f70-c695-4269-b656-c1cedaeedc1b&sort_by=unesco_country_label&sort_order=ASC |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240901122956/https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/lac/list?hub=84793&f%5B0%5D=dataset_filters%3Afac53f70-c695-4269-b656-c1cedaeedc1b&sort_by=unesco_country_label&sort_order=ASC |archive-date=2024-09-01 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=www.unesco.org |language=en}}</ref>
In the Asia-Pacific region, in 2014–2015, there were 18 member nations of [[MOWCAP]] (6 without national committees), while in 2016, there were 16 national MoW committees.<ref name=":0" />

==''Jikji'' Prize==
[[Image:SelectedTeachingsofBuddhistSagesandSonMasters1377.jpg|thumb|The ''Jikji'' is the earliest known book printed with [[Movable type|movable metal type]] in 1377.]]
The ''Jikji'' Prize was established in 2004 in cooperation with the South Korean government to further promote the objectives of the Memory of the World Programme, and to commemorate the 2001 inscription of the country's ''[[Jikji]]'' on the Register.<ref name=2005_report /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16050&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize |website=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060130185701/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16050&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-date=January 30, 2006}}</ref> The award, which includes a cash prize of $30,000 from the Korean government, recognizes institutions that have contributed to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage.<ref name=2005_memory />

The prize has been awarded biannually since 2005 during the meeting of the IAC.<ref name=2005_memory />

===Recipients===
* 2005: [[National Library of the Czech Republic|Czech National Library]] ([[Prague]])<ref name=2005_memory /><ref name=2005_report/>
* 2007: Phonogrammarchiv of the [[Austrian Academy of Sciences]]
* 2009: [[National Archives of Malaysia]] ([[Kuala Lumpur]])<ref>{{cite web | title= UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World 2009 Prize awarded to National Archives of Malaysia | date= 2009-08-21 | url= http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29057&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | archive-url= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20150314195327/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29057&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2015-03-14 | publisher= UNESCO Memory of the World Programme | access-date= 2009-09-07 }}</ref>
* 2011: [[National Archives of Australia]]<ref>{{cite web | title= National Archives of Australia to receive UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize | date= 2011-05-30 | url= http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31409&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | archive-date= 2015-03-14 | archive-url= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20150314182107/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php%2DURL_ID%3D31409%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html | url-status= dead| publisher= UNESCO News Service | access-date= 2012-01-10 }}</ref>
* 2013: Apoyo al Desarrollo de Archivos y Bibliotecas ([[Mexico City]])
* 2016: Iberarchivos Programme for the Development of Ibero-Ameran Archives
* 2018: SAVAMA-DCI (Mali)
*2020: [[Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum]] (Cambodia)<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNESCO / Jikji Memory of the World Prize 2020 awarded to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (Cambodia) |date=April 9, 2020 |website=UNESCO |url=https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-jikji-memory-world-prize-2020-awarded-tuol-sleng-genocide-museum-cambodia |access-date=May 26, 2022}}</ref>
*2022: [[AUC Libraries and Learning Technologies|American University in Cairo’s Libraries and Learning Technologies, Rare Books and Special Collection Library in Egypt]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The American University in Cairo to receive 2022 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize {{!}} UNESCO |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/american-university-cairo-receive-2022-unescojikji-memory-world-prize |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.unesco.org |language=en}}</ref>
*2024: [[National Library of Indonesia]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The National Library of Indonesia to receive 2024 UNESCO-Jikji Memory of the World Prize |date=September 3, 2024 |website=UNESCO |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/national-library-indonesia-receive-2024-unesco-jikji-memory-world-prize |access-date=November 18, 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Digital preservation]]
* [[Domesday Project]]
* [[National memory]]
* [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [[World Heritage Site]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |title=Sites of International Memory |year=2023 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv2zjz7d9.16 |chapter=International Conflict, National Pasts, and UNESCO World Heritage and Memory of the World |pages=294–320|first1=Kristal |last1=Buckley |first2=Kate|last2=Darian-Smith|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-1-5128-2406-3|oclc=1376193602|editor1-first=Glenda |editor1-last=Sluga|
editor2-first=Kate |editor2-last=Darian-Smith| editor3-first=Madeleine |editor3-last=Herren}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Memory of the World Register}}
* {{official website|www.unesco.org/en/memory-world}}

{{Memory of the World}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Memory of the World Register| ]]
[[Category:UNESCO]]
[[Category:Cultural heritage conservation]]
[[Category:1992 establishments]]
[[Category:1992 introductions]]
[[Category:1995 introductions]]