CALL FOR NEW INSCRIPTIONS TO UNESCO MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER
The UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand Committee is calling for inscriptions to the Memory of the World Programme’s documentary heritage register for 2013.
Documentary heritage tells the stories of our nation throughout the years and is necessary for understanding New Zealand society today.
Inscription onto the UNESCO Memory of the World register draws attention to the significance of documentary heritage and the institutions and people that care for it. It raises awareness of the custodian institution’s holdings and helps ensure the inscribed items are protected, preserved and accessible.
The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme was started in 1992 by the Secretary-General of UNESCO as a way to promote and preserve documentary heritage. Over 60 countries including New Zealand now have Memory of the World programmes. About 200 items have been inscribed on the international register including the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition held by Archives New Zealand. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial Papers 1946-48, held at the Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury, are inscribed on the Asia Pacific Register.
Established in 2010, the New Zealand Memory of the World Programme is run by a Trust in close association with and support from the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO.
There are currently eight items of documentary heritage inscribed on the New Zealand Register: These include the Treaty of Waitangi, Women’s Suffrage Petition, Tokyo War Crimes Trials Papers 1946-1948, Grey New Zealand Maori Manuscripts, book collection and personal papers collection of Sir George Grey, manuscript score of Douglas Lilburn’s Overture Aotearoa for orchestra written in 1940 and National Film Unit Collection of Weekly Reviews and Pictorial Parades 1940 to 1971, Maori Land Minute Books 1862 to 1900 and Patu! a documentary on the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand.
Submissions to the Memory of the World New Zealand documentary heritage register for 2013 will close on 16 August 2013. The successful inscriptions will be announced in October.
To find out if your heritage documents meet the criteria for the Memory of the World documentary heritage, and how to make a submission, click on the "nomination" tab above.
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UNESCO RECOGNITION FOR NEW ZEALAND'S DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE
MāoriLand Court Minute Books from the 19th century and a documentary recording the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand have been inscripted onto the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand register for documentary heritage.
The new inscriptions were announced on 24th October by the Chair of UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia Pacific Programme, Ray Edmondson. The Minute Books and the documentary, "Patu!", tell stories of events from two powerful periods of New Zealand history. They still have an impact on society today and are highly regarded sources of research for historians, Māori researchers, educators and many others in the wider community.
See press release 
on the occasion of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, 27th October 2012
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