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I am very pleased to send my greetings to the FIAT/IFTA World Conference whose theme - 'Opening Up Our Archives' - is an important area for UNESCO as it highlights the crucial role of archives in keeping memory alive.
Humanity's search for lasting means to transmit its legacy of knowledge, wisdom and experience to future generations is as old as humanity itself. Sadly, however, vast amounts of recorded memory have been permanently lost. While all documents are affected by chemical factors that contribute to their decay, audiovisual records are particularly vulnerable. Television archives are some of the largest repositories of our collective memory of the twentieth century. However, despite the many efforts of NGOs and international bodies, including UNESCO, much of the global community remains unaware of the risk of massive losses unless urgent and effective action is taken.
In order to draw the attention of governments to the need for wide-ranging measures to safeguard the audiovisual heritage, 25 years ago UNESCO's General Conference adopted a "Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images". This Recommendation laid the foundation for the Organization's action in this field and was part of the groundwork for the launch of the Memory of the World Programme, a global campaign to protect and promote the documentary heritage.
In cooperation with its partners, UNESCO is seeking to develop viable strategies to preserve the audiovisual recorded heritage. We therefore strongly support the FIAT/IFTA International Appeal for the Preservation of the World Audiovisual Heritage. This campaign is vital for mobilizing professionals and institutions involved in documentary preservation to adopt actions that ensure the survival of the world's audiovisual heritage - the common heritage of humanity.
I wish you a very successful and interesting conference. You can be assured that UNESCO is committed to working closely with FIAT/IFTA and other partners to preserve memory and its sources so that the rich cultural diversity of our global community can be passed on to the generations to come.
Koïchiro Matsuura
Last update : 30/11/05
© 2006 - FIAT/IFTA