World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is annually observed on 27th October. This day aims to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents which includes films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes.
These types of material are important as they provide us with an insight into the social, political, economical, and linguistic realities of a given environment. Audiovisual archives are also a way of learning about those parts of history that are no longer accessible to us.
Conserving this heritage and ensuring it remains accessible to the public and future generations is a vital goal for all memory institutions as well as the public at large. Hence this day is celebrated as an awareness day for it.
| Event | World Day for Audiovisual Heritage |
|---|---|
| Date | October 27, 2022 |
| Day | Thursday |
| Significance | The raises awareness about the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents |
| Observed by | World wide |
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage History:
Human history is very large it goes back to thousands of years when the first human civilizations came up. There have been many historical events in our world since then which has shaped our world today. However unfortunately as there was no technology back then so we have no recorded evidence for that time. Many civilizations have came and gone and still we don't know the exact reason for it as we don't have any audiovisual evidence from our past so we can only assume that what had probably happened back then. Hence for the preservation of our culture and history audiovisual recordings are very important.
Well that was the past but today in the modern world we have all the technology with us. Today we have enough records about our recent history like in the case of both the world wars and all the events after the world war. Since the introduction of the social media the recordings of events around the world has become accessible and easy for everyone around the world and that's why to preserve our culture and history through the use of audiovisual is the best way to do it today which needs to be appreciated.
Understanding the importance of audiovisuals in our world the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Association(CCAAA) came into being after UNESCO's 1980 "Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images". The Recommendation initiative urged institutions and associations to work together to preserve archives on an urgent basis. The result was the Roundtable of Audiovisual Records. Several organizations like the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Council on Archives (ICA) came together for the Roundtable meeting.
Then for the first time the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage was celebrated in 2005. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) collaborated with the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) to bring the day into existence on October 27. The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is a commemoration of the adoption, in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images. The World Day provides an occasion to raise general awareness of the need to take urgent measures and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage Significance:
The day brings the priceless heritage of the Audiovisual documents to notice and tell the stories of lives and cultures from across the world. The main objective of the day is to sensitise people across the world for conserving and safeguarding valuable audio-visual resources for future generations. In the era of digitalisation that we are lucky to have today everyone, particularly the younger generation is going digital in almost all the significant aspects of life and that's why it is very important to record this heritage.
The day is significant as it motivates the preservation of work of professionals against the range of social, financial, political, technical and other factors that may pose a threat to the safeguards of audio-visual heritage. Some of these threats could be obsolete technology, lack of attention, chemical decay etc. It reminds the new generation to not forget our heritage while going forward in the digital age.
We can learn a lot from history, from how people lived socially and economically to how they interacted, based on linguistics and culture. History also gives us the liberty to reflect and learn from the events of our past so that we can avoid them from repeating them in our future. And we as a people always needs to understand one thing that our present today is gonna be a history for the future generations of our world and so it is very important for us now to record this period of time so that people in the future can use this information which will help in taking our world much forward.
The vision of the day is in resonance with the vision of the UNESCO's Memory of the World Project, launched in 1992, which is to provide full protection and recognition of cultural morals and practises and accessibility to all without any hindrance. In this way, this day also serves as an opportunity for UNESCO's Member States to evaluate their performance with respect to implementing the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage Theme:
The 2022 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage will be celebrated in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Memory of the World Programme. The celebration will take place from 27 October to 5 November 2022.
The theme of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2022 is "Enlisting documentary heritage to promote inclusive, just and peaceful societies."
Taking its cue from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, documentary heritage, as an information resource, lends itself both to the "public access to information" component of Target of 16.10 of SDG 16 and its "fundamental freedoms" component. With respect to the theme of the celebration, while the question of ensuring universal access to documentary heritage remains a foundational concern, there is a strong focus on how documentary heritage can be used to promote inclusive, just and peaceful societies.
Most Searched FAQs on World Day for Audiovisual Heritage:
1. When is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage observed?
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is annually observed on 27th October.
2. Why is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage observed?
The day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of preserving, archiving, and maintaining knowledge within audiovisual sources.
3. What is the theme of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2022?
The theme of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2022 is "Enlisting documentary heritage to promote inclusive, just and peaceful societies."