WebWorld : Seven Nominations Pre-selected for UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize

Seven out of 36 nominations received from Member States for the first ever UNESCO /Jikji Memory of the World Prize were preliminarily selected by the Bureau of the Memory of the World Programme during its meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 22 March 2005.

The list includes the National Library of Australia, the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Departamento del Valle del Cauca (Colombia), the National Mission for Manuscripts (India), the Universidad Centroamericana (Nicaragua), Fathi Hassan Saleh (Egypt), and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania.

In the preliminary screening, the Memory of the World (MoW) Bureau considered the following factors: the significance of the work already performed in the area of preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage that is outside of the institution’s regular functions, long term preservation strategy, sustainability, and regional representation.

The short-listed candidates will be further considered in June this year in China by the members of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, who sit as the Jury of the Prize. On the recommendation of the Committee, the Director-General of UNESCO shall designate the prizewinner who receives a sum of $ 30,000.

The UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize is given biennially to individuals or organizations who have made significant contribution to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage. Awarding of the prize shall be done at an official ceremony to be held either in Paris or in the Republic of Korea South Korea at the occasion of the Jikji Day.

The Prize was set-up to commemorate the inscription of the Buljo jikji simche yojeol, the oldest known book of movable metal print in the world, in the Memory of the World Register.

Links:

UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
Jikji in the Memory of the World Register

Contact

Abdelaziz Abid, UNESCO, Information Society Division a.abid@unesco.org