UN stresses value and vulnerability of world’s audiovisual heritage

(October 28, 2011) The United Nations on Thursday underscored the importance of preserving the world’s audiovisual heritage, stressing the vulnerability of sound and film or video recordings to destruction and the need to pay greater attention to ensuring that they are properly saved for future generations. Marking the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, whose theme this year was ‘Audiovisual Heritage: See, Hear, and Learn,’ the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) noted that countless documentary treasures have been lost since the invention of image and sound technologies. Through the loss, the world lost some of its means of sharing experiences, creativity and knowledge. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in her message to mark the Day stressed that the protection of the world’s heritage records is a cultural and educational imperative, and that must never be taken for granted. The UN’s own audiovisual archive in New York holds 80,000 hours of audio recording on 70,000 tapes and discs and 37,700 hours of film and video on 25,000 reels of film and 32,000 video tapes.