New Collections Added to UN’s Memory of the World Register

New Collections Added to UN’s Memory of the World Register

New York, May 25 2011 - The head of the United Nations agency tasked with preserving the world’s cultural heritage today endorsed recommendations to inscribe 45 new documents and documentary collections – ranging from Leo Tolstoy’s personal manuscripts to the collections of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the patent issued to Carl Benz for a gas-fuelled engine in 1886 – into a heritage register.

The new entries bring to 238 the total number of items on Memory of the World Register, according to the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“By helping safeguard and share such a varied documentary heritage, UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme reinforces the basis for scholarship and enjoyment of the creative wealth and diversity of human cultures and societies,” said Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, after endorsing the recommendations of an international advisory committee, which met this week in Manchester, United Kingdom.

The Memory of the World Register covers all types of materials, including stone, celluloid, parchment, audio recordings, among others.

Eleven countries have items entered in the register for the first time – Bulgaria, Fiji, Guyana, Ireland, Japan, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, Suriname, Switzerland and Tunisia.

The inscriptions from countries contributing items for the first time are: