Iran commemorates World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

On 6 November 2019, the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran organized an event in Tehran to mark the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage which takes place every year on 27 October. The event was supported by the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office and the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

Mr Cvetan Cvetkovski, the Officer-in-Charge of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office, opened the meeting by transmitting a message from the Director General of UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azoulay, to commemorate the 2019 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

Part of the message stated: “Audiovisual materials are extremely fragile. All too many are lost, due to poor storage practices, natural disasters and even conflict. For this reason, UNESCO works with archivists, librarians and other caretakers who preserve and provide access to this heritage, including through its Memory of the World Programme.”

Dr Ashraf Boroujerdi, the Head of the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran and the Chair of the Iranian Memory of the World Committee, told the participants: "Today, many audio and video materials are at risk of being lost and there is a need for urgent national determination to protect this heritage.”

Dr Boroujerdi added: “Iran has an unreplaceable and rich treasure of photos and sounds from the Qajar era, which has to be safeguarded. The National Library of Iran, as the Secretariat of the Iranian Memory of the World Committee, is committed to protecting this heritage and stands ready to support the private and public collection holders of audio-visual material in their endeavors to preserve this fragile heritage.”

Dr Ebrahim Afshar, the secretary of the Iranian Library and Information Science Association (ILISA), highlighted the important role that UNESCO plays in protecting documentary heritage through professional ethics and audiovisual preservation.

Dr Mohammad Hassan Semsar, a member of the Iranian Memory of the World Committee, emphasized the importance of photography in the protection of human history.

Dr Semsar explained: “The photography and audio-recording industry has particular importance. Archaeologists, historians, anthropologists, artists and others all need historical photos to reconstruct and recognize the past. Protecting and introducing historical photos to society is our responsibility.”

In celebrating the event, participants were treated to a replay of the oldest sound recording of Ayatollah Kashani – the noted clergyman of Shiism from the archives of the Iranian National Radio. This was followed by a musical performance by the Lian music band which played several pieces of their native folk music from the city of Bushehr.

One of the students of the famous Iranian musician, Homayoun Khorram, then proceeded to play some music in celebration of the inscription of his scores on the National Memory of the World List.

To conclude the event, the Farsi translation of the book entitled “Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy, Principles and Ethics” was unveiled.

As a side event, a photo exhibition of the unpublished photos from the House Album collection of the Golestan Palace, which is registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, was inaugurated.