Memory of the World Register

The Memory of the World Register lists documentary heritage which has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, as corresponding to the selection criteria regarding world significance and outstanding universal value.

How to submit a nomination for inscription?

Nominations for the Register may be submitted by any person or organization, including governments and NGOs. However, priority will be given to nominations made by or through the relevant regional or national Memory of the World committee, where one exists, or failing that, through the relevant UNESCO National Commission.

As a general rule, single nominations will be limited to two per country every two years, however, two or more countries may put forward joint nominations where collections are divided among several owners or custodians. In cases where the heritage exists in several locations, or has several owners or custodians, full details of each component, owner or custodian should be provided. The nomination should also be submitted jointly in the name, and with the documented support, of all involved parties. There is no limit on the number of such nominations, or on the number of partners involved.

The listing of documentary heritage in a Memory of the World register has no prima facie legal or financial consequence. It does not formally affect ownership, custody or use of the material

The documentary heritage nominated must be finite and precisely defined; broad, general or open-ended nominations will not be accepted. The Register does not include all the records in public and private archives, no matter how important those bodies or individuals may be. Repositories should nominate for inclusion on the Register only those documents that are clearly of world significance. Once added to the Memory of the World Register, the document group cannot be varied or redefined over time. Having accepted this principle, however, the fugitive nature of some materials - such as audiovisual carriers has to be recognized: sometimes, what survives over time may be the content rather than the decaying original carrier.

For more information on the process, please have a look at the corresponding "Basic documents" available here.

Nomination Form

Nominations must follow the format prescribed in the nomination form.

In the case of documentary heritage which exists in several locations, or several owners or custodians, full details of each component, owner or custodian are to be provided.

The Memory of the World International Register of the Memory of the World Programme cannot include all the records in public and private archives, no matter how important those bodies or individuals may be. A large proportion of the records are concerned with local, national and, sometimes, regional issues. Repositories should nominate for inclusion on the Memory of the World International Register only those documents that are clearly of world significance. The nomination may consist of a complete fonds, a sous-fonds, series or groups of records or even a single document within a collection. Once added to the Register, the document group cannot be varied or redefined over time. Having accepted this principle, however, the fugitive nature of some materials - such as audio-visual carriers has to be recognized: sometimes, what survives over time may be the content rather than the decaying original carrier.

Using Images - Authorization Form

Please note that for all images submitted with a nomination form, the Images authorization form should be completed Using Images - Authorization Form.

In using this form, the nominator authorizes the utilization of images submitted with this nomination by the UNESCO Secretariat for posting on the Memory of the World website and for non-profit, publicity purposes for the Programme.