Every year, October 27 is observed as World Day For Audiovisual Heritage to raise general awareness about the need to take urgent measures and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents. Audiovisual documents represent a priceless heritage that tells us stories about people’s lives and cultures from all over the world.
It is a collective memory and a valuable source of knowledge as they reflect the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of our communities. Hence, UNESCO marks October 27 as WDAH to conserve this heritage and ensure its accessibility to the public and future generations. Know about the history, theme, significance and celebrations of this day.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2021: History
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) was first adopted in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images. However, UNESCO officially declared October 27 as WDAH in 2005.
The day also serves as an opportunity for UNESCO’s member states to evaluate their performance in implementation of the 2015 recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage, including its digital form. The day also fulfils UNESCO’s constitutional mandate to promote the “free flow of ideas by word and image” to represent our shared heritage and memory.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2021: Theme
Every year, WDAH is observed with a specific theme and this year, the theme of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is “Your Window to the World”. This means audiovisual sources provide a window to the world in the form of documentary heritage objects.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2021: Significance and Celebration
The day highlights the need to preserve audiovisual heritage. Competitions, local programmes, panel conversations and special screenings are being organised on this day to promote the importance of the preservation of audiovisual heritage.
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