UNESCO’s statement, Turning the threat of COVID-19 into an opportunity for greater support to documentary heritage, co-signed by IFLA, stresses the importance of continued support for preservation and access to documentary heritage.

IFLA joined the International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Council on Archives (ICA), The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) in supporting this statement from UNESCO and the Memory of the World programme.

IFLA is proud to join these partner organisations in stressing the shared educational, social, scientific and artistic values of documentary heritage. The statement goes on to give concrete examples of the role of documentary heritage in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in preparing society for similar situations in the future.

Read the full statement here: Turning the threat of COVID-19 into an opportunity for greater support to documentary heritage

This document is part of the Resources for Documentary Heritage Professionals page recently launched by UNESCO. This is a comprehensive collection of resources and responses to COVID-19, both from UNESCO and other memory institutions.

Featured here is a statement from IFLA’s Secretary General Gerald Leitner on Libraries in Action at the time of COVID-19.

We thank our partners at UNESCO and all other organisations working to promote the value of memory institutions to society, especially in these challenging times.

IFLA continues to address the changes and challenges brought about by COVID-19 across all areas of our work. For updates, please see the COVID-19 and the Global Library Field Resource Page.