UNESCO has added 74 new documentary heritage collections to its Memory of the World Register, bringing the total number of inscribed collections to 570.
The entries come from 72 countries and 4 international organizations, covering topics such as the scientific revolution, women’s contribution to history and major milestones of multilateralism.
Among the newly inscribed collections, fourteen are related to scientific documentary heritage, such as Itḥāf Al-Mahbūb (submitted by Egypt), which documents the Arab world’s contributions to astronomy, planetary movement, celestial bodies, and astrological analysis during the first millennium of our era.
The archives of Charles Darwin (United Kingdom), Friedrich Nietzsche (Germany), Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (Germany)—which contain the very first recorded X-ray photographs and Carlos Chagas (Brazil), a pioneer in disease research, have also been included.
Other additions include collections related to the memory of slavery, submitted by Angola, Aruba, Cabo Verde, Curaçao, and Mozambique, as well as archives concerning prominent historical women—still largely underrepresented on the register—such as girls’ education pioneer Raden Ajeng Kartini (Indonesia and the Netherlands), author Katherine Mansfield (New Zealand), and travel writers Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart (Switzerland).
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, said “documentary heritage is an essential yet fragile element of the memory of the world. This is why UNESCO invests in safeguarding—such as the libraries of Chinguetti in Mauritania or the archives of Amadou Hampâté Bâ in Côte d’Ivoire— shares best practices, and maintains this register that records the broadest threads of human history.”
Collections are added to the register by decision of UNESCO’s Executive Board, following the evaluation of nominations by an independent international advisory committee.
Several collections document key moments in international cooperation, including the Geneva Conventions (1864–1949) and their protocols (1977–2005) (Switzerland), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), and the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (Namibia).
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