World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2025

Every year on 27 October, the world celebrates World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH)—a day dedicated to recognizing the significance of audiovisual materials in shaping our shared history and cultural identity. These materials—films, recordings, broadcasts, and digital media—offer unique glimpses into the lives, struggles, and stories of people across generations and continents.

As audiovisual content forms an integral part of the world’s documentary heritage, this day urges the global community to safeguard such records from decay, technological obsolescence, and neglect, ensuring they remain accessible to future generations.

Historical Background

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage was established in 2005 by UNESCO, commemorating the adoption of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images during the 21st General Conference in 1980. This landmark resolution underscored the vulnerability of audiovisual formats and called for global efforts in archiving, conserving, and digitizing such materials.

Over the years, the observance has evolved into a global awareness platform that unites institutions, archivists, educators, and citizens around a common cause: the protection of audiovisual archives as part of humanity’s collective memory.

Why Audiovisual Heritage Matters

Audiovisual documents—unlike written records—offer a dynamic, immersive experience. Through sound and motion, they capture accents, expressions, rituals, and realities that traditional text often cannot convey. These records,

• Reflect the cultural, social, and linguistic diversity of societies.
• Serve as educational and historical sources.
• Preserve indigenous knowledge, endangered languages, and local traditions.
• Offer testimony to pivotal moments—wars, revolutions, celebrations, migrations.
• Preserving these assets ensures that future generations can access authentic narratives, enriching their understanding of the past and inspiring cultural continuity.

The Project Launched Digitizing Our Shared UNESCO History

This year, UNESCO is spotlighting the project “Digitizing our shared UNESCO history”, which seeks to preserve and make accessible the organization’s vast audiovisual archives. These materials document UNESCO’s global programs, declarations, field missions, and conferences over the decades. The digitization project not only protects fragile historical records but also aligns with the goals of the 2015 Recommendation on the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form.

UNESCO’s call to action is clear: preserving audiovisual heritage is not a luxury—it is a responsibility. With the rapid pace of technological change, tapes, reels, and early digital formats risk becoming unreadable if not urgently transferred to accessible digital platforms.

Challenges in Audiovisual Preservation

While the importance of preservation is widely acknowledged, significant obstacles remain,

• Technological obsolescence: Playback equipment for many older formats is no longer produced.
• Fragility of materials: Film reels, magnetic tapes, and early digital storage devices degrade over time.
• High cost and expertise required for digitization and metadata curation.
• Limited institutional support in many countries, especially in the Global South.
• These challenges demand coordinated international action and sustained investment in archival infrastructure.

The Role of UNESCO Member States

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is also a time for UNESCO Member States to evaluate their national efforts in line with the 2015 Recommendation. Governments and institutions are encouraged to,

• Adopt digitization strategies and policies that prioritize endangered audiovisual formats.
• Promote public access to digitized heritage through educational platforms, libraries, and museums.
• Support capacity building in archival sciences and digital preservation.
• Foster partnerships between public archives, media institutions, and private collectors.

How the Public Can Participate

While preservation is often led by institutions, everyone can contribute. This day invites individuals to,

• Attend local or virtual events hosted by archives and cultural centers.
• Explore digitized collections made available online.
• Share family or community recordings with heritage institutions for potential preservation.
• Advocate for local funding and awareness around cultural preservation.