Doc Media Centre

Every year on 27 October, memory institutions and heritage professionals around the world mark World Audiovisual Heritage Day. It serves as an opportunity to reflect on the importance of preserving our shared audiovisual record – the moving images and sound recordings that capture the diversity of human experience. These archives are more than technical collections; they are a living record of who we are and how we understand one another.

Audiovisual heritage connects us to people’s lives, their voices, languages, and cultures. It holds stories of everyday moments, major events, and the spaces in between. Through this material, we gain insight into the social, cultural, and linguistic diversity that shapes communities everywhere. For this reason, safeguarding these records is not a specialist concern but a shared responsibility.

UNESCO first recognised this through the adoption of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images in 1980. The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage commemorates that decision, and since its formal adoption in 2005, it has become a key moment to focus attention on the fragility of our audiovisual record. Film, tape, and digital formats all face risks – from physical decay and technological obsolescence to deliberate destruction and simple neglect.

UNESCO’s Digitizing Our Shared History project reflects the ongoing effort to address these risks by ensuring that past material remains accessible to future generations. This initiative sits alongside the Memory of the World Programme as a reminder that preservation is not an abstract goal but a practical and moral commitment to maintaining access to knowledge.

The World Day also invites reflection on how far each nation and institution has come in implementing the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form. It encourages collaboration, innovation, and shared standards across borders, recognising that digital access is now central to the long-term survival of heritage collections.

Here in Leicester, the Documentary Media Centre, part of the Independent Heritage Network, will mark the day by reaffirming its commitment to keeping heritage accessible through community activity. The Saturday Heritage Fair continues to provide a platform for groups and individuals to share their stories, collections, and creative work. In this way, we connect the global purpose of World Audiovisual Heritage Day with local action – ensuring that our heritage remains alive, relevant, and open to all.