A Call to Action

World experts have expressed confidence in saving the world's AV heritage when the Coordinating Council of AV Archives Associations (CCAAA) adopted during its annual meeting the theme "Fading Heritage: We Can Save It" for this year's celebration of the World Day for Auvio-Visual Heritage on October 27.

AV documents, which are characteristic of the 20th and 21st centuries, have immense and far-reaching influences in the everyday lives of people around the world. Yet, due to their fragility, much has been lost and continue to be lost.

UNESCO declared October 27 as the World Day for AV Heritage to raise awareness of the significance of AV documents and to draw attention to the need to safeguard them. Every year, activities are organized by different institutions worldwide around a theme to drum up interest in the event.

This year's celebration started with the search for the World Day logo which was launched in July and ended August 31. Two-hundred fifty entries worldwide were received and shortlisted by UNESCO. The winner will be selected by a committee composed of representatives of the CCAAA member-NGOs. The winning entry will be announced on October 27 at the UNESCO and the CCAAA websites.

A website, organized around the theme "Fading Heritage: We Can Save It" will be accessible through the CCAAA website (www.ccaaa.org). This will contain news, editorial, messages, and articles on activities for the events organized worldwide, audio and video clips of restored AV documents, tips on AV document preservation, links to the Memory of the World (MOW) programme, and listings of significant AV documents in the MOW registers.

All CCAAA NGOs and member-institutions are enjoined to actively participate in this year's celebration.