The Memory of the World and its Hidden Facets
- The aim of the present chapter is to enhance the understanding of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme (MoW) and its relevance in the context of international heritage protection. Despite being UNESCO's key programme for protecting documentary heritage, MoW is not well known in the field of heritage, and it is not well distinguished from other initiatives concerned with preservation and accessibility of information. To understand the scope and message of MoW, this chapter argues that it is necessary to understand its underlying philosophy, which rests on the view that documentary heritage is a heritage of humanity. Consequently, the implications triggered by the notion of the heritage of humanity in the context of MoW are clarified, illustrating how using this notion as a lens may emphasize the potential of MoW as a heritage initiative and give a direction to how it can be conceptualized and implemented.