World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2024

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is annually observed on October 27 to build global awareness of issues on preserving audiovisual material, such as sound recordings and moving images.

What Do People Do?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works with organizations, governments and communities promote the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on October 27 each year. Activities and events include:

• Competitions, such as a logo contest, to promote the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.
• Local programs organized as a joint effort between national film archives, audiovisual societies, television or radio stations, and governments.
• Panel discussions, conferences, and public talks on the importance of preserving important audiovisual documents.
• Special film screenings.

Countries previously involved in observing the day included (but were not exclusive to) Canada, Denmark, Thailand, and the United States.

Public Life

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Background

Many sound recordings, moving images and other audiovisual material are lost because of neglect, natural decay and technological obsolescence. Organizations such as UNESCO felt that more audiovisual documents would be lost if stronger and concerted international action was not taken. A proposal to commemorate a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage was approved at a UNESCO general conference in 2005. The first World Day for Audiovisual Heritage was held on October 27, 2007.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage aims to raise general awareness of the need for urgent measures to be taken. It also focuses on acknowledging the importance of audiovisual documents as an integral part of national identity.

Symbols

UNESCO’s logo features a drawing of a temple with the “UNESCO” acronym under the roof of the temple and on top of the temple’s foundation. Underneath the temple are the words “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization”. This logo is often used in promotional material for the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.