20 Oct 2022

Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture in partnership with Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BINARS) will from October 27 to November 5 host the world day for audiovisual heritage.

BINARS director, Dineo Phuti noted that October 27 was very significant since it marked the celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and thirty years since the establishment of UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, 1992.

Briefing the media in Gaborone on Tuesday, she said commemorating the day was meant to raise awareness on the significance and preservation of recorded sound and audiovisual documents as well as to strengthen the importance of audiovisual heritage materials in relation to heritage preservation and access.

The event themed; Enlisting Documentary Heritage to Promote Inclusive, Just and Peaceful Societies, spoke to all humanity, be it creators of audiovisual materials, collectors and managers she said.

The commemoration, she said, would bring together professionals in the field of information science management, historians, researchers, administrators, students and the general public, and create awareness on their importance and their use in society.

Phuti further emphasised that the commemoration also recognised that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly SDG 16, which seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and builds effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Phuti confirmed that the event would be celebrated at the Department of National Museum and Monuments Little Theatre, and urged the public and users of valuable heritage to attend in large numbers in order to learn the preservation and safeguarding measures related to audiovisuals. ENDS