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The initiative, "Strengthening and Protecting the Memory of Chilean Resistance through the Digitisation and Preservation of the National Library’s Photographic, Audiovisual, and Sound Archives from the Dictatorship Period," is Chile’s first project to receive funding from this international assistance fund.

The allocated funds will enable the National Library of Chile to preserve and digitise four key archival collections that are essential to understanding Chile’s cultural movement during the dictatorship. These materials are highly vulnerable to deterioration and at significant risk of being lost due to technological obsolescence, particularly affecting sound recordings and moving image archives.

The collections include:

• Colour slides from Salvador Allende’s government, recently donated by American photographer Michael Mauney.
• The personal archive of visual artist Vicente Ruiz.
• Historical documentaries from the Audiovisual Archive.
• Open-reel tape recordings of Chilean musicians, acquired through the Alerce record label fund.

Once digitised, these archives will be made available on the National Library’s digital platforms.

Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted: “This project underscores the importance of international cooperation in the preservation and protection of cultural heritage. With a financial contribution of $50,000 from UNESCO, this valuable photographic and audiovisual collection will be digitised using cutting-edge equipment, which will remain available to Chilean institutions. The risk management plan for the library and the promotion of the heritage’s inclusion in the 1954 Convention’s Enhanced Protection List will not only help safeguard these materials but also ensure their accessibility for future generations.”

Carolina Pérez Dattari, Undersecretary of Cultural Heritage, stated: “This is the first assistance fund we have secured in this area, but it marks the third UNESCO grant we have obtained for heritage protection, reaffirming our commitment to international cooperation in safeguarding cultural heritage. This project not only strengthens the preservation of memory and heritage, with a particular focus on human rights and archival heritage as fundamental pillars, but also integrates into the National Digital Heritage Strategy 2024-2029. This public policy, part of President Gabriel Boric’s government programme, aims to promote the conservation, appreciation, and dissemination of digital heritage, covering both born-digital material and the digitisation of analogue archives.”

The International Assistance Fund of the 1954 Hague Convention provides financial and technical support to Member States for the implementation of preventive, emergency, and recovery measures concerning cultural property of exceptional value. Its primary goal is to protect cultural heritage from the effects of armed conflicts, with initiatives including training, risk management planning, digitisation of cultural assets, and the restoration of damaged sites.

The project has an estimated total cost of $104,352 and will be implemented over 18 months by the National Library of Chile, the Undersecretariat of Cultural Heritage, and the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago.

Soledad Abarca, Director of the National Library, emphasised: “This initiative is crucial for the preservation of Chile’s cultural heritage, ensuring the conservation and public accessibility of unique historical records, strengthening emergency preparedness, and promoting the recognition of our national heritage.”

The awarded funds will enable improvements to the National Library’s digitisation infrastructure and the development of a Risk Preparedness Plan, which is expected to become a model for other institutions at the national and regional levels. This plan will include a series of workshops for professionals from the National Cultural Heritage Service, security forces, and other relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the National Cultural Heritage Service, drawing on the experience and information gathered from this project, will prepare a nomination dossier for the possible inclusion of the National Library of Chile in UNESCO’s International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection, linked to the 1954 Hague Convention.