Image
1/7
Sample of audiovisual formats found in UNESCO Archives
Sample of audiovisual formats found in UNESCO Archives: Reel-to-reel magnetic tape and 16 mm film.
Preserved in over 30 archival depots as well as in UNESCO servers, the UNESCO Archives contain a wealth of sources illuminating UNESCO’s history and pre-history in all formats, including: 10 kilometers of paper records; 170,000 photos; 12,000 film reels; 30,000 audio recording; 33 TB of digital files; web archives; and more. An active service that is used by researchers, staff, and Member States, UNESCO’s archives are however not fully indexed or exploited. The UNESCO Archives service is currently seeking funding and partners to continue indexing, digitizing, and publishing its at-risk documentary heritage. Archives staff also work with units and field offices to digitize archival holdings related to specific programmes and campaigns.
Preserved in over 30 archival depots as well as in UNESCO servers, the UNESCO Archives contain a wealth of sources illuminating UNESCO’s history and pre-history in all formats, including: 10 kilometers of paper records; 170,000 photos; 12,000 film reels; 30,000 audio recording; 33 TB of digital files; web archives; and more. An active service that is used by researchers, staff, and Member States, UNESCO’s archives are however not fully indexed or exploited. The UNESCO Archives service is currently seeking funding and partners to continue indexing, digitizing, and publishing its at-risk documentary heritage. Archives staff also work with units and field offices to digitize archival holdings related to specific programmes and campaigns.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Image
2/7
Founding archivists and librarians of UNESCO
Founding archivists and librarians of UNESCO: Jan Opocensky, UNESCO’s first Archivist, circa 1940s; former Director General Luther Evans, 1952; Archibald MacLeish, U.S. Representative to the Conference for the Establishment of UNESCO, 1945. Photo credits: Photo Studio Harcourt; UNESCO; UNESCO.
The impact and work of thousands of individuals throughout the history of UNESCO are documented in the UNESCO Archives. Archivists and librarians also made significant contributions to the mission and identity of UNESCO. Luther Evans, former Librarian of Congress, was UNESCO’s Director General from 1953 to 1958. The poet Archibald MacLeish, also a former Librarian of Congress and the United States delegate to the Conference for the Establishment of UNESCO, wrote the most famous line in UNESCO’s Constitution: Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.
The impact and work of thousands of individuals throughout the history of UNESCO are documented in the UNESCO Archives. Archivists and librarians also made significant contributions to the mission and identity of UNESCO. Luther Evans, former Librarian of Congress, was UNESCO’s Director General from 1953 to 1958. The poet Archibald MacLeish, also a former Librarian of Congress and the United States delegate to the Conference for the Establishment of UNESCO, wrote the most famous line in UNESCO’s Constitution: Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Download this picture
Dimension - 1332x612px
DownloadImage
3/7
Postcard from Sigmund Freud to the IICI on Why War?
Postcard from Sigmund Freud to the IICI on Why War?, publication of the exchange of letters with Albert Einstein, Correspondences series, 1933. International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation.
The archives of UNESCO’s predecessor organization, the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation (IICI), consisting of 500 archival boxes of documents, and an estimated 800 publications, were inscribed on the Memory of the World Register in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, the UNESCO Archives digitized the IICI archives, except for the publications, with the generous support of the People of Japan. The digitized archives are freely available on UNESCO’s Access to Memory database. Only the publications remain to be digitized. This postcard from the IICI archives signed by Sigmund Freud refers to the publication of Why War?, an exchange of letters between himself and Albert Einstein on the question of how humankind could be freed from the threat of war.
The archives of UNESCO’s predecessor organization, the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation (IICI), consisting of 500 archival boxes of documents, and an estimated 800 publications, were inscribed on the Memory of the World Register in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, the UNESCO Archives digitized the IICI archives, except for the publications, with the generous support of the People of Japan. The digitized archives are freely available on UNESCO’s Access to Memory database. Only the publications remain to be digitized. This postcard from the IICI archives signed by Sigmund Freud refers to the publication of Why War?, an exchange of letters between himself and Albert Einstein on the question of how humankind could be freed from the threat of war.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Image
4/7
Construction of the UNESCO Headquarters
Construction of the UNESCO Headquarters. Contact sheets from photographic albums in the UNESCO Archives.
Inaugurated in November 1958, the UNESCO headquarters, previously located at the Hotel Majestic on Avenue Kléber, moved to its current headquarters at 7, Place de Fontenoy in Paris. The Y-shaped building, or “three-pointed-star" constructed from reinforced concrete, was designed by three principal architects, Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, and Bernard Zehrfuss, supported by an international panel of advisors. The uniqueness of materials can be observed in the interior of the building, from the Norwegian quartzite floor tiles, Belgian aluminum panels, and French glass doors with Burmese teak finger plates. Internationally recognized artists were commissioned to decorate the building, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Karel Appel, Afro Basaldella, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, and Henry Moore, among others. The UNESCO Works of Art Collection has grown through acquisitions and through donations by Member States to include over 700 works of art from 128 countries.
Inaugurated in November 1958, the UNESCO headquarters, previously located at the Hotel Majestic on Avenue Kléber, moved to its current headquarters at 7, Place de Fontenoy in Paris. The Y-shaped building, or “three-pointed-star" constructed from reinforced concrete, was designed by three principal architects, Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, and Bernard Zehrfuss, supported by an international panel of advisors. The uniqueness of materials can be observed in the interior of the building, from the Norwegian quartzite floor tiles, Belgian aluminum panels, and French glass doors with Burmese teak finger plates. Internationally recognized artists were commissioned to decorate the building, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Karel Appel, Afro Basaldella, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, and Henry Moore, among others. The UNESCO Works of Art Collection has grown through acquisitions and through donations by Member States to include over 700 works of art from 128 countries.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Image
5/7
Children’s drawings from Sandkrug School, West Germany
Children’s drawings from Sandkrug School, Eckernf?rde, West Germany, circa 1946.
Traces of UNESCO’s activities in the aftermath of World War II are found in various sources in the UNESCO Archives, including in the publications of UNESCO’s Reconstruction and Rehabilitation service, and in a series of correspondence from UNESCO’s earliest years. These drawings by children of the Sandkrug School in West Germany sent to UNESCO offer a vivid and rare picture through the eyes of children in the town of Eckernf?rde. The accompanying letter signed by the headmaster of the school describes the difficult situation of the town during and after WWII. Due to a housing shortage, the Sandkrug School was located in a former torpedo plant, with eight classrooms hosting 16 classes. Due to the lack of space, the classes took place in two shifts.
Traces of UNESCO’s activities in the aftermath of World War II are found in various sources in the UNESCO Archives, including in the publications of UNESCO’s Reconstruction and Rehabilitation service, and in a series of correspondence from UNESCO’s earliest years. These drawings by children of the Sandkrug School in West Germany sent to UNESCO offer a vivid and rare picture through the eyes of children in the town of Eckernf?rde. The accompanying letter signed by the headmaster of the school describes the difficult situation of the town during and after WWII. Due to a housing shortage, the Sandkrug School was located in a former torpedo plant, with eight classrooms hosting 16 classes. Due to the lack of space, the classes took place in two shifts.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Image
6/7
Asian Regional Institute for School Building Research
ARISBR 1962-1972. Asian Regional Institute for School Building Research.
The Asian Regional Institute for School Building Research (ARISBR) was organized through the cooperation of UNESCO and the Government of Indonesia to assist in designing school buildings, furniture, and equipment that was both economical and ergonomic for children and young adults. It was created in Bandung in late 1962. Following the announcement in 1965 of Indonesia’s withdrawal from the United Nations and most of its agencies, including UNESCO, ARISBR was relocated to Bangkok. It finally moved to Colombo, Sri Lanka and closed its doors in 1973. The archives of ARISBR were transferred to UNESCO after its dissolution in 1973, ensuring that the history of its existence and work is not lost.
The Asian Regional Institute for School Building Research (ARISBR) was organized through the cooperation of UNESCO and the Government of Indonesia to assist in designing school buildings, furniture, and equipment that was both economical and ergonomic for children and young adults. It was created in Bandung in late 1962. Following the announcement in 1965 of Indonesia’s withdrawal from the United Nations and most of its agencies, including UNESCO, ARISBR was relocated to Bangkok. It finally moved to Colombo, Sri Lanka and closed its doors in 1973. The archives of ARISBR were transferred to UNESCO after its dissolution in 1973, ensuring that the history of its existence and work is not lost.
Copyright
?UNESCO
Image
7/7
International action to safeguard the monuments of Nubia
Communication from the Government of the United Arab Republic concerning international action to safeguard the archaeological monuments of Nubia, UNESCO Executive Board, 1959. UNESCO International Campaign to Safeguard the Monuments of Nubia.
The “greatest archaeological rescue operation of all time” (UNESCO Courier, 1980) was officially launched following calls by the Government of the United Arab Republic and UNESCO in 1959. Over the span of 20 years, the Campaign rescued and relocated 22 ancient monuments with the cooperation of 50 countries and at the cost of 80 million USD. The UNESCO Archives holds a substantial archive on the campaign, consisting of hundreds of correspondence files, official documents, publications, technical records, photographs, and audiovisual recordings related to this extraordinary operation.
The “greatest archaeological rescue operation of all time” (UNESCO Courier, 1980) was officially launched following calls by the Government of the United Arab Republic and UNESCO in 1959. Over the span of 20 years, the Campaign rescued and relocated 22 ancient monuments with the cooperation of 50 countries and at the cost of 80 million USD. The UNESCO Archives holds a substantial archive on the campaign, consisting of hundreds of correspondence files, official documents, publications, technical records, photographs, and audiovisual recordings related to this extraordinary operation.
Copyright
?UNESCO