A Look Back at the Origins of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

27 October 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The occasion seems ripe for a look back at how this worldwide celebration of audiovisual heritage – and of the institutions and professionals looking after it – came about. This timeline is the result of thorough research into the historical archives of FIAF, the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), and UNESCO.

27 October 1980

The story of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage begins on 27 October 1980. On that day in Belgrade (then in Yugoslavia), UNESCO’s General Conference adopts the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images, the first global instrument to declare the cultural and historical importance of preserving moving images. The process leading to the adoption of this landmark text was initiated in 1974 by East Germany’s Staatliches Filmarchiv, then a very active FIAF member, and its director (also FIAF Vice-President and future FIAF President) Wolfgang Klaue, who led various international meetings at which the text of the Recommendation was discussed, and who played a key role in drafting it.

6-7 April 1981

Six months after the adoption of the landmark UNESCO Recommendation, six global organizations with a keen interest in the safe preservation of audiovisual heritage take advantage of this unique momentum to meet in Brussels for two days, in order to “learn more of each other’s work and to consider the possibility of developing collaborative projects in areas of mutual interest”. These organizations are the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the International Federation of Television Archives (then FIAT, now FIAT/IFTA), the Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the International Association of Sound Archives (IASA), and the International Council on Archives (ICA). Over the next two decades, this informal discussion forum, known as the “Round Table of Audiovisual Records”, will meet once a year, in the presence of UNESCO representatives, to exchange information and develop collaborative projects on topics such as the preservation, restoration, and cataloguing of audiovisual heritage, the training of audiovisual archives’ professionals, copyright, etc. Many of these projects will be developed with the support of UNESCO. One of the most notable achievements of the Round Table of Audiovisual Records will be the organization of the first editions of the Joint Technical Symposium (1983, 1987, 1990, and 1995). The last meeting of the Round Table will take place in March 1999. By then, its members recognize that the group has lost much of its initial momentum.

31 March 2000

A new, better-structured discussion forum, the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), replaces the Round Table of Audiovisual Records, with similar missions and comprising of the same nongovernmental organizations (with the addition of SEAPAVAA, the Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association, and AMIA, the Association of Moving Image Archivists). It holds its first annual meeting in London.

April 2004

The second edition of Australian audiovisual archivist Ray Edmondson's Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles is published by UNESCO, six years after the first one. The cover of this new edition reads: "Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images", even though it was published a year and a half before that official anniversary.

23 June 2004

At the CCAAA meeting in Toronto, Ray Edmondson (attending as representative of SEAPAVAA) proposes that on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation in 2005, this landmark text should be revised, as it is “rather outdated and does not encompass many aspects that are perceived to be important today”. UNESCO’s Joie Springer warns the CCAAA members that a revision of the Recommendation and its eventual adoption by UNESCO’s General Conference is likely to be a very lengthy process. She nevertheless suggests that a “background paper” explaining the rationale for such a revision should be submitted to UNESCO by the end of the year. Ray Edmondson agrees to summarize the issues in a draft paper to be circulated among CCAAA members for feedback.

19 November 2004

Vladimír Opěla, director of the Národní filmový archiv (Prague), a prominent FIAF figure, and a member of the Czech Commission for UNESCO since the mid-1990s, writes to all FIAF-affiliated institutions, reminding them of the impact of the UNESCO Recommendation since 1980, in particular for FIAF and its affiliates. He then suggests that the 25th anniversary of the Recommendation be commemorated by each FIAF-affiliated archive around the world, and via a retrospective of restored films at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Opěla also reports that at the Národní filmový archiv’s request, the Czech Commission for UNESCO has asked the Executive Board of UNESCO to consider declaring each 27 October – the day of the 1980 Recommendation’s anniversary – as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Finally, he informs the FIAF community that the Czech Commission for UNESCO will, in cooperation with FIAF, prepare a draft resolution and submit it to the UNESCO General Conference in 2005.

Vladimír Opěla at the 2004 FIAF Congress in Hanoi.

26-28 November 2004

At its meeting in Belgrade, FIAF’s Executive Committee discusses Opěla’s proposal for a UNESCO resolution on establishing a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and decides to support it.

FIAF EC meeting in Belgrade, November 2004.

1 December 2004

FIAF President Eva Orbanz writes to Vladimír Opěla, thanking him for his proposal to create a UNESCO-endorsed World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, and informing him that the EC fully supports this project.

29 December 2004

Eva Orbanz writes to Ray Edmondson to inform him that the FIAF Executive Committee has received – and decided to support – proposals from Vladimír Opěla to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation worldwide, and to create a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, under the patronage of UNESCO. She asks him and the CCAAA to back these proposals. She also reports that the FIAF Executive Committee discussed his own proposal to revise the text of the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation and to turn it into a Convention, and that it concluded that it would necessitate too much work and would take too long to be implemented, so it was decided not to support this project.

28 January 2005

Eva Orbanz writes to all FIAF affiliates asking them to contact their national Commissions for UNESCO to obtain their support with the double project of a worldwide celebration of the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation, and of the establishment of a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October.

18 March 2005

At the annual CCAAA meeting in Paris, FIAF representatives Eva Orbanz and Boris Todorovitch briefly report on Opěla’s proposal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation, but the focus of the CCAAA’s discussion is rather on whether the 1980 Recommendation should be rewritten and turned into a Convention. FIAF expresses its disagreement with Ray Edmondson’s project of submitting this proposal to UNESCO and votes against it, but the majority of the CCAAA members vote in favour.

April 2005

“UNESCO Instrument for the Safeguarding and Preservation of the Audiovisual Heritage: A CCAAA Issues Paper”, written by Ray Edmondson for the CCAAA, is finalized. It argues that because “there have been vast technological and structural changes in the audiovisual archiving field” since the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation was adopted, it has lost some of its relevance and should be replaced by a new UNESCO instrument for the safeguarding and preservation of the audiovisual heritage, with some binding power on signatory states.

3-5 June 2005

At the FIAF Executive Committee meeting in Ljubljana, Eva Orbanz and the CNC’s Boris Todorovitch report on Opěla’s proposals and the recent discussions at the last CCAAA meeting. Todorovitch explains that he recently had a meeting with UNESCO representatives about the project of a 25th anniversary celebration at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 27 October 2005, including a screening and an international symposium. He admits that there seemed to be a lack of interest from UNESCO in the project, as well as a lack of funding for it. The Executive Committee concludes that the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation should instead be celebrated by FIAF affiliates in their cinemas, inviting local UNESCO delegations to attend.

Here is a short audio clip from that meeting, with reports from Eva Orbanz and Boris Boris Todorovitch.

FIAF EC meeting in Ljubljana, June 2005.

10-11 June 2005

At the FIAF General Assembly in Ljubljana, delegates of FIAF affiliates are once again strongly encouraged to ask their national Commission for UNESCO to lobby UNESCO for the project of a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage to be added to the agenda of the 2005 UNESCO General Conference.

FIAF General Assembly in Ljubljana, June 2005.

8 September 2005

Eva Orbanz writes to all FIAF affiliates encouraging them to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation by arranging a special screening on their premises on 27 October. She also asks them to invite their national Commission for UNESCO to the event, and to ask them whether the UNESCO logo can be used to promote the event.

5 October 2005

A draft resolution prepared by Czech Republic and co-signed with France, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Germany, entitled “Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images and Proclamation of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage”, is published as one of the official papers of the 33rd session of the UNESCO General Conference (Paris, 3-21 October 2005). Shortly before this draft resolution was published, a draft CCAAA statement (dated 3 October 2005) was circulated among CCAAA member associations. This text demanded that the Czech resolution should "recognize the requirement to update, and thus strengthen, the 1980 Recommendation". However, because of a lack of consensus, the CCAAA statement was not published.

20 October 2005

The 2005 UNESCO General Conference “proclaims 27 October as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage” and “invites UNESCO Member States, National Commissions, non-governmental organizations, public and private institutions […] to envisage appropriate forms of celebration on this Day” (Records of the General Conference, 33rd Session, Paris, 3-21 October 2005, Resolution 53).

27 October 2005

Although this date officially marks the first World Day for Audiovisual Heritage as well as the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation, this double event is not widely celebrated around the world, as few people and institutions have heard of the UNESCO General Conference’s proclamation, adopted just a week earlier.

November 2005

An article by Ray Edmondson on ‘The “October Recommendation”: Marking 25 Years of a Revolution Doctrine’ is published in Journal of Film Preservation (No. 70, pp. 22-25). The article describes the impact of the 1980 Recommendation on the audiovisual archiving field since its adoption and, calling it “a creature of its time”, calls for “a new instrument” to replace it. He explains that an “issues paper” was released and submitted to UNESCO in April 2005 and that the CCAAA is now awaiting the next stage in what is expected to be a lengthy UNESCO process.

8-10 December 2005

At its meeting in Canberra, the FIAF Executive Committee hears a report from Vladimír Opěla on the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation, which a number of FIAF affiliates (about 15 of them, among which those in the countries that had co-signed the draft resolution) officially celebrated with special events on 27 October. It also notes with great satisfaction the recent adoption by the UNESCO General Conference of the resolution proclaiming 27 October as World Day of Audiovisual Heritage.

Here is a short audio clip from that meeting, in which Vladimír Opěla reports on UNESCO's proclamation of 27 October as World Day for Audiovisual Heeritage, and the celebrations in his country on that day.

The FIAF EC in Canberra, December 2005.

31 March 2006

At its annual meeting in Paris, the CCAAA discusses the recent proclamation of 27 October as World Day of Audiovisual Heritage by the 2005 UNESCO General Conference, and the fact that Ray Edmondson has been commissioned by the UNESCO Executive Board to undertake a feasibility study, with a deadline of 31 August. There is also a discussion on whether a specific World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is actually needed, or whether it could be integrated into a broader “World Archives Day” proposed by the ICA. Vladimír Opěla, who attends the meeting as a FIAF representative, insists on the importance of a special day dedicated to audiovisual heritage and his view is supported by several other CCAAA members.

CCAAA meeting in Paris, March 2006.

28-29 April 2006

At the FIAF General Assembly in São Paulo, Vladimír Opěla, who was named coordinator of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage celebrations, reminds the delegates of the importance of the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation, and announces that the EC decided to centralize information about the next annual celebrations of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October 2026 and to publish the list of celebratory events on the FIAF website.

1 June 2006

UNESCO launches a public consultation on the objectives, practicalities, costs and expected results of a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage to be celebrated annually on 27 October to build global awareness of the various issues at stake in preserving audiovisual heritage. Responses to the “World Day for Audiovisual Heritage Feasibility Study Questionnaire” must be sent to Ray Edmondson’s consultancy company, Archive Associates Pty Ltd, by 31 July. Well over 100 contributions from institutions, individuals, and associations will be received by the deadline.

1 September 2006

The “Report by the Director-General [of UNESCO] on the implications of the proclamation of a World Day for Audiovisual Heritage” presents the conclusions of the recent consultation led by Ray Edmondson. The Report confirms that the implementation of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage should proceed in accordance with the rationale set by Resolution 53 of the UNESCO General Conference on 20 October 2005. It also recommends that UNESCO should not be the main organizer of this new annual event, but rather act as a “catalyst and sponsor”, establishing the general guidelines, creating the logo, using its own network and website to distribute publicity and information, and acting as a clearing house for the exchange of information on celebratory events taking place around the world.

27 September 2006

FIAF Senior Administrator Christian Dimitriu writes to all FIAF affiliates to request information about their planned celebrations for the 2006 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage via a fillable form.

27 October 2006

Worldwide celebrations take place on the 2006 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. FIAF publishes on its website a list of 17 institutions around the world (all but one FIAF affiliate) which are organizing special events for the occasion. As for FIAT-IFTA, it publishes a “Golden Book” on its website, inviting individuals and organizations to post comments on their celebrations. The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage coincides with the opening day of its 2006 Conference in Madrid.

30 March 2007

During its meeting in Paris, the CCAAA holds its first comprehensive discussion on the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, and in particular on the CCAAA’s future role in coordinating it. The lack of UNESCO funding for it is noted with disappointment. Topics discussed include the necessity to create a visual identity for the World Day (a logo in particular), whether each annual edition should have a specific theme, and a dedicated webpage possibly managed by the CCAAA via its website, to relay all information about the World Day and worldwide celebrations. A World Day for Audiovisual Heritage Working Group is set up and AMIA’s Caroline Frick volunteers to chair it.

4-6 April 2007

The FIAF Executive Committee gathered in Tokyo decides to ask the CCAAA to convince UNESCO to host a special event at its headquarters in Paris on 27 October, with a screening of films in partnership with the CNC and Cinémathèque française.

29 June 2007

At a meeting in Toronto, the CCAAA discusses once again the project of a CCAAA-managed website dedicated to the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. A quote has been received for it, but the expected cost is prohibitive, as UNESCO has indicated that it would not pay for it and the CCAAA does not have any funds at its disposal (its members have not started paying an annual membership fee yet, even though the CCAAA’s Terms of Reference make this possible). FIAF’s Christian Dimitriu asserts that since FIAF already publishes information about the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on its website, it will not agree to spend more money on a separate CCAAA website. It is decided to ask Caroline Frick, the head of the CCAAA Working Group on the topic, to make formal recommendations about this.

CCAAA meeting in Toronto, June 2007.

4 October 2007

FIAF Senior Administrator Christian Dimitriu writes to all FIAF affiliates asking them to send the FIAF Secretariat, by fax or email, information about their planned celebrations for the 2007 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, by 25 October.

27 October 2007

On the occasion of the 2007 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, UNESCO releases for the first time a message from its Director-General, Kōichirō Matsuura, about the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, calling upon “governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to give audiovisual heritage the recognition it deserves”.

A webpage dedicated to the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is added to the CCAAA website [www.ccaaa.org/wdavh], while a list of celebratory events is also published on the FIAF website (and as a PDF file).

At the initiative of the CCAAA’s working group on the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, CCAAA member associations also collaborate to create a short trailer featuring materials from their collections and tied to the theme associated with the 2007 UNESCO General Conference: “Planet Earth: From Place to Space.”

14 March 2008

At the CCAAA meeting in Paris, Caroline Frick reports on the 2007 celebrations, and in particular on the dedicated CCAAA webpage and the trailer produced on that occasion. It is noted with satisfaction that about 20 countries have provided information about their celebrations of the 2007 World Day. Frick concludes that “a lot has been learned from the process, and considering the tight schedule and limited resources, the working group has achieved a lot.” UNESCO’s Joie Springer confirms that UNESCO has agreed to support the creation of a special logo for the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. CCAAA members are encouraged to submit ideas for that logo.

27 October 2008

2008 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The official theme chosen for this year’s edition is “Audiovisual Heritage as a Witness of Culture Identity”. UNESCO releases a new message from its Director-General Kōichirō Matsuura on this occasion. FIAF once again publishes a list of events organized by its affiliates around the world.

12-13 March 2009

The CCAAA holds its meeting in The Hague, where it discusses the 2008 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. It is felt that this last edition was not as successful as it should have been, because it was not well coordinated. UNESCO’s Joie Springer comments that proposing a different theme each year would help promote the event. Belina Capul, archivist of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and representative of SEAPAVAA, volunteers to coordinate the World Day celebrations on 27 October 2009.

August 2009

UNESCO, in partnership with the CCAAA, organizes a logo design competition to come up with a logo for the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The selected logo will be launched on 27 October 2009.

27 October 2009

The theme chosen for the 2009 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is “Fading Heritage: We Can Save It”. UNESCO release a message from its Director-General. A new webpage dedicated to the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is hosted by the website of the Philippine Information Agency, where Belina Capul works. It will be hosted on that website until 2015, thanks to Capul’s ongoing coordination of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on behalf of the CCAAA during that period.

Research and text: Christophe Dupin, October 2025.