Archivists from Cuba , China and the Republic of Korea shared
their experiences at a workshop in Hanoi on August 18, helping to
promote their Vietnamese counterparts’ confidence in keeping
UNESCO-recognised heritages and valuable historic documents.
The workshop heard reports on conserving and promoting centuries-old
records in China and analysing bibliographic statistics on scientific
products in Latin America .
Experience from the
National Archive of Cuba emphasised a need to develop a relevant
national strategy, which contributed to collecting valuable archive
holdings scattered across the country for the best possible
preservation.
Such an action has helped strengthen
the national identity and safeguard national security, said its
Director Martha M. Ferriol Marchena.
Vietnamese
delegates also shared experiences in preserving and promoting the value
of wooden printing blocks from the Nguyen dynasty, 1802-1945, and the
world of stone steles engraved with names of doctorate holders during
the period 1442-1779. These steles were built at Vietnam ’s first
university and cultural temple called Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam – the
Temple of Literature in Hanoi .
The wooden
printing blocks and steles were recognised by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as
documentary heritages of the world in 2009.
The
head of the State Records and Archive Department, Vu Thi Minh Huong,
said at the workshop that Vietnam was proud of the UNESCO honours
but the recognition also set an important and urgent task for the
country to guard against collective amnesia and preserve valuable
archive holdings.
Huong said her agency is also
working hard to trace other valuable archives in the hand of
institutions and individuals, to nominate them to the list of
documentary heritages under the UNESCO-sponsored Memory of the World
programme./.
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