On 23 April, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, during the 224th session of the Executive Board, a draft decision to proclaim 19 November as the International Day of Documentary Heritage was unanimously supported.
This initiative was put forward by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan at the opening of the 43rd session of the General Conference of UNESCO in Samarkand in 2025.
It aims to raise awareness of the importance of preserving documentary heritage, expand access to it, and strengthen practical measures for its protection, as well as to foster international cooperation within UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Programme.
The initiative of Uzbekistan was co-sponsored by 65 countries and received unanimous support from UNESCO Member States. The official proclamation of the International Day of Documentary Heritage will take place at the 44th session of the UNESCO General Conference in November 2027.