World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

October 27 is World Audiovisual Heritage Day, one of the most important holidays established by the UN But it so happens that only a few know about it - mainly historians and cultural scientists, archaeologists, sociologists, and political scientists Audiovisual heritage means any objects that can be assessed from an audio or visual point of view For example, this includes: photographic products, music, cinema, songs, combined options, archival radio recordings, and so on Often these unique materials become the only source that tells us what society was like in a given period of time Many of these objects are, moreover, works of art, that is, they carry historical and cultural value at the same time It is believed that this day was established by the General Conference of UNESCO at the end of the last century It was then that humanity realized how important sources of information, rather fragile in themselves, are for the history and culture of the entire society We had to realize their importance because of the abundance of armed conflicts, large-scale wars on earth, when such archives were destroyed in large quantities Moreover, this happened not only by accident due to bombings and disasters, but also purposefully People have always understood that such sources contain a large amount of information and can be considered not only as an aesthetically attractive object, but also as an important transmitter of historical truth Even today, the problem of preserving audiovisual heritage has not been completely resolved This can be judged by the insufficient funding for many museums, scientific, cultural, historical complexes, and archives And at the same time, such objects are very vulnerable and even fragile Very often, representatives of international organizations draw attention to the fact that the preservation of audiovisual heritage differs significantly in certain countries of the world UN representatives are especially concerned about the situation in Africa, where, due to ongoing ethnic, religious, civil wars and armed clashes, valuable cultural objects, including those related to audiovisual heritage, are being destroyed Unfortunately, the situation is unlikely to change dramatically in the foreseeable future On this day, October 27, it is customary to hold lectures, seminars, and conferences devoted to the problems of preserving audiovisual objects of cultural, social, and historical value As the holiday gradually becomes more widespread, more and more often on this day local television channels in different countries show thematic programs dedicated to the history of mankind, including the demonstration of audiovisual heritage objects themselves Film screenings and chronicles are organized Pressing problems that make it possible to preserve these objects for future generations are also discussed Very often on this day, historically important recordings are shown on television and radio, for example, speeches by Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King's address to the nation, as well as photographs illustrating the life of mankind during particularly critical periods of existence Thus, photo exhibitions are held dedicated to the Second World War, etc Also, such objects include the first Soviet color film “Battleship Potemkin” or even seemingly ordinary vinyl records, disks, floppy disks that were mass produced at the end of the last century Even rock art in the caves of South and North America and Africa is also an object of audiovisual heritage, the age of which is estimated at thousands of years