Sin El-Fil, 2 September 2024 - Minister of Information, H.E Ziad Al Makary, and UNESCO Beirut Office announced today a new initiative, the "Documentary Heritage Emergency Intervention for TeleLiban Archives" thanks to the support of ALIPH.

Established in May 1959, TeleLiban, the first state television in the Arab region, started broadcasting in black and white and it shaped the Lebanese and regional memory in its originality. Its archives are considered national and regional treasure rich in drama, cultural, artistic and historical content. This priceless documentary heritage is under threat of being lost because of lack of investments in restauration and preservation. In partnership with the ministry, UNESCO is launching with the support of ALIPH emergency interventions that will address the critical status of the archives and contribute to safeguarding this historic and documentary heritage.

The initiative will build on the work carried out by the Archive unit at TeleLiban and complement it with emergency digitalization actions. Needed technical equipment and tools will also be procured to save the elements from the historical audiovisual archives that are not yet compromised and to create a detailed and accessible inventory.

This initiative is integral part of a wider technical support package offered by UNESCO leading to the preparation of the nomination file of the TeleLiban archives that can be submitted to the UNESCO Memory of the World international registry (https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world).

Memory of the World is a global UNESCO Programme that aims to facilitate preservation of the world's documentary heritage, particularly in areas affected by conflict and/or natural disaster, to enable universal access to documentary heritage worldwide, and to enhance public awareness about the significant of documentary heritage among the wider public.

AboutUNESCO

UNESCOis the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other's lives. UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

About ALIPH

The International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH)is the main global fund exclusively dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of cultural heritage in conflict zones and post-conflict situations. It was created in 2017 in response to the massive destruction of cultural heritage over the past two decades, predominantly in the Middle East and the Sahel. ALIPH is a public-private partnership assembling eight countries (China, Cyprus, France, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Morocco, Saudia Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) and private donors (Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan, Getty Trust, and Fondation Gandur pour l'Art). Based in Geneva, this Swiss Foundation also benefits from the privileges and immunities of an international organization. To date, ALIPH has supported about 450 projects in more than 35 countries. Building on the strength of these first years of experience, ALIPH is now committed to protecting the heritage in countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. ALIPH finances concrete initiatives carried out on the ground, hand in hand with local partners, authorities, and communities. Its mission places cultural heritage protection as a central contributor to peace and sustainable development.