With the support of France and Monaco, UNESCO has strengthened its efforts to digitize, preserve and activate its audiovisual archives, placing a particular emphasis on their contemporary relevance and public engagement.
This partnership built on UNESCO’s long-standing commitment to audiovisual heritage by combining digitization with innovative forms of dissemination and interpretation. Through a series of public events, screenings and academic initiatives, the project has highlighted the richness of UNESCO’s audiovisual collections and their value for understanding the history of international cooperation, cultural exchange and global media practices.
Key milestones of the project included the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (23 October 2025) celebrations and the Screen Internationalism seminar (November 2025), which brought together researchers, professionals and wider audiences to explore UNESCO’s audiovisual legacy from new interdisciplinary perspectives. These activities have contributed to fostering dialogue between archives, research and creative communities, while reinforcing the visibility of UNESCO’s documentary heritage.
More broadly, this partnership reflected a shared ambition to move beyond preservation alone, positioning audiovisual archives as living resources for research, education and public engagement, and to demonstrate their continued relevance in addressing contemporary challenges related to media, culture and international cooperation.