Archives of Asia Africa Conference (Bandung, 1955) nominated jointly by India & Indonesia for incorporation in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register

The National Archives of India has signed a Letter of Intent with National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) for joint nomination of the Archives of Asia Africa Conference (ACC) held in Bandung in 1955 for incorporation in the UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MoW) Register.

The Letter of Intent was signed on 13th February 2015 at the National Archives of India, New Delhi by Smt. Sreya Guha, Director General of Archives, National Archives of India on behalf of the Government of the Republic of India and Mr. Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in New Delhi on behalf of the National Archives of Indonesia, Government of the Republic of Indonesia.

UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items

The Asia Africa Conference of 1955 was a unique event in the history of post-war diplomacy and international relations. Its world significance was that the newly independent Asian and African countries found their voice for the first time in their post independent history. Their initiative, started in Bandung with the four initial sponsoring countries (Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Burma), gave birth six years (1961) later to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) .

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NB/PS