Indonesia's National Library Receives the 2024 UNESCO-Jikji Memory of the World Prize Award

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Library of Indonesia received the 2024 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize, following the recommendation of an international jury of experts. The award recognizes the library's commitment to the preservation and accessibility of Indonesian manuscripts through various programs. 

UNESCO said that documentary heritage is a unique and irreplaceable window into our history, providing a link to the thought, culture, and lived experience of the past. "Our collective efforts to improve the preservation and accessibility of this heritage must continue. I congratulate the National Library of Indonesia on winning this award," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a press statement received by Tempo on Tuesday, September 3. 

It added that the international jury recognized the Library's commitment to the preservation and accessibility of Indonesian manuscripts through extensive programs, including national manuscript festivals, comprehensive publications, and educational initiatives for children and young people. 

The Library will receive the award at a ceremony in Cheongju, South Korea, on September 4, Jikji Day.

The National Library of Indonesia, established in 1980, has preserved significant Indonesian manuscript collections that reflect the antiquity and diversity of manuscript traditions in Indonesia. With the enactment of the Indonesian Library Act of 2007, the Library has implemented programs for the management of manuscripts throughout the country, including advocacy, inventory and acquisition, preservation, accessibility, research and publication, capacity building, and restitution. 

The Library's Acting Director E. Aminudin Aziz stated that creating a robust ecosystem for sustainable manuscript preservation and accessibility programs was critical. "This ecosystem, which includes advocacy on behalf of manuscript owners, improved preservation, and increased accessibility through a variety of methods, is challenging to build. However, it is a highly rewarding endeavor to enable more people to benefit from and enjoy documentary heritage," he said.

The UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize commemorates the inscription of a Korean work considered to be the oldest book printed with movable metal type. It recognizes efforts that contribute to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage. UNESCO established the Memory of the World Program to help preserve the world's documentary heritage and make it accessible to future generations.

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