| Title | Mali’s SAVAMA-DCI Selected for the 7thUNESCOJikji Memory of the World Prize |
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| Writer | Cheongju Early Printing Museum |
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On the 18th, Cheongju’sJikji Korea Organizing Committee (Chairman Cheongju Mayor Han Beum-deuk , hereinafter “Organizing Committee”) announced that Mali’s SAVAMA-DCI was chosen as the winner of the 7thUNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize.
The UNESCO/Jikji Prize is awarded biennially to commemorate the inscription of the Jikji , the oldest existing movable metal print, to the UNESCO Memory of the World. This year’s spotlight went to the NGO SAVAMA-DCI for their efforts to preserve Islamic culture. Against the backdrop of many relics and documents being likely to be damaged due to northern Mali being seized by armed groups connected to al-Queda, SAVAMA-DCI digitized over 600 documents stored in al-Wangari Manuscript Library . As such, Savama-DCI contributed to safekeeping old documents and preserving their forms and content,which earned them the honor of being awarded the UNESCO/Jikji Prize. The candidates for the UNESCO/Jikji Prize are recommended by governmental and inter-governmental organizations of UNESCO member nations and international NGOs that have official relationships with UNESCO. The juries are composed of 14 members of theInternational Advisory Committee (IAC) of the UNESCO Memory of the World appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO, and thus possess global authority. It is known that this year, 33 organizations and individuals from 26 countries submitted their applications to be candidates. The winner will be presented prize money of USD 30,000 along with an award certificate. Thus far, the UNESCO/JikjiPrize has been awarded to the following winners: △The National Library of the Czech Republic in 2005;△Phonogrammarchiv, Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna in 2007;△National Archives of Malaysia in 2009;△National Archives of Australia in 2011;△ADABI of Mexico in 2013; and △IberArchives of Latin America in 2015.The award ceremony for year’s UNESCO/JikjiPrize will be held as the main event of theJIKJI KOREA International Festival 2018 , and will be held together with the festival’s opening ceremony at theGrandPerformance Hall of Cheongju Arts Center on October 1. During the JIKJI KOREAfestivities, the founding ceremony for the International Association of Printing Museums (IAPM) will be held, and an international conference will also be held.Under the theme of “Be Open”, over 50 organizations, museums, and experts related to printing culture from some 20 countries will gather and talk about “Macro environments surrounding printing revolution within different time and space” and “Diversified efforts to preserve printing culture.” In addition, theJikji Prize 2.0 Roundtable will also be held to discuss developmental directions and expansion of influence of the UNESCO/Jikji Prize. Meanwhile, the JIKJI KOREA International Festival 2018 will be held in areas aroundCheongju Arts Center andCheongjuEarly Printing Museum from October 1 to October 21 with the theme of “A Walk in the Jikji Forest .” |
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