World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2024

October 27 is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, a UNESCO-led initiative to celebrate the importance of audiovisual media. It includes not just movies and TV shows, but also family videos, commercials, and news broadcasts. The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia preserves and makes available audiovisual culture, including historic speeches, newsreels, and rare footage. This day is about recognizing the value of audiovisual media and the need to support archives and cultural institutions. Let's celebrate our shared audiovisual heritage on October 27. Welcome back, listeners. For this next segment, we'll be talking about an exciting occasion that's coming up this October. But first, let me ask you a question. Do you have a favourite film that you keep coming back to time and time again? Think about this movie. You can conjure up a particular striking image from the film that has stuck with you maybe, or perhaps an iconic line you can hear the exact cadence of in your head right now. Maybe even a certain unforgettable movie score. Whatever it may be that you're thinking of right now, what you're appreciating is the unique joys of audiovisual media. And that's exactly what we're talking about today. October 27 marks World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, a UNESCO-led initiative that gives us a yearly opportunity to celebrate the audiovisual materials that enrich our lives. And to be clear, it isn't all about blockbuster movies or TV shows. AV media includes everything from your family home videos, television commercials, news broadcasts and more. Organisations like the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia collect, preserve and make available to Australians our audiovisual culture. The collection includes everything from Julia Gillard's famous 2012 misogyny speech, newsreels going back to 1929 and rare footage of the extinct phyllocene. But the day isn't just about nostalgia. It's about understanding the value audiovisual media brings to our communities and recognising that our AV heritage is worth preserving. Archives and other cultural institutions in Australia and around the world often struggle with insufficient funding. This October, World Day for Audiovisual Heritage gives us the perfect opportunity to shine a light on why these artefacts matter and are deserving of our government's support. That's all we have time for today. Thanks for listening in. I look forward to celebrating our shared audiovisual heritage together this October 27.