The Ministry of Information and UNESCO Beirut Office unveiled a new initiative on Monday. This joint effort, titled “Documentary Heritage Emergency Intervention for TeleLiban Archives” was achieved with the support of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) emergency interventions.

TeleLiban’s archives are of cultural and historical significance for Lebanon. Established in May 1959, TeleLiban, the first state television in the Arab region, started broadcasting in black and white. It shaped the Lebanese and regional memory in its originality.

However, this valuable documentary heritage is at risk due to insufficient investment in restoration and preservation.

In response, UNESCO, in partnership with the ministry and with support from ALIPH, is launching emergency interventions to safeguard these archives. The initiative will build on the efforts of TeleLiban’s Archive unit, focusing on emergency digitization and providing essential technical equipment to preserve the remaining audiovisual material and create a comprehensive, accessible inventory.

“This new initiative financed by ALIPH will contribute to make the nomination file of the TeleLiban archives for the UNESCO Memory of the World much stronger. Our mission is to preserve the Lebanese media heritage for future generations,” said Minister of Information Ziad Makary.

For her part, the Director of UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut, Costanza Farina, pointed out that “TeleLiban occupies a special place in the heart of all Lebanese and its archives deserve special attention.”

“Lebanon is a priority for ALIPH, which did its utmost to help preserve the cultural heritage of Beirut’s old city after the 2020 blast,” ALIPH Executive Director Valéry Freland affirmed.

According to the UNESCO website, this initiative is an integral part of a wider technical support package offered by UNESCO, leading to the preparation of the nomination file of the TeleLiban archives that can be submitted to the UNESCO Memory of the World international registry .

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