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This evening in Edinburgh, at an awards ceremony organised by the Scottish Council on Archives and hosted by Lloyds Banking Group, the UNESCO Memory of the World UK Committee will announce nine new inscriptions to its UK register of outstanding documentary heritage. UNESCO established the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme in 1992. The programme vision is that the world's documentary heritage belongs to all, should be fully preserved and protected for all and, with due recognition of cultural mores and practicalities, should be permanently accessible to all without hindrance. The nine new inscriptions will join the 41 already listed on the UK register (one of several country-level programmes from around the world). Awarding this globally-recognised status helps to raise awareness of some of the UK’s exceptional documentary riches. Tonight’s reception will also celebrate five inscriptions to the international register, which identifies world class documentary heritage. Archive collections are filled with stories about people, places and events - they are the documented memory of humankind. Nominations for the register are considered against a range of criteria, including authenticity, rarity, integrity, threat and social, spiritual or community significance. Included in the awards for 2014 are the amazing 130 Roman curse tablets from Bath - the earliest known surviving prayers to a deity in Britain. Some are pretty fierce, like the person who, seeking revenge for theft of a bronze vessel, asks that it be filled with the blood of the thief! Indeed, many of the collections contain surprising facts. For example, did you know that Shakespeare was listed in official records as defaulting on his tax in 1597? With First World War commemorations upon us, there’s the first ever TV-style interviews in 1916 from the Hepworth Cinema Collection, featuring figures such as Lloyd George. The Royal Mail Archive is also honoured, including its enormous stamp artwork archive amongst which is the 1965 experiment to remove the Queen’s head from designs. One of the great treasures of Edinburgh University will also be inscribed this year – the thousands of manuscripts of the major Hebridean folklorist Alexander Carmichael (1832–1912). Of incalculable importance for the history and culture of the Scottish Highlands, Carmichael recorded extraordinary stories ranging from legends of loch monsters and second sight, to epic clan battles, Gaelic insults and crofting customs. At tonight’s event the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP, will welcome the prestigious MoW awards to Scotland for the first time. Lady Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, will host guests from across the UK. Records of Bank of Scotland from 1695-2001 were added to the register in 2011. The archive is one of the most complete and wide-ranging business collections in the country and includes unique customer records of notable individuals such as Sir Henry Raeburn and Mrs Robert Burns, alongside the earliest surviving Scottish banknote - £12 Scots from 1716. To see all the inscriptions on the UK Register go to http://www.unesco.org.uk/uk_memory_of_the_world_register To see the UK Inscriptions on the International Register go to http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-project-activities/memory-of-the-world/register/access-by-region-and-country/europe-and-north-america/united-kingdom/ Elizabeth Oxborrow-Cowan Chair, UK Committee, UNESCO Memory of the World Programme Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra