Turkmenistan’s nomination, “Archival Sources on the Life and Work of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Adham”, has been included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) Regional Register. According to the “Turkmenistan: Golden Age” news agency, the decision was made during the 11th General Meeting and International Seminar of the Regional Committee, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 2 to 6 November.

Turkmenistan’s nomination was among 21 new documentary heritage items approved by the jury. It has thus become the country’s first documentary heritage item to be included in the MOWCAP Regional Register.

Turkmenistan is represented at the event by the Executive Secretary of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO and a researcher from the Magtymguly Institute of Language, Literature and National Manuscripts of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan.

The forum is organised by the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), in cooperation with the National Commissions for UNESCO of the Republic of Korea and Indonesia, as well as the Korea Heritage Service.

The central theme of the seminar is “Water World: Sea Nomads, Documentary Heritage and the Memory of the World”. Participants are discussing ways to study and preserve the culture, history and documentary heritage of Southeast Asia’s maritime nomadic communities.

The opening ceremony featured speeches by Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon and Kim Kwi-bae, Chairperson of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP).

The event also included the signing of international memorandums and the opening of an exhibition featuring archival documents, manuscripts, photographs and film materials dedicated to the history of the region’s maritime civilisations.