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'This is NZ' Added to the UNESCO Memory of the World

Memory of the World Inscriptions 2022

Three new inscriptions have been added to the Memory of the World Register. Including the film, 'This is New Zealand'.The 2022 function will be held at the National Library, Wellington on Wednesday, 7 December, at 2.30pm.

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“The inscriptions added to the Register span two centuries and many documentary heritage formats,” says Jane Wild, Chair of the Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Trust. “These three inscriptions from four institutions include unique taonga comprising archives, letters, photographs and film.”

The event will bring the number of inscriptions on the New Zealand register to forty-nine.

Guest speaker Dylan Owen from the National Library will talk about making New Zealand history a compulsory component of the curriculum in 2023 and the significance of our unique documentary heritage.

The three inscriptions includes:

This is New Zealand, nominated by Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

A unique, technically sophisticated portrayal of our national identity. Produced to showcase New Zealand at Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan, This Is New Zealand is one of the National Film Unit’s crowning achievements, showcases its creativity and is a joyous summation of who we were as a nation in 1970. The film was structured around two major aspects: The Land and The People. Filming was undertaken by three different crews over six months in 1968-69, with the idea to cover impressions of all the four seasons.

This is New Zealand proved to be an astonishing success to an overseas audience and, later, an opportunity for New Zealand audiences to enjoy an affirming, visually delightful and uplifting portrait of Aotearoa.

Find out more about the film.

https://unescomow.nz/inscription/this-is-new-zealand