Experts pledge cooperation to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in South-East Europe
2008 Ministry of Culture of Croatia - Nijemo Kolo, silent circle dance of the Dalmatian hinterland
The conclusions of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage are now available online. Discussions focused on the importance of achieving coordination between UNESCO conventions and exploring possible synergies at an operational and policy level.
The meeting, held on 18-19 June 2015 in Palazzo Zorzi, premises of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), was organised jointly with the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO (Sofia, Bulgaria). Experts in representation of the ministries of culture of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey attended the meeting. International experts and UNESCO staff also took part.
Participants acknowledged the value of nominations to the lists of the 2003 Convention as means to raise awareness among those directly involved in the implementation of the convention but also among civil society and the general public, and stressed the benefits of multinational nominations to international cooperation. They further highlighted the importance of ensuring closer policy and operational coordination in the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005).
The final point of discussion centred on food sustainability and its contribution to intangible cultural heritage, in recognition of the EXPO 2015 theme, “Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life”. Many countries in South-East Europe have inscribed elements in their national Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) inventories relating to food production or consumption. Participants reported that, based on these experiences, food-related elements contributed to women’s empowerment, promoted good practices in international cooperation and stimulated local communities to investigate and safeguard other elements.
During the meeting, participants accepted the proposal by the representative of Croatia to convene the next meeting of the Network in Croatia, in 2016, with special focus on the coordination between the 2003 Convention and the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1972).
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