UNESCO in association with Sangeet Natak Akademi Delhi organised a 2.5 day workshop from 2-4 December 2014 on the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Participants were familiarised with the fundamentals of the Convention such as the importance of community-based inventory and multiple options for safeguarding measures. The workshop also provided a training session by Ms Shubha Chaudhuri, a UNESCO trained facilitator. The case studies by organizations working with communities at the grassroots elaborated further on community participation in documentation, and culture based livelihoods for rural development. On the last day participants were involved in an engaging role-play exercise of developing the ICH inventory. They were divided into three groups – community, NGO, and government officials. The exercise demonstrated the perspectives of each group about other stakeholders, and challenges of working together. Another enriching aspect of the workshop was a qawaali and sattreya dance performance followed by Q&A; sessions with the performers. UNESCO Delhi now plans to organise such workshops in different regions within India to encourage greater involvement of the state governments.

A capacity-building workshop for the preparation of community-based inventories of intangible cultural heritage was organized by the UNESCO House for a Culture of Peace in Burundi in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The workshop, which was held in the Bujumbura Community Centre, has trained 29 participants from the Ministry and representatives of cultural associations engaged in activities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, in the methodology for developing inventories with the participation of communities according to the principles of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The vast majority of participants had benefited in the past from training on the implementation of the Convention at the national level and were therefore already familiar with the key concepts and notions of the Convention. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Domitien Nizigiyimana, expert of the World Network of UNESCO for the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and included a practical course of carrying out field inventory to apply the theory learned during the previous days.
This training was a real success in many respects. First by the active involvement of participants throughout the workshop, which particularly appreciated the practice through the practical course. The respect for gender equality and the presence of young people has diversified views and mobilize shared interest with regard to the intangible cultural heritage. Another lesson learned is that this kind of exercise helps to reassure communities that are very concerned about the uncertain future of their intangible cultural heritage which, according to them, was abandoned by the youth. Communities expressed great satisfaction of having been contacted prior to the workshop to gather their consent by asking to deliver their knowledge for the sake of the practice course and of having stayed together with the participants during the course which allowed a lot of exchange.

Documents

LIST_DOC:00466

A representative of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Leisure of Niger will open next Monday 10 November a five-days Training workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, with the participation of the Spanish Technical Bureau of Cooperation in Niger.
Organized together with the National Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of Niger and the support of UNESCO, the workshop (held in Niamey from 10 to 14 November) is the first of three major training activities of the capacity-building programme implemented in Niger for the safeguarding of its living heritage. The training will provide participants with knowledge, tools and resources on the principles and mechanisms of the Convention and its Operational Directives. The aim is to help Niger to fulfil its national obligations under the Convention by developing a sufficient level of national capacity, both within public institutions and among the main actors of civil society and communities.
The workshop will be immediately followed by a consultation meeting on the national institutional and legislative framework of cultural heritage in order to discuss, propose and validate specific amendments to the law n  97-022 on national cultural heritage of Niger and the related decree for its application so as to ensure its applicability for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Niger. This consultation meeting takes place in the framework of the revision process of the law, an effort initiated by the national authorities in 2013.
The next step will be training on the preparation of community-based inventories of the intangible cultural heritage, followed by two pilot inventory projects in the field where the methodologies and tools conveyed during the training will be applied.

The Mozambican Institute for Socio-Cultural Research, Arquivo do Património Cultural (ARPAC), in cooperation with UNESCO organizes a workshop from 27 to 31 October 2014 in Manica and Maputo. The event will highlight how inventories of intangible cultural heritage are a key step for further safeguarding measures. It will further review the results of previous project activities to develop a national strategy for the promotion and safeguarding of Mozambique’s intangible cultural heritage. On 1 November, an extra day will be dedicated to the planning of future activities of the framework project serving Lusophone African countries, financed thanks to the generous contribution from Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

Documents

• List of participants: Portuguese
• Preliminary version of the Mozambique Inventory Report: Portuguese
• Programme 1 November: Portuguese
• Programme 27-31 October: Portuguese

From 27 October to 3 November 2014, a workshops included in the project for strengthening the capacities of Myanmar for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place in Nyaung Shwe (Inle, Southern Shan State) and was dedicated to community-based inventorying. The workshop has been attended by 38 participants from different ministries and institutes including among others the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Transports, Myanmar Historical Commission, the National Library, Yangon University and the University of Culture of Mandalay. Several community members of the region participated also in the workshop as bearers of intangible cultural heritage expressions representative of the country’s cultural diversity.
Facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, Noriko Aikawa-Faure from Japan and Paritta Koanantakool from Thailand, this training aimed at equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to enable them to plan and facilitate the elaboration of inventories of intangible cultural heritage adapted to the characteristics of the communities who practise and transmit it. The workshop also included two days of field practice within local communities in Taunggi, Kyauk Tine and Inle Lake areas.

Documents

• Agenda: English
• List of participants: soon available
• List of participants: English
• Provisional Agenda: soon available

After three years of implementation, time has come to take stock of UNESCO’s global capacity-building strategy for strengthening safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central Asia and Europe. Therefore, the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe is hosting, a review meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 23 to 26 September 2014 co-organized with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section of UNESCO. It will be the fourth review meeting of its kind after one in the Asia-Pacific region (Beijing, November 2012), another for Latin America and the Caribbean region (Cuzco, September 2013) and the third for the Arab region (Kuwait City, 9 to 10 May 2014).

These meetings provide an occasion to review the programme and upgrade knowledge on the most recent developments of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, while also introducing new training and guidance materials developed recently by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section.

A group of 20 participants will come together in Sofia, including UNESCO-trained facilitators involved in delivering the global capacity-building strategy in Europe and Central Asia, UNESCO Programme Specialists from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section and Field Offices and professional staff of the Centre. The important review and training exercise is possible thanks to the generous support of the Bulgarian authorities and funds from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

Within the scope of a two-year project to strengthen the necessary safeguarding frameworks on the Dutch Caribbean islands and Suriname, the first joint training will take place in Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten from 8 to 12 September 2014, bringing together representatives from across six islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) for training on the implementation of the Convention.

This training will be followed by a second joint training to be held in Curacao in March 2015, covering the processes and framework for community-based inventorying of intangible heritage and subsequent inventory field exercises to be conducted on the six islands. A national training on ratification and implementation of the Convention is also being organized to address the specific needs of Suriname.

As a part of UNESCO’s global capacity-building strategy and thanks to the contribution from the Government of the Netherlands to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, this project is being implemented by the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean with the support of National Commissions for UNESCO in the various countries, as well as national and local stakeholders.

Un atelier de formation à l’inventaire participatif sur le patrimoine culturel immatériel (PCI) s’est déroulé au Musée national de Bamako, du 5 au 15 septembre 2014. Cet atelier fait partie de la première phase du projet « Inventaire du patrimoine culturel immatériel du Mali en vue d’assurer sa sauvegarde urgente », qui est le premier projet à avoir été financé au titre du mécanisme d’assistance internationale d’urgence du Fonds du patrimoine culturel immatériel de la Convention de l’UNESCO pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel, pour un montant de plus de 300 000 dollars.

Organisé par la Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel du Mali (DNPC) en collaboration avec l’UNESCO, l’atelier a été placé sous la présidence de Mme N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo, Ministre de la Culture pour la cérémonie d’ouverture, en présence de M. Lazare Eloundou, Représentant du Bureau de l’UNESCO à Bamako et des représentants de plusieurs partenaires techniques et financiers dont ceux de la MINUSMA et de l’Ambassade de France au Mali.

La formation, première d’une série d’ateliers à venir au niveau local sur l’inventaire participatif du patrimoine immatériel, a réuni au total 20 participants, dont certains membres des antennes régionales de Gao, Kidal, Mopti et Tombouctou et des agents de la DNPC, et a été facilitée par deux experts du réseau UNESCO venus du Burkina Faso et du Burundi. Grâce à l’appui logistique de la MINUSMA, les participants venant des régions du nord ont pu effectuer le voyage jusqu’à Bamako et prendre part aux différents modules de formation dans les meilleures conditions.

Le patrimoine immatériel du Mali, une richesse nationale à préserver

« La compréhension du patrimoine culturel immatériel de communautés différentes contribue au dialogue interculturel et encourage le respect mutuel pour d’autres modes de vie. Il contribue à la cohésion sociale et aide les individus à éprouver un sentiment d’appartenance à une communauté et à la société dans son ensemble », a déclaré M. Lazare Eloundou, Représentant du Bureau de l’UNESCO à Bamako, dans son mot de bienvenue.

La crise sécuritaire et socio-politique qu’a connue le Mali entre avril 2012 et janvier 2013 a particulièrement ébranlé le patrimoine culturel immatériel du nord du pays. La sauvegarde urgente de ce patrimoine culturel doit donc demeurer une priorité absolue dans le contexte post-crise de ces régions. La connaissance et l’identification de ce patrimoine vivant fait de pratiques et manifestations culturelles séculaires, lesquelles sont des composantes essentielles du tissu identitaire malien, sont en effet cruciales pour le retour d’une coexistence harmonieuse et d’une paix durable entre les peuples.
La formation de 10 jours avait pour but ultime de définir les bases de la stratégie d’inventaire du patrimoine culturel immatériel (PCI) du nord Mali et de la sensibilisation des communautés à la préservation de cette richesse culturelle. De fait, comme l’a souligné la communauté internationale dès 2003 dans le préambule de la Convention pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel, ce dernier est le « creuset de la diversité culturelle et garant du développement durable » de nos sociétés et communautés.

Des modules de formation adaptés au travail de terrain

L’un des objectifs de la formation était aussi et surtout de fournir les outils techniques et pédagogiques nécessaires aux personnels qui sera chargé de piloter l’exercice d’inventaire afin qu’ils puissent à leur tour véhiculer ces connaissances aux équipes d’enquêteurs qui réaliseront l’inventaire aux côtés des communautés. Les participants ont pu explorer une multitude de sujets, tels que la typologie du patrimoine immatériel à inventorier, le cadre institutionnel et règlementaire qui s’applique à la gestion du PCI au Mali, la stratégie et les techniques de l’inventaire, un état des lieux des ressources du PCI pour chacune des régions représentées ou encore la dimension linguistique rattachée à ce processus de documentation.

« Aux participants, il permettra de mieux connaître les objectifs de la Convention de 2003 pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel et de maitriser les outils, les techniques et le matériel d’inventaire. L’atelier sera surtout une opportunité pour mieux comprendre la nécessité de sauvegarder, par les communautés, les ressources du patrimoine culturel immatériel dans nos localités marquées par la civilisation de l’oralité », a rajouté le Ministre de la Culture, Mme N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo, dans son discours d’ouverture.

« La formation nous a appris beaucoup de nouvelles choses, car lorsqu’on parle de patrimoine immatériel, il faut dire que nous n’en n’avons qu’une connaissance très superficielle. Les démonstrations m’ont donné une grande satisfaction et je tiens aussi à féliciter les facilitateurs pour leurs qualités pédagogiques. J’ai aimé leur facilité d’esprit et d’expression et grâce à leur enseignement, je vais pouvoir continuer à me recycler », a tenu à souligner M. Boubacar Touré, participant de l’atelier et ancien Directeur Régional de la Jeunesse, des Sports, des Arts et de la Culture de Tombouctou.

Les modules dispensés sur le terrain, notamment avec la communauté de Sogonafing, un quartier situé en commune III de Bamako, ont permis aux participants de se familiariser avec les aspects concrets et pratiques

« C’était vraiment intéressant, le stage sur le terrain nous a surtout beaucoup appris. Nous avons acquis de nouvelles connaissances et appris comment procéder et comment s’adresser aux gens. Avec ces connaissances, nous pourrons mettre en pratique et former d’autres personnes sur le terrain », a également affirmé Mme Assitan Samaké, venue de l’aire culturelle du Djitoumou, région de Koulikoro.

Cette activité est en lien avec le processus de mise en œuvre du projet de réhabilitation du patrimoine endommagé du nord Mali, entamé par le bureau de l’UNESCO à Bamako en mars 2014 et constitue un pas de plus vers une cohésion sociale et une paix retrouvée.

« Le but des inventaires n’est pas tant de constituer un fonds documentaire à des fins muséales ou de recherche mais bien de permettre aux communautés, par l’identification et la définition de leur propre patrimoine culturel immatériel, de faire un premier pas vers son respect et la compréhension de son utilité dans le développement de la vie communautaire, que ce soit par exemple au niveau de la santé, de l’éducation, de l’environnement ou de la résolution des conflits », nous rappelle Cécile Duvelle, Secrétaire de la Convention pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine immatériel.

La prochaine étape du projet est l’organisation par les antennes régionales de la formation des équipes de l’inventaire des cercles et communes du ressort de chacune des quatre régions.

Documents

Organized by The Curacao National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean, a national consultation meeting was held on 24 and 25 June 2014 at the Jeugd Centrale Curacao (JCC), Curacao. The meeting brought together some 15 participants representing the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, National Archaeological-Anthropological Museum (NAAM), Museum Tula, The Curacao Museum, culture experts, crafts persons and practitioners from Curacao. The objective of the national consultation was to sensitize stakeholders on the upcoming project ‘Strengthening the capacities of Suriname and Dutch Caribbean islands for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,’ funded by an earmarked contribution from the Government of the Netherlands to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

In 2014, the training of trainers on the implementation of the Convention was the first step to build a core group of facilitators from Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden) who can deliver capacity-building courses for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and for other aspects of the implementation of the ICH Convention.

About 30 representatives of Ministries of Culture and UNESCO-trained experts from different countries in the Arab region will discuss with UNESCO and ALECSO the needs and challenges of developing conceptual and institutional frameworks for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The two international Organizations are co-organizing this meeting in collaboration with the Kuwait National Council for Culture, Art and Letters from 7 to 9 May 2014 in Kuwait City thanks to the generous hospitality of the Government of Kuwait.

• Programme: English
• Concept note: English

The expert facilitators and UNESCO staff will stay on in Kuwait for a second meeting to review the progress and challenges of implementing UNESCO’s capacity-building programme for intangible cultural heritage and make recommendation on ways forward in the Arab region (10 to 11 May).

• Provisional timetable: English
• Background note: English

From 31 March 31 to 6 April, the Dominican Republic hosts a workshop on intangible cultural heritage community-based inventories within the framework of a regional project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, with the support of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, thanks to the generous contribution of Norway.

Conducted by two members of the UNESCO network of facilitators, María Ismenia Toledo (Venezuela) and Enrique Pérez López (Mexico), the workshop brings together 30 specialists, students and bearers of intangible cultural heritage for a training on the approach promulgated by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to inventories and the role played by communities. The theoretical training is complemented with a technical part on data collection and a field exercise with the Chuineros of Cañafístol in Baní, in the province of Peravia, whose improvised songs in couplets are at risk of disappearing.

This activity has been made possible thanks to the support of the Vice Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Cultural Centre of Perelló, located in Baní, which was instrumental in obtaining the Chuineros’ free, prior and informed consent.

Documents

• List of participants: Spanish
• Provisional Agenda: Spanish

Du 26 au 30 mars, Agadir a accueilli une première rencontre nationale dans le cadre du projet de renforcement des capacités pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine vivant mis en œuvre dans les trois pays grâce à la généreuse contribution de la Norvège au Fonds du patrimoine culturel immatériel.
Organisé par le Bureau de l’UNESCO à Rabat, cet atelier a compté avec la présence non seulement des agents du Ministère de la culture et des représentants des communautés locales concernées, mais aussi avec la représentation des Ministères de l’artisanat, de l’agriculture, de l’éducation et du tourisme.
L’intégration du patrimoine vivant dans des politiques multisectorielles ainsi que la bonne compréhension des concepts clés de la Convention du patrimoine immatériel auprès des différentes parties prenantes sont essentielles pour sa mise en œuvre efficace. Ces questions ont été abordées dans cet atelier de formation qui a été animé par M. Ahmed Skounti (Maroc) et M. Mohamed Ould Mohamed Lemine Beijeu (Mauritanie), facilitateurs du réseau de l’UNESCO dans le domaine du patrimoine immatériel.

• List of participants : French

Within the framework of the UNESCO/Flanders Project on Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the UNESCO Harare Multisectoral Regional Office (MSRO) organised a two-day workshop 18 – 20 March 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe. This workshop brought together twenty-two participants from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The workshop was facilitated by the UNESCO certified trainers in ICH, Mr. Stephen Chifunyise and Mr. Lovemore Mazibuko. Also in attendance and assisting with training was Mr. Marc Jacobs, from the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage (FARO).

Workshop Objectives

• Train at least two participants from each beneficiary country on the scope and objectives of the implementation of the 2003 Convention at national level with a focus on inventorying, preparation of international assistance requests and nomination files.
• Define and agree on the specific actions aimed at strengthening policy, legal and institutional frameworks of the beneficiary countries with reference to the provisions of the 2003 Convention and the Operational Directives.
• Create and agree on project activities and timelines which will guide the beneficiary countries in executing set action plans and main project goal of reinforcing the national capacities for the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

List of documents

• : English
• : English
• : English
• Agenda: English
• List of participants: English

From 25 February to 4 March 2014, the last of the workshops of the project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central America took place in Guatemala City and is dedicated to community-based inventorying. The workshop was intended for the technical staff of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala and for community members who bear intangible cultural heritage manifestations representative of the country’s cultural diversity.

Facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, Eva Martínez from Honduras and Enrique Pérez López from Mexico, this training aimed at equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to enable them to plan and facilitate the elaboration of inventories of intangible cultural heritage adapted to the characteristics of the communities who practise and transmit it.

The workshop included two days of field practice in the town of Chinautla, 10 km from the capital city, whose indigenous Maya-Pocomam population manufactures with technical precision pots and vases, among other pieces, with mud, straw and clay. This traditional craftsmanship which is passed down from mother to daughter since childhood, was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation by the Government of Guatemala in 2013.

Documents

• List of participants: Spanish
• Provisional Agenda: Spanish

From 11 to 14 February, the Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean is organizing a capacity-building workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level in Santiago de Cuba in Eastern Cuba. The workshop will bring together about twenty participants from the eastern provinces and Camagüey. Bearers of intangible cultural heritage from the region, alongside members of provincial councils and national institutions such as the National Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage or the Cuban Institute for Cultural Research, will receive intensive training on the objectives and key concepts of this Convention as well as on the obligations assumed by States that have ratified it and the mechanisms it provides for international cooperation.

Organized as part of the regional capacity-building programme benefiting Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti and funded through the generous contribution of Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, the workshop will be facilitated by two UNESCO-trained experts, Adriana Molano Arenas from Colombia and Francisco Javier López Morales from Mexico. It will offer a platform where participants will reflect collectively on experiences and challenges in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage within the broader context of sustainable development.

Documents

• Agenda: Spanish
• List of participants: Spanish

A needs assessment carried out in 2011 showed that the national capacities of Nigeria are not yet adapted to meet the requirements of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The aim of the project is to lay a solid foundation to support Nigeria in its efforts to safeguard the living heritage present in the country.

Thanks to the financial assistance of Japan, the national authorities are being accompanied by UNESCO over a period of three years in order to create an effective institutional and legal environment for the safeguarding of rich intangible cultural heritage that exists in Nigeria. The project will also allow the strengthening of national capacities required for participating in the intergovernmental mechanism of the 2003 Convention. In particular, the following main activities will be implemented:

• (a) the revision of cultural policies and legal provisions,
• (b) training on inventorying of intangible cultural heritage with communities in the States of Niger, Oyo and Cross River and
• (c) training on the elaboration of nomination files for inscription on the Lists of the 2003 Convention and requests for international assistance.

Planned as a part of UNESCO’s global capacity-building strategy, this project is implemented by the UNESCO multi-sectoral Regional Office for West Africa in Abuja in cooperation with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation.

Project brochure: English

The project is designed with the purpose of implementing the Convention in a coordinated manner among the Dutch Caribbean islands and, in the meantime, strengthening the safeguarding capacities of Suriname.

By introducing two joint trainings, the project aims at improving the capacities of the involved stakeholders on the implementation of the convention and drawing up of inventories. It also provides five islands with policy consultations to involve all stakeholders and identifies local needs (all islands except Aruba, where a consultation already took place). Six field exercises on inventorying intangible heritage are in the plan on each of the islands and a specific activity in Suriname to be determined with the Suriname authorities.

Andean cosmovision of the Kallawaya

© Ministerio de Culturas, Bolivia 2003

Los kallawayas, famosos por su vasto conocimiento del mundo botánico y mineral, practican técnicas médicas y rituales de curación que son un fiel exponente del sistema de creencias indígenas. Su conocimiento de las plantas medicinales se amplía sin cesar, pues los curanderos kallawayas y sus aprendices buscan continuamente nuevos métodos de curación en los diversos y muy variados ecosistemas de la región andina.

The safeguarding action plan seeks, through intergenerational transmission, to ensure the preservation and transmission of the knowledge and wisdom of the Kallawaya culture, whose activity is bound to the ancestral healing medicine of the culture of the Andes.

The main objectives of the safeguarding project are to:

• promote the preservation and safeguarding of Kallawaya culture at local, regional and national levels;
• strengthen the techniques and transmission of traditional medicine,
• strengthen the knowledge concerning healing with natural medicines;
• create the necessary conditions to ensure the transmission of the traditional knowledge;
• promote Kallawaya culture, as part of the multicultural identity of Bolivia; and
• to promote the practice of traditional medicine in hospitals of the municipalities of the Bautista Saavedra province.

The aim of this project funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA) is to lay a solid foundation to support eight countries in Africa and the Arab region (Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Madagascar, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen) in their efforts to safeguard their living heritage, in accordance with the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In collaboration with national counterparts, UNESCO will develop multi-year project proposals that are based on the needs of the beneficiary countries and can be addressed under the framework of UNESCO’s global capacity-building programme for strengthening national safeguarding capacities.

To this end, UNESCO will provide specialized expertise to carry out needs assessments through on-site consultations, as well as to identify the objectives and key activities of the future projects in close collaboration with national institutions responsible for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The eight proposed projects will be submitted to the donor as they become available during the project period.