Mobilizing donors for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage helps UNESCO to strengthen the scope and impact of its programmes.
Three main lines guide our action:
- Strengthening the capacity of different actors worldwide in order to safeguard intangible heritage effectively;
- Mobilizing public opinion to make everyone understand the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and our shared responsibility in this area;
- Assisting the governing bodies of the Convention, the General Assembly of the States Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee, especially in the annual inscription of elements of intangible cultural heritage on the Urgent Safeguarding List and the Representative List, in the selection of best safeguarding practices and in the granting of financial assistance for safeguarding programmes.
Donors support the work of UNESCO for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in three ways:
1- Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund essentially provides assistance to States Parties in their efforts for safeguarding.
Obligatory contribution
The States having ratified the Convention make an annual obligatory contribution, corresponding to 1% of their contribution to the regular budget of UNESCO.
Assessed contributions to the Fund: 30 November 2015
Voluntary supplementary contributions
Voluntary supplementary contributions may also be made not only by States, but also by any other donor, including public or private organizations and individuals. These contributions can be:
- Unrestricted, used according to the plan for the use of the resources of the Fund approved by the General Assembly every two years;
- Earmarked for specific purposes subject to approval by the Intergovernmental Committee;
- Given to the sub-fund created within the Fund in June 2010 to be used exclusively for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat.
Voluntary contributor (States) | Nature of the contribution |
---|---|
Bulgaria | Sub-fund |
China | Sub-fund |
Estonia | Unrestricted |
Hungary | Sub-fund |
Indonesia | Sub-fund |
Japan | Earmarked for a specific purpose Sub-fund |
Monaco | Earmarked for a specific purpose Unrestricted |
Norway | Earmarked for a specific purpose |
Netherlands | Earmarked for a specific purpose Unrestricted |
Oman | Unrestricted |
Republic of Korea | Sub-fund |
Spain | Earmarked for a specific purpose Sub-fund |
Turkey | Earmarked for a specific purpose |
Voluntary contributor (private bodies) | Nature of the contribution |
---|---|
Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce | Unrestricted |
2 - Loaned personnel
Donors are also encouraged to lend qualified personnel to the Secretariat of the Convention to assist it in carrying out its tasks, for a specific period of time during which they retain their employment relationship with the releasing institutions.
Supporting us by this means: Azerbaijan, China and Italy
3 - Funds-in-Trust
Funds-in-Trust are financial contributions that donors give for specific projects or programmes identified in cooperation with UNESCO. This modality prevailed to support the intangible heritage before the coming into operation of the Convention. Today it is used for supporting operational projects as well as staff working for a fixed period of time within the Secretariat.
Established Funds-in-Trust*: the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (United Arab Emirates), Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the European Union, Flanders (Belgium), Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Republic of Korea and Spain.
*More detailed information on Funds-in-Trust will be soon available