Touaa El Mursy © UNESCO 2012
The hot sand therapy, Egypt

An exhibition from 28 October to 10 December 2013 on fence of the UNESCO Fontenoy building aims to illustrate the role that living heritage can play in sustainable development, by using photographs taken in different parts of the world. This exhibition is organized to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, with the generous financial contributions of Monaco and Turkey.
Photographs taken in different parts of the world will show how cultural practices, expressions and knowledge are important in fields such as economic development, health, food security, environmental sustainability, social cohesion and conflict resolution.

This exhibition is organized to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, thanks to the generous financial contributions of Monaco and Turkey. Over the past decade, recognition of the importance of intangible cultural heritage and the 2003 Convention has taken on ever greater momentum worldwide. The Convention has been ratified by 155 States, indicating their commitment to safeguard the living heritage present on their territories. In addition to a series of celebrations planned at the national level, the fourth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties in June 2012 invited the States Parties as well as other donors to support the organization of a photographic exhibition on intangible cultural heritage and its contribution to sustainable development.

At the very heart of the 2003 Convention are the communities who create and transmit their living heritage and for whom it constitutes an important marker of identity. The 2003 Convention takes a participatory approach to the safeguarding of living heritage, one that puts people and communities at the heart of efforts to care for and foster the conditions and environments needed for living traditions to exist, to maintain their meaning and to flourish. Culture should be considered a fundamental enabler of sustainability, being a source of meaning and energy, a wellspring of creativity and innovation, and a resource to address challenges and find appropriate solutions, as affirmed in the Hangzhou declaration ‘Placing culture at the heart of sustainable development policies’ adopted on 17 May 2013. This is the spirit behind the planned exhibition.

The exhibition will coincide with the 37th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (5 November to 23 November 2013) and the eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2 to 8 December 2013) in Baku, Azerbaijan. The exhibition will be made available in digital form through the website of UNESCO.