UNESCO’s intangible heritage committee meets in Abu Dhabi to inscribe the first elements on its Lists

Paris 7 September

• © Jean-Luc Manaud / Rapho / Eyedea

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, chaired by Awadh Ali Saleh Al Musabi (United Arab Emirates), will meet in Abu Dhabi from 28 September to 2 October. One of the tasks of the Committee will be to inscribe the first elements on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

One-hundred-fourteen States Parties are bound by the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was adopted in 2003. The Convention urges the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, which includes oral traditions and expressions, rituals and festive events, traditional craftsmanship, music, dance and traditional performing arts. This living heritage is passed on from generation to generation, providing communities and groups with a sense of identity and continuity, considered to be essential for the respect of cultural diversity and human creativity.

The List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding which will come into being in Abu Dhabi, will include elements proposed by States Parties to the Convention and whose viability is endangered, despite the efforts of the community or group concerned. By inscribing an element on this List, the State undertakes to implement specific safeguards and may be eligible to receive financial assistance from a Fund set up for this purpose. The Committee will examine 12 nominations from eight States Parties.

The Representative List already includes 90 elements, following the incorporation of the 90 masterpieces proclaimed before the Convention entered into force. It will now be augmented by the first elements to be inscribed according to criteria defined in the operational directives of the Convention. These elements must help enhance the visibility of the intangible cultural heritage and raise awareness regarding its importance; they must benefit from measures to promote their continued practice and transmission, and must have been nominated by States with the active and widest possible participation of the communities concerned, and with their free, prior and informed consent.

From 11 to 15 May 2009, a subsidiary body formed by six of the 24 members of the Committee examined the 111 nominations, submitted by 35 States, with a view to their inscription on the Representative List. The Committee in Abu Dhabi will decide on these inscriptions.

The Committee will also select programmes, projects and activities that it considers best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention. The Committee hopes to use this register of good practices to raise public awareness of the importance of intangible heritage and the need to safeguard it.

• Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
• Source:UNESCO Media Advisory No. 2009-47
• 08-09-2009