Culture

Kyrgyzstan

• © UNESCO
• Musician playing the komuz, the Kyrgyz lute

Kyrgyzstan cooperates with UNESCO in the broader context of the Central Asian States..

As a State Party to the World Heritage Convention, Kyrgyzstan works with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to ensure that West Tien-Shan is included on the World Heritage List as a transboundary natural site. The country also collaborates with other Central Asian countries and China on the serial World Heritage nomination of the Silk Roads.

In 2003, the Art of the Akyns, Kyrgyz epic tellers, was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. An action plan was implemented for the compilation of the Akyn epics and to facilitate the transmission of this tradition.

Regarding movable heritage, Kyrgyzstan receives assistance from UNESCO for the conservation of its endangered ethnographic collections.
The country also participates in the Seal of Excellence programme, which encourages the development of quality crafts.

Kyrgyzstan is very concerned with interreligious and intercultural dialogue. In the framework of the programme on Intercultural dialogue in Central Asia, it is a member of the International Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations and the International Institute for Central Asian Studies. Also of interest to Kyrgyzstan is any possible support for cultural tourism, as this represents an opportunity for development.