With the generous support of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe, UNESCO convenes a training of trainers for the European Chapter of facilitators’ network that will focus on policy development in the field of intangible cultural heritage, in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 17 to 21 September 2018. The main objective of the workshop is to improve UNESCO’s impact in providing policy support to authorities in Europe for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention.

Organized within the framework of the 24-month project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Egypt for sustainable development” and generously supported by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority (ADTCA) of the United Arab Emirates, this wokshop will address members of the consultation platform and national leaders of ministries and institutions whose work is related to intangible heritage in Egypt. The workshop will address particular policy-makers and senior officials who would have participated at the workshop on the implementation of the Convention from 19 to 21 July 2018. This workshop will be conducted by facilitators from the region, accompanied by a national expert with an excellent knowledge of legislative processes and features in Egypt.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Section and the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (CRIHAP) will co-organize this training of trainers workshop which will take place from 2 to 6 July 2018 in Hangzhou, China. During this training of trainers workshop, facilitators from the Asia-Pacific region will be invited to further advance the capacity-building strategy of the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It will be an occasion to review the current experiences of facilitation in the region, the concluded and ongoing projects as well as to present new materials available and discuss new topics with some major updates from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section.

During this training of trainers workshop, facilitators from Central Asia will be invited to further advance the capacity-building strategy of the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It will be an occasion to review the current experiences of facilitation in the region, the concluded and ongoing projects as well as to present new materials available and discuss new topics with some major updates from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section.

The launch of the project ‘Strengthening capacities in the Comoros for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development’ is held on 25 June 2018 in Moroni, the Comoros, followed by an awareness-raising workshop on intangible cultural heritage on 25 - 29 June 2018. Approximately 30 participants including national authorities for culture, representatives from the University of Comoros, the CNDRS (National Center for Documentation and Scientific Research), the Comoros Collective, national experts, communities, civil society, and other stakeholders are welcomed to participate in the workshop. These activities are funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Professional Integration, Arts and Culture in the Comoros.

Organized within the framework of the 24-month project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Egypt for sustainable development”, generously supported by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority (ADTCA) of the United Arab Emirates, this workshop aims to offer the technical and educational tools to the instructors body and staff of museums and associations members to raise awareness about intangible heritage safeguarding so that they can deliver trainings themselves at the national level (notably for young people) in their school or institution.
This workshop will offer necessary pedagogical material in order to disseminate key concepts and principles of 2003 Convention among youth like schools students and young public of museums in collaboration with associations developing ICH safeguarding activities.

Organized within the framework of the 24-month project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Egypt for sustainable development”, generously supported by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority (ADTCA) of the United Arab Emirates, this workhsop on implementation of the 2003 Convention will train decision makers, members of the consultative platform and high-level officials on the 2003 Convention principles, its main mechanisms, and the significance of the living heritage as vector of the cultural diversity and sustainable development. The workshop will address other key institutions in liaison with the living heritage (health, agriculture, tourism, handicrafts, and environment). During this first workshop, special attention will be paid to the media presence (radio- television), especially during the workshop opening, in order to promote the project’s goals at the national level.

A national workshop on Djibouti’s implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is held between 18 and 21 June 2018 in Djibouti. The Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Waqf assets in Djibouti, with support from the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, convenes 40 national and local authorities, experts, NGOs, communities and media representatives. The programme includes a general introduction to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and the importance of transmitting it from generation to generation in order to ensure its safeguarding.
Following the workshop, Djibouti plans to submit a request for International Assistance to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund of the 2003 Convention, in order to begin the work of inventorying and develop a national legislation and policy for safeguarding the country’s intangible cultural heritage.

The 6th annual meeting of the category 2 centres active in the field of intangible cultural heritage took place on 7 June 2018 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France). The meeting has been a follow up on the five previous annual meetings.

• Agenda: English|French
• List of participants: English|French
• Presentation 6th annual meeting of C2Cs: English|French

For further information:

• Category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO

Held from 28 May to 1 June 2018, this workshop is jointly organized by Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, with the support of UNESCO Antenna Office in Sarajevo.

The workshop will bring together members of communities and NGOs, as well as researchers and representatives from local and national authorities. It will consider and discuss all main aspects of the implementation of the 2003 Convention at national level. The workshop will elaborate the relationship and complementary function of the 2003 Convention and other UNESCO Cultural Conventions, the key concepts of the Convention and the notion of ICH itself, the role of each stakeholder in safeguarding and promoting ICH, the implication and participation of the communities concerned in inventorying and further safeguarding of their ICH, the relationship between ICH and sustainability, as well as opportunities for Bosnia and Herzegovina to use the mechanisms of international cooperation established within the framework of the 2003 Convention.

Following South Sudan’s ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016, a workshop on the implementation of the Convention and community-based inventorying is held between 3 and 11 May 2018 in Juba. The main objective is to train national experts in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage through carrying out community-based inventories. Participants in the workshop range from national authorities responsible for Culture in South Sudan to NGOs, foundations and community activists. The workshop is funded and organized by UNESCO Office in Juba in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in South Sudan.

From April 25 to 27, the last of six training workshops will be held in Guatemala City in the framework of the project on Strengthening local capacities for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of Guatemala. The training focuses on the preparation of safeguarding plans according to the principles of the 2003 Convention.
During the course of 2017, a total of 89 key actors were trained on the basic principles of the 2003 Convention and on the design of community-based methodologies for the preparation of inventories and safeguarding plans. In addition to the theoretical training, two pilot inventories were carried out, for - the techniques of the Pottery of Santa Apolonia and the “Pilgrimage of the Black Christ” of Esquipulas.
These activities are intended to strengthen institutional, technical and human capacities for the effective implementation of the Convention at national and local levels. They also helped to promote the participation of communities in the safeguarding mechanisms of their ICH.

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage with Young People in Kyrgyzstan

Organised within the framework of UNESCO’s commitment to strengthen the capacities of Eritrea for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, financed by Norway, this is an eight-day training workshop for 20-25 participants on the elaboration of requests for International Assistance to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund and on preparation of nomination files for inscription on the Lists under the 2003 Convention as well as the their contribution to the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) present in the State’s territory

The UNESCO capacity building workshop in Dnipro, Ukraine is a part of the UNESCO global strategy for strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention and was generously co-funded by the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe.

The workshop brought together members of communities and NGOs from various regions of the country, as well as researchers and representatives from local, regional and national authorities. The workshop paved the way for a better understanding of the 2003 Convention and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage among the governmental and community stakeholders. As a result of the workshop, the participants were equipped with information on the importance of ICH, the UNESCO 2003 Convention for Safeguarding ICH, as well as discussed a number of specific issues such as revitalisation of ICH elements as a safeguarding measure, ICH and gender roles, as well as intellectual property protection related to ICH safeguarding.

The workshop also contributed to raising awareness of members of communities about the possibilities to actively engage in decision-making on developing ICH safeguarding plans and measures and highlighted the necessity that all the stakeholders should together strive to develop quality relationships which will result in successful activities and projects.

The capacity building workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia is a part of the UNESCO global strategy for strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention and was generously supported by the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe and Slovene Ethnographic Museum.

The workshop trained ministry officials, community members, researchers and representatives of non-governmental organizations on the 2003 Convention principles, its main mechanisms and key concepts, as well as on the significance of the living heritage as vector of the cultural diversity and sustainable development.