Benefitting country(ies): Zambia
Overview:
Since 2010, a number of capacity-building, inventory-making and awareness-creating activities have been carried out in the field of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by different stakeholders. Participants appreciated these training workshops and were unanimous in calling for a more advanced, comprehensive version of the training to be introduced. To this end, this project intends to develop and implement a degree programme specializing in intangible cultural heritage at the University of Zambia. The project’s objectives are threefold: to provide a critical mass of experts for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Zambia; to improve the level of training of administrators and experts working in the field of intangible cultural heritage to degree level; and to provide a niche for critical research and in-depth understanding in this field. In its first year, the degree programme is expected to enroll at least 20 district cultural officers sponsored by the project. These officers are currently responsible for identifying and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage together with local communities in all 105 districts in Zambia. The project will use the UNESCO capacity-building programme and its materials to develop a local syllabus and training manual for the degree programme. It is intended to inspire many people to take an interest in issues related to intangible cultural heritage and will have far-reaching benefits for people interested in its safeguarding.