The UNESCO office in Accra is organizing a validation workshop on the Needs Assessment that was conducted in the field of intangible cultural heritage for Ghana. The activity is organized from 13 to 14 December 2018 in Accra under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and involving the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the National Commission for UNESCO, the Folklore Board and the Ghana Culture Forum.

The workshop aims to lay a solid foundation to support Ghana in strengthening its capacities for safeguarding living heritage, as part of UNESCO’s global capacity building strategy to assist States Parties to create favorable institutional and professional environments. The needs assessment report will be presented together with a multi-year project proposal to UNESCO, which could be used to raise funds to support the intangible cultural heritage sector in the country.

The global facilitators’ network: How can it support countries to implement the Convention

© UNESCO

At the thirteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Port Louis, Mauritius, a side event to raise awareness about the global network of facilitators was organized by UNESCO to encourage States Parties to use the network to support their work in implementing the Convention.

View the video recording of the event here

“The global network of facilitators was created to support UNESCO in building human and institutional capacities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH)”, said the Assistant Director-General for Culture, Ernesto Ottone R., who opened the side event. “Now in its seventh year, the network has grown into a respected and resourceful player for implementing the Convention. In some respects, it embodies the living memory of the Convention during its first decade.”

Then, moderator Deirdre Prins Solani (Africa) welcomed the four facilitators to give attendees to the side event firsthand perspectives of being facilitators on the global network. The diverse group of facilitators on the roundtable were Subha Chaudhuri (Asia and the Pacific), Harriet Deacon (Africa), Lucas Dos Santos Roque (Latin America and the Caribbean) and Hani Hayajneh (Arab States).

The role of the facilitator has evolved since the global capacity building programme started in 2011, going beyond the role of trainer.

Key to effective facilitation is good communication and understanding of the local context and stakeholders. “We have to understand the context in multidimensional lens and consider the local context. Communication with States Parties is invaluable for planning from the beginning so we can convey the message of the Convention properly to workshop participants,” Hayajneh commented.

Facilitators are managing a delicate balancing act they constantly encounter – be it between urban and rural communities, interactions between the local and international, or at the national and municipal levels facilitators are asked to help communities and stakeholders to relate the language and principles of the Convention to their specific contexts. “The interaction between the local and the international and the principles of the Convention and what’s happening in the local context – that is a crucial aspect of the role of the facilitators”, said Deacon. Facilitators play the role of impartial inter-mediators or ‘honest brokers’ they are not representing states nor NGOs or other institutions.

© UNESCO

The fact that facilitators are not part of institutions have helped them to play this positive role. Said Dos Santos Roque: “We can think and speak in a liberal way, free to think and assist, to put ourselves in all these shoes, of UNESCO staff, government, local stakeholder shoes, and especially to think of the local communities. This has been advantageous in solving many issues, the fact that we are not from this region or area, to look as an outsider and to build on the capacity of the discussion.” Chaudhuri concurred, noting that facilitators had the benefit of experience from being in the field – “We can bring our own fieldwork experiences into the workshop situations, which gives us a space where we can work and demonstrate how this works best.”

Perhaps one of the most important roles that facilitators play is a longer term one – after the training with communities has ended, some have maintained relationships guiding and mentoring participants long after the workshops have ended. “Many of us follow up after the workshops to encourage people to establish and grow local networks, and we try and link people into other international networks that may be of interest to them. It is not just about the workshop itself – it’s about the bigger picture and the long term in that country”, Deacon noted.

At the end of the day, facilitators are not there to claim to be experts of local knowledge or communities - Dos Santos Roque summed it up noting that “facilitators empower the local people, to construct a situation for the local communities to facilitate their process and thinking.”

There was a lively Question and Answer session at the end, with many attendees taking the opportunity to share their positive experiences with the facilitators’ network, while others asked questions about how to get involved and benefit from doing so. Some warned that with the gradual growth of the network, attention should be payed that the high quality standards in facilitation are kept, which will require training opportunities for facilitators to keep abreast with latest developments in the life of the Convention.

In the framework of the project, ‘Strengthening capacities in the Comoros for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development’ a national workshop on reinforcing the institutional and legal framework in Comoros will take place in Moroni in September 2018.
Around 20 participants including national authorities for culture, representatives, lawyers, researchers from the University of Comoros, the CNDRS (National Center for Documentation and Scientific Research), the Comoros Collective for Heritage, national experts, civil society, and media will 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, Handcraft, Arts and Culture in the Comoros.

On 11 November 2018, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone, and H. E. Mr Iván Duque, President of Colombia, inaugurated the UNESCO-Colombia stand on “Living heritage for a common future” at the Paris Peace Forum, at the Grande halle de la Villette, in Paris.

Ms Juliana Forero, Coordinator of the Intangible Cultural Heritage group, Ministry of Culture of Colombia, and Ms Caroline Munier, Regional officer for Latin America and the Caribbean and Focal point for emergencies, Living Heritage Entity, UNESCO Culture Sector
© UNESCO

UNESCO and Colombia are showcased an innovative project that, in Colombia’s post-conflict context, is using living heritage to bring local communities and ex-combatants together to build a common future. Entitled “Intangible cultural heritage as a basis for resilience, reconciliation and construction of peace environments in Colombia’s post-agreements”, the project benefits from Emergency International Assistance through UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. It began in June 2018 and is already generating positive results.

Mr Carlos Holmes T. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, H.E. Mr Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, Mr Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, and Ms Juliana Forero, Coordinator of the Intangible Cultural Heritage group, Ministry of Culture of Colombia
© UNESCO

The project aims to empower communities to carry out inventories of intangible cultural heritage and safeguard their living heritage, which was notably affected by the armed conflict. Another set of activities focuses on revitalizing shared cultural identity within the post-conflict territory. This is a concrete example of a community-led approach to using culture for peacebuilding.

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through technical and vocational education and training (TVET)

Virtual conference on the UNESCO-UNEVOC TVeT Forum from 29 October to 7 November 2018

Moderated by Panas Karampampas and Wouter de Regt

• When: 29 October to 7 November 2018
• Where: UNESCO-UNEVOC TVeT Forum

From 29 October to 7 November, 2018 the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section and UNESCO-UNEVOC will co-host a virtual conference on ‘Integrating the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in technical and vocational education and training (TVET)’. The conference, which comes under the new programme on ‘Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in formal and non-formal education’, will explore the links between ICH and TVET.

The conference will be held on the UNESCO-UNEVOC TVeT Forum: an online discussion board where people from around the world can share information and knowledge about different aspects of TVET. Participants in the conference can read and post comments on the discussion boards—over the 10 days of the conference they can participate as much or as little as they like, logging in whenever suites their schedule.

Intended outcomes

At the end of this virtual conference, participants will be able to:

• Understand what intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is and the roles of the communities, groups and individuals in designing and delivering TVET programmes on ICH
• Recognize the links between ICH and TVET and the role of different TVET stakeholders in integrating ICH safeguarding into TVET
• Identify the opportunities and challenges safeguarding ICH presents to TVET and ICH stakeholders

Structure and sequencing

The virtual conference is founded on five topics. These topics will be ‘opened’ for discussion on the following days:

• Monday, 29 October - Topic 1: Understanding intangible cultural heritage
  • Webinar: Introduction to ICH and its stakeholders
• Tuesday, 30 October - Topic 2: Exploring the links between ICH and TVET
• Thursday, 1 November - Topic 3: Opportunities and challenges of safeguarding ICH though TVET
• Monday, 5 November - Topic 4: Empowering the communities through ICH and TVET

Join the virtual conference

Participation is open to anyone with an interest in ICH and TVET. You will need to have a UNEVOC account to participate in the conference: you can register here for a UNEVOC account. Once you have a UNEVOC account, you can sign up to join the virtual conference. Any questions about registration can be directed to w.de-regt@unesco.org

The virtual conference will be in English. However, all of the documents will be available in French, and French and Spanish speaking participants can use the built-in translation feature to follow discussions and to contribute in their languages.

Objectives:
With a view to contribute to the international debate on safeguarding living heritage in urban contexts with links to sustainable development, the project intends to:
• identify key issues related to ICH and its safeguarding in urban contexts, including the potential contribution of intangible cultural heritage and its safeguarding to sustainable development of urban areas;
• develop a methodology for inventorying living heritage in urban contexts and update the existing/develop new materials for inventorying, including a specific guidance note, if relevant, based on the lessons learnt from the nine pilot projects;
• develop policy oriented recommendations related to ICH safeguarding in urban contexts.

Implementation strategy:
Within the framework of the overall project, and in line with approaches and conceptual tools of the 2003 Convention, nine pilot inventories of intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts will be conducted in selected cities from different regions of the world.
The inventories will target in particular practices, which are based on economic mechanisms that are key to sustainable development of communities, with a particular focus on practices where the economic base has been eroded and could be revitalized. The project will specifically focus on traditional crafts, performing arts, including festivals The pilot cities will be selected based on interest expressed by communities and in synergy with ongoing activities and strategies as part of the implementation of the 2003 Convention.
To facilitate the active participation of tradition bearers and practitioners in the design and implementation of the inventories, capacity building workshops on community based inventorying will be delivered by UNESCO trained facilitators. The workshops and their training materials will be developed based on the existing training materials, developed by UNESCO under the 2003 Conventions’ Global capacity-building programme. Accompanied by the facilitators, the communities trained will conduct pilot inventories over a period of 6 months. A wrap-up workshop will be organized at the end of this period to collect lessons learnt, discuss issues related to ICH in cities and sustainable development, and formulate proposals for improving the existing inventorying methodologies and materials and draft policy recommendations.
The project will be implemented in two phases:
Phase one: October 2018 to July 2019

• Kick off meeting: 22 and 23 October 2018, UNESCO HQs in Paris
  
• Implementation of three inventories (George Town, Malaysia; Harare, Zimbabwe and Kingston, Jamaica) : November 2018 to May 2019
  
• Wrap-up meeting of Phase one: June/July 2019
  

Phase two: July 2019 to May 2020

• Kick off meeting: June/July 2019
  
• Implementation of six inventories (TBC): August 2019 – February 2020
  
• Wrap-up meeting of Phase two: March 2020
  

Wrap-up meeting of the project: In the framework of the Global Forum on ‘Culture for sustainable cities’: September/October 2020
Implementing unit: the project will be implemented by the Living Heritage Entity, in close collaboration with Culture Specialists from the relevant Field Offices.

The Directorate of Cultural Heritage and the UNESCO Regional Office for West Africa (Sahel) in Dakar organized from 15 to 22 October 2018 in Dakar, a workshop on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage. For this purpose, 20 participants were selected, including directors of regional cultural centers, heritage experts and national focal points who will be in charge of providing a similar training at the local level. This workshop is part of the project ‘Strengthening national capacities for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Senegal’, financed by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, which mainly aims to support the implementation of a national inventorying strategy and of safeguarding plans for living heritage.

The National Museums of Kenya will hold a community-based inventorying workshop from 1 to 10 October 2018 at Lamu Fort, a World Heritage Site. The workshop aims to strengthen the capacities to safeguard intangible cultural heritage for twenty-five participants selected from a wide range of stakeholders, including community leaders, youth, women, and elders.
Supported by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, the workshop was conceptualized in line with the global capacity-building programme of the 2003 Convention; also based on the recommendations of the World Heritage Site community consultations on the impact of the LAPSSET development (Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport Corridor); and efforts towards the preservation, dissemination and access to documentary heritage.
After the workshop, a selected number of the trained community members will be supported for fieldwork in carrying out an inventory of ICH elements in Lamu, which will also be documented digitally and made available in open license formats. The final inventory sheets and audio-visual material will be conserved in the National Museums of Kenya.

The Secretariat of the Convention organizes an information and exchange session for the members of the Intergovernmental Committee on Tuesday, 2 October 2018. This meeting will take place in Room XI (Fontenoy) from 3 to 5 p.m.

The purpose of this meeting is to inform Committee members about the functioning of the Committee and its general working methods. The Secretariat wishes to inform all members of the Committee, before its thirteenth session, on the provisional agenda of the thirteenth session of the Committee. The Chairperson will inform the participants of the action taken by the Government of the Republic of Mauritius regarding its hosting of the Committee’s next session in Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius(26 November - 1 December 2018). This meeting includes an orientation session for the new Members of the Committee and is also open to interested States Parties, which are not members of the Committee and States not party to the Convention.

• Presentation of the Secretariat: English|French
• Presentation of the Republic of Mauritius: English|French

Organized by UNESCO Beijing Office, the Training Workshop on Community-Based Inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Elaborating Nomination Files under the Mechanisms of the 2003 UNESCO Convention is aimed at strengthening the capacities of its participants of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in preparing nomination files for the Convention’s Lists as well as refreshing their knowledge on ICH inventorying methodologies and techniques. Hosted by the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, this workshop is the first of its kind in the framework of an International Assistance project jointly implemented by a Member State and a UNESCO Field Office with the financial support from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The training will be a continuation of the previous capacity building efforts. It will further reinforce participants’ knowledge of the requirements and criteria of nominations, and cover more specialized topics such as joint nominations with other countries, how to apply for international financial assistance, and the importance of integrating sustainable development and inclusive approaches in nominations.

This workshop is the second activity within the framework of the capacity-building project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Sudan”, generously supported by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Held from 23 to 24 September 2018, it aims to raise awareness among decision makers (State Ministers from different ministries and other responsible in the field of culture at the decentralised level) on the importance of living heritage as a vector of cultural diversity, as well as on the mechanisms of the 2003 Convention.

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.

Documents

Agenda: Programme

This workshop is the first activity within the framework of the capacity-building project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Sudan”, generously supported by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Held from 16 to 20 September 2018, it brought together national experts, local associations and communities involved in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Sudan. During the workshop, one or more national experts were identified to collaborate in the implementation of training workshops planned in the project and to promote the multiplier effects of the training in the country.

From 2 to 6 September 2018, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States will be holding a 5-day training of trainers workshop in Cairo to provide technical and educational tools to teaching staff and national trainers working in the field of intangible cultural heritage so that they can themselves conduct training at national level in their universities or institutions. This training is a part 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.

The workshop is addressed to 25 participants from various departments of the ministry of culture, as well as museums, universities and community associations. It is intended to equip participants with basic knowledge and skills to design and facilitate a community-based inventorying process tailored to their particular circumstances. Furthermore, it provides participants with the opportunity to share information about personal and country experiences in the field of intangible cultural heritage.

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.

Training of trainers workshop for facilitators from the Asia-Pacific Region
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Section and the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (CRIHAP) co-organized a training of trainers’ workshop for facilitators from the Asia and Pacific region, from 2 to 6 July 2018 in Hangzhou, China.
Within the context of the global capacity-building programme for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the workshop intended to develop further the capacities of facilitators from the Asia-Pacific region through knowledge and experience sharing. The focus of the workshop revolved around:
I. Sharing lessons learned from implementing the capacity-building programme in the region, and potential strategies were foreseen for strengthening and sustaining the programme and its network;
II. Strengthening knowledge and competencies required to be a facilitator in the network by providing hands-on experience in using the UNESCO capacity-building curriculum, including the most recent materials;
III. Discussing new materials and thematic issues for the capacity-building programme, notably on gender, sustainable development, intangible cultural heritage in formal and non-formal education, the overall results framework and periodic reporting.

Documents

Working documents

• Agenda: English

Presentations

• Global capacity-building programme: English
• Life of the Convention in Asia and the Pacific: English
• Objectives and Agenda: English
• Overall results framework for the 2003 Convention: English
• Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development: English
• Sustainable Development: Operational Directives for the implementation of the 2003 Convention: English

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.