© UNESCO

From 20 to 24 January 2014, a capacity-building session on preparing nominations to the Lists of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place in Ventiane Province. About 30 participants, including government officials and experts involved in the safeguarding of cultural heritage from Lao PDR have received theoretical and practical training on the nomination process understood as a process of community-based safeguarding. A particular focus was on possible efforts and procedures to put in place for listing intangible cultural heritage elements at both national and international level.

Facilitated by two UNESCO-trained experts, Shubha Chaudhuri from India and Paritta Koanantakool from Thailand, and with the participation of Tim Curtis, Chief of the Culture Unit of UNESCO Bangkok Office, this workshop was part of a capacity-building programme on the 2003 Convention supported by UNESCO/Korea Funds-in-Trust which since November 2011 has provided to its beneficiary substantial training on the implementation of the Convention at the national level and community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage. After this training assistance several field activities to inventory intangible cultural heritage will be carried out in pilot areas till the end of the programme that is foreseen for June 2014.