The workshop will focus on the theme of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development with reference to the dedicated chapter of the Operational Directives on this topic and in light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will be structured as follows:

• Introduction of the topic of living heritage and sustainable development/UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  
• Presentation of the ‘ICH and sustainable development toolbox’ - a set of new materials demonstrating the relationships between safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development, developed under the global capacity-building programme;
  
• Discussion of case studies and exchange experiences in implementing projects, teaching, facilitating and advising on policies and strategies related to ICH and stainable development in Europe.
  

The workshop will also be an occasion to share the information on the latest developments in the life of the 2003 Convention.

A five-day workshop will be organized for the platform members and trainers who received training on inventory making within the framework of the project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Egypt for sustainable development”, generously funded by Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority. It will aim to provide technical and educational tools to participants for the development of safeguard plans particularly from inventory making. The training will be jointly led by two Arabic-speaking facilitators and the coordinator of the project from the UNESCO Office in Cairo. The two facilitators will use the UNESCO educational materials and will work on adapting them to the country context.

The Living Heritage Entity within UNESCO’s Culture Sector will organize in collaboration with the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa (CRESPIAF), a training for trainers’ workshop in order to strengthen UNESCO’s global network of facilitators in Africa. This workshop will take place from 9 to 13 July 2019 in Algiers, Algeria.
The workshop is part of the Global capacity-building programme for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. For five days, new network members, accompanied by experienced members, will be prepared for their role as facilitators and familiarized with training materials, so that they can in turn provide training and advisory services to States and communities.
Today, the network is composed of 135 facilitators around the world, of which 47 are in Africa. By including new facilitators, this workshop will not only serve to meet the high demand for capacity-building in Africa but also respond to the challenges in the implementation of the Convention.

The workshop on inventorying with the participation of communities under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage builds on the results of the workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention held in February 2019 aims to equip participants with knowledge and skills to design and facilitate an inventory approach based on the collective commitment and adapted to the particular situation of the communities. Facilitated by two members of the UNESCO’s facilitators’ network, the workshop will cover the themes of participatory inventory work under the 2003 Convention, possible frameworks for participatory inventory work, ethics and responsibilities, methods and techniques of inventorying, as well as a field practicum. The workshop is organized within the framework of the project “Strengthening capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Lebanon”, generously funded by the Japan Funds-in-Trust.

The workshop ‘Safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and community-based inventorying’ was held on 24 – 28 June 2019, at the Ministry of Culture of Albania, the National History Museum, Tirana, and the Ethnographic Museum and Old Bazaar of Kruja. The workshop was organized jointly by the Ministry of Culture of Albania, and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
This was the second capacity building activity on intangible cultural heritage safeguarding organized in Albania in cooperation with the Sofia Center and it followed up on the workshop ‘Implementation of the 2003 Convention at the national level’, which was held in Tirana, Albania in September 2015.
This workshop was led by two UNESCO trained facilitators, Mr Sasa Sreckovic from the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, Serbia and Ms Meri Kumbe from the University of Arts of Tirana, Albania and it used an interactive methodology mixing lectures with case studies, role plays and field work exercises. The working language was English
After completing the workshop participants who were representatives from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communities, institutions, students and individual experts felt more aware and better equipped to be engaged in designing and conducting community-based inventorying in their respective communities.

The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) was established in 2007 by UNESCO, through its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, in order to support the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the region. Annual meetings of the network took place so far in Arbanasi, Bulgaria (2007); Safranbolu, Turkey (2008); Zagreb, Croatia (2009); Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Romania (2010); Belgrade, Serbia (2011); Athens, Greece (2012); Sofia, Bulgaria (2013); Limassol, Cyprus (2014); Venice, Italy (2015); Supetar, Croatia (2016); Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2017); and Ljubljana, Slovenia (2018).
These meetings contributed to enhance a common understanding of opportunities and challenges linked to the safeguarding of the ICH as a key asset of South-East European cultural diversity, promoting the sharing of knowledge and good practices on national measures to implement the Convention, and serving as a platform to develop regional and cross-border cooperation.
The 13th annual meeting is hosted by the City of Cremona, Italy, and organized by UNESCO (Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, in cooperation with the Living Heritage Entity), thanks to the generous support of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe (Category 2 Centre operating under the auspices of UNESCO, based in Sofia, Bulgaria).

Documents

• European Young Heritage Professionals Forum (Zadar, Croatia, from 20 to 24 May 2019) - short video: English
• European Young Heritage Professionals Forum (Zadar, Croatia, from 20 to 24 May 2019) - short video: English
• Concept note and agenda: English
• List of participants: English

The Solomon Islands joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage last year. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will organise a Capacity Building Workshop on the Implementation of the ICH Convention in the Solomon Islands in Honiara from 29 April to 3 May 2019.
The Workshop will bring together some 40 participants, including the government officials, ICH holders and practitioners, community leaders, NGOs, and representatives of the Women and Youth Councils in order to build capacity for the implementation of the ICH Convention at the national level.

With some 70 local languages, the ICH in the Solomon Islands reflects its diversity. Their living heritage is under development pressure and threats from urbanization, natural disasters, and climate change. The Workshop intends to address specific challenges and opportunities facing the ICH safeguarding in the Solomon Islands. The Workshop will also provide the opportunity to discuss the role and significance of the Community-based ICH inventorying in East Rennel, World Heritage site in the Solomon Islands.

Twenty-one international experts gathered on 21 and 22 May at UNESCO Headquarters at the request of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage see Decision to explore operational modalities of action for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in situation of emergencies.
The dual dimension of emergencies and living heritage was underlined during the event - on one hand the threats on the viability of living heritage in such situations and on the other hand, the role of living heritage as a resource for preparedness, recovery, resilience and reconciliation. Experts highlighted the complexity and breadth of emergencies and their impact on living heritage and stressed that saving people is the first step towards safeguarding living heritage as the latter is inseparable from its bearers. In this regard, cooperation with humanitarian actors and other relevant stakeholders is fundamental.
Experts also highlighted the principle of community-based actions, which is at the core of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The outcomes of the meeting will be reported to the fourteen session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Bogota, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019, in order to inform the discussion on this matter.

Documents

• Preliminary programme
  LHE/19/EXP/1 Rev.2: English|French
• Working document
  LHE/19/EXP/2: English|French
• List of participants
  LHE/19/EXP/3 Rev.: English/French
• Presentation - Opening: English|French
• Presentation - Session 1: UNESCO Frameworks: English|French
• Presentation - Session 2: Disasters (by Mr Hiroki Takakura): English
• Presentation - Session 2: Conflict (by Mr Lassana Cissé): French

The capacity building workshop on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) safeguarding plan and International Assistance Requests (IAR) development in the Pacific island states took place in Nadi, Fiji, from 13 to 17 May 2019. The workshop was organized by the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), a UNESCO’s Category II Center in China and hosted by the Fijian Ministry of Education (Department of Heritage, Arts and Culture).

On 22 April 2019, the Living Heritage Entity organized a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) on “The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples.”
The UNPFII is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established in 2000 with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, the environment, culture, education, health and human rights. The focus for this year’s Forum was on the special theme of “Traditional knowledge: generation, transmission and protection.”
The Secretary of the Convention, Mr Tim Curtis, gave an overview of the Convention and why it is relevant for indigenous peoples to support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
“There are some quite inherent alignments between some of the key concepts that exist in the UNDRIP and the 2003 Convention. Even though the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention is not specifically directed to indigenous peoples, it captures a lot of those same concerns, especially around community custodianship.”
Ambassador Rubén Escalante Hasbún, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN, shared some recent experiences from El Salvador of an International Assistance project that aimed to safeguard the oral traditions of Náhuat speakers in the municipality of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The project, in particular, focused on engaging youth in the inventorying process, which enhanced community self-esteem and pride in their indigenous culture. “We have to include the young people, making sure that youth can have a better understanding of their identity.”
Ambassador Hasbún emphasized the importance of harnessing existing synergies between different international mechanisms to enhance indigenous rights.
This was a point likewise highlighted by Mr Elifuraha Laltaika, member of the UNPFII and founder of the Association for Law and Advocacy for Pastoralists in Tanzania.
“The importance of the 2003 Convention cannot be overemphasized because it provides the spaces for indigenous peoples to exercise their agency in terms of fostering their identity and continuity through transmission.”
Mr Laltaika spoke of the potential of international instruments to enhance the cultural rights of indigenous peoples that have historically been threatened by global histories of colonialism and dispossession.
“The 2003 Convention is a central to boosting or amplifying indigenous peoples’ historical and ongoing efforts to assert their identities and preserve their languages, cultures and traditions.”
Ms Hindou Ibrahim co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and founder of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad emphasised how the Convention corresponds to indigenous concerns about safeguarding cultural heritage and ensuring its continued relevance for future generations. She underscored the Convention’s community-based approach, which requires the free, prior and informed consent of communities in all safeguarding activities.
“This convention…means a lot for me and it can mean a lot for indigenous peoples. If it can guide us through the best approach, with free, prior and informed consent and safeguard all what we have as culture, knowledge and as our future because we talk about the technological future but our indigenous knowledge is our future.”

Other issues discussed included the links between education and intangible cultural heritage, the important role of indigenous women as carriers of their cultures and challenges to ensure compliance and implementation of international conventions protecting indigenous peoples’ rights at the country level.

The event generated interest in the Convention among the participants at the Forum, building on the momentum of the International Year of Indigenous Languages. UNESCO will continue its work on this important issue with side events at the upcoming session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Bogota, Colombia, to focus on the role of indigenous languages and safeguarding living heritage.

You can listen to the full event here

The workshop on inventorying with the participation of communities under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage builds on the results of the workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention held in 2011 and aims to equip the staff of the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism and Culture with knowledge and skills to design and facilitate an inventory approach based on the collective commitment and adapted to the particular situation of the communities. Facilitated by two members of the UNESCO’s facilitators’ network, the workshop will cover the themes of participatory inventory work under the 2003 Convention, possible frameworks for participatory inventory work, ethics and responsibilities, methods and techniques of inventorying, as well as a field practicum.

The Republic of Comoros ratified the 2003 Convention on 20/11/2013. The Comoros do not yet have elements on the ICH lists. National authorities of Comoros and other stakeholders are committed to safeguarding the country’s living heritage. 2015 as part of a mission to assess the country’s needs for building various capacities parties involved in the implementation of an agreement quietly 2003 project Capacity building has been developed and a National Heritage Committee intangible cultural heritage which has been an encouraging sign of the country’s willingness to implement the ICH

This workshop is part and parcel of an ongoing 24-month project with the aim of strengthening capacities to safeguard ICH in Egypt for sustainable development. The project is the result a of needs assessment in the field of intangible cultural heritage that was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA).
Funded also by ADTCA, this project intends to support Egypt in its efforts to safeguard its living heritage, in accordance with the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Egypt, UNESCO Cairo has already provided policy advisory services and capacity-building activities based on needs previously identified in consultation with national partners through the sector assessment, conducted in April-August 2015.

The Secretariat of the Convention organizes an information and exchange session on the provisional upstream dialogue for nominations to be examined in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Committee on Friday, 1 March 2019. This meeting takes place in Room XI (Fontenoy) from 3 to 5 p.m.

This meeting is co-organized by the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Permanent Delegation of Colombia to UNESCO in its capacity as representative of the Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee and of the informal ad hoc open-ended working group.

The purpose of this meeting is to present and discuss, in the presence of the members of the Evaluation Body, a proposed procedure for the provisional upstream dialogue mechanism. This meeting is 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
• Information note: English|French
• Timetable of work of the Evaluation Body in 2019: English|French

This workshop is aimed at civil servants from the Ministry of Culture who will be responsible for the implementation of the 2003 Convention and those of the ministries involved in safeguarding the ICH and the Lebanese National Commission for Unesco. It will also target members of associations / NGOs and university representatives, as well as heritage bearers working in the field of living heritage. The workshop is organized within the framework of the project “Strengthening capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Lebanon”, generously funded by the Japan Funds-in-Trust.

Within the framework of the project “Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Sudan”, generously funded by Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority, a 10-day assessment mission is organised to identify and analyse previous inventory activities in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Sudan. The mission will include a series of meetings and consultations as well as basic training sessions related to community-based inventorying as understood by the 2003 Convention.
During the mission, the priorities for the development of a strategy for inventory making will be set through group discussions with the various stakeholders concerned, including community representatives. The objective will be to update previous inventorying experiences, set up a knowledge management system and promote community-based participative approaches when inventorying ICH elements.