UNESCO in association with Sangeet Natak Akademi Delhi organised a 2.5 day workshop from 2-4 December 2014 on the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Participants were familiarised with the fundamentals of the Convention such as the importance of community-based inventory and multiple options for safeguarding measures. The workshop also provided a training session by Ms Shubha Chaudhuri, a UNESCO trained facilitator. The case studies by organizations working with communities at the grassroots elaborated further on community participation in documentation, and culture based livelihoods for rural development. On the last day participants were involved in an engaging role-play exercise of developing the ICH inventory. They were divided into three groups – community, NGO, and government officials. The exercise demonstrated the perspectives of each group about other stakeholders, and challenges of working together. Another enriching aspect of the workshop was a qawaali and sattreya dance performance followed by Q&A; sessions with the performers. UNESCO Delhi now plans to organise such workshops in different regions within India to encourage greater involvement of the state governments.

A capacity-building workshop for the preparation of community-based inventories of intangible cultural heritage was organized by the UNESCO House for a Culture of Peace in Burundi in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The workshop, which was held in the Bujumbura Community Centre, has trained 29 participants from the Ministry and representatives of cultural associations engaged in activities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, in the methodology for developing inventories with the participation of communities according to the principles of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The vast majority of participants had benefited in the past from training on the implementation of the Convention at the national level and were therefore already familiar with the key concepts and notions of the Convention. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Domitien Nizigiyimana, expert of the World Network of UNESCO for the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and included a practical course of carrying out field inventory to apply the theory learned during the previous days.
This training was a real success in many respects. First by the active involvement of participants throughout the workshop, which particularly appreciated the practice through the practical course. The respect for gender equality and the presence of young people has diversified views and mobilize shared interest with regard to the intangible cultural heritage. Another lesson learned is that this kind of exercise helps to reassure communities that are very concerned about the uncertain future of their intangible cultural heritage which, according to them, was abandoned by the youth. Communities expressed great satisfaction of having been contacted prior to the workshop to gather their consent by asking to deliver their knowledge for the sake of the practice course and of having stayed together with the participants during the course which allowed a lot of exchange.

Documents

LIST_DOC:00466

A representative of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Leisure of Niger will open next Monday 10 November a five-days Training workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, with the participation of the Spanish Technical Bureau of Cooperation in Niger.
Organized together with the National Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of Niger and the support of UNESCO, the workshop (held in Niamey from 10 to 14 November) is the first of three major training activities of the capacity-building programme implemented in Niger for the safeguarding of its living heritage. The training will provide participants with knowledge, tools and resources on the principles and mechanisms of the Convention and its Operational Directives. The aim is to help Niger to fulfil its national obligations under the Convention by developing a sufficient level of national capacity, both within public institutions and among the main actors of civil society and communities.
The workshop will be immediately followed by a consultation meeting on the national institutional and legislative framework of cultural heritage in order to discuss, propose and validate specific amendments to the law n  97-022 on national cultural heritage of Niger and the related decree for its application so as to ensure its applicability for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Niger. This consultation meeting takes place in the framework of the revision process of the law, an effort initiated by the national authorities in 2013.
The next step will be training on the preparation of community-based inventories of the intangible cultural heritage, followed by two pilot inventory projects in the field where the methodologies and tools conveyed during the training will be applied.

The Mozambican Institute for Socio-Cultural Research, Arquivo do Património Cultural (ARPAC), in cooperation with UNESCO organizes a workshop from 27 to 31 October 2014 in Manica and Maputo. The event will highlight how inventories of intangible cultural heritage are a key step for further safeguarding measures. It will further review the results of previous project activities to develop a national strategy for the promotion and safeguarding of Mozambique’s intangible cultural heritage. On 1 November, an extra day will be dedicated to the planning of future activities of the framework project serving Lusophone African countries, financed thanks to the generous contribution from Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

Documents

• Agenda of 1 November:
• Agenda of 27-31 October:
• List of participants:

From 27 October to 3 November 2014, a workshops included in the project for strengthening the capacities of Myanmar for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place in Nyaung Shwe (Inle, Southern Shan State) and was dedicated to community-based inventorying. The workshop has been attended by 38 participants from different ministries and institutes including among others the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Transports, Myanmar Historical Commission, the National Library, Yangon University and the University of Culture of Mandalay. Several community members of the region participated also in the workshop as bearers of intangible cultural heritage expressions representative of the country’s cultural diversity.
Facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, Noriko Aikawa-Faure from Japan and Paritta Koanantakool from Thailand, this training aimed at equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to enable them to plan and facilitate the elaboration of inventories of intangible cultural heritage adapted to the characteristics of the communities who practise and transmit it. The workshop also included two days of field practice within local communities in Taunggi, Kyauk Tine and Inle Lake areas.

Documents

• Agenda: الإنجليزية
• List of participants: الإنجليزية

The mission to South Sudan to consult national authorities and other stakeholders on the needs of the country for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in its territory was undertaken from 21st October to 28th October 2014. The mission was part of the ADTCA funded project “Strengthening capacities to safeguard intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development.” The consultations which were held in Juba - the capital city in the Central Equatorial State and which was facilitated by Ms. Ellen Lekka, the Culture Specialist at the UNESCO Juba Office and Mr. Elfatih Atem of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport were with : a Deputy Minister(Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports), two Senior officers(Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports); five cultural officers(Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports); six leaders of non-government organizations; five academics at the University of Juba; three officials of UN agencies(UNESCO, UNEP and UNDP); one media organisation that covers cultural matters and one traditional leader. Ms Ellen Lekka and Mr.Elfatih Atem also facilitated a public Lecture at the French Institute at the University of Juba, jointly presented with Mr.Joseph Abuk on “Benefiting from our living heritage” and a radio interview about the mission on Radio Miraya of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan.

At the request of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO is organizing an expert meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, from 29 September to 1 October 2014, generously funded and hosted by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO. The aim of the meeting is to draw up preliminary recommendations for a possible new chapter of the Operational Directives on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development at the national level.

Documents

• Background note and agenda
  ITH/14/EXP/1: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• Concept note: Intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development
  ITH/14/EXP/2: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• Draft Operational Directives on ‘Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development at the national level’
  ITH/14/EXP/3: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• List of participants
  ITH/14/EXP/4: English/French

After three years of implementation, time has come to take stock of UNESCO’s global capacity-building strategy for strengthening safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central Asia and Europe. Therefore, the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe is hosting, a review meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 23 to 26 September 2014 co-organized with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section of UNESCO. It will be the fourth review meeting of its kind after one in the Asia-Pacific region (Beijing, November 2012), another for Latin America and the Caribbean region (Cuzco, September 2013) and the third for the Arab region (Kuwait City, 9 to 10 May 2014).

These meetings provide an occasion to review the programme and upgrade knowledge on the most recent developments of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, while also introducing new training and guidance materials developed recently by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section.

A group of 20 participants will come together in Sofia, including UNESCO-trained facilitators involved in delivering the global capacity-building strategy in Europe and Central Asia, UNESCO Programme Specialists from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section and Field Offices and professional staff of the Centre. The important review and training exercise is possible thanks to the generous support of the Bulgarian authorities and funds from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

Within the scope of a two-year project to strengthen the necessary safeguarding frameworks on the Dutch Caribbean islands and Suriname, the first joint training will take place in Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten from 8 to 12 September 2014, bringing together representatives from across six islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) for training on the implementation of the Convention.

This training will be followed by a second joint training to be held in Curacao in March 2015, covering the processes and framework for community-based inventorying of intangible heritage and subsequent inventory field exercises to be conducted on the six islands. A national training on ratification and implementation of the Convention is also being organized to address the specific needs of Suriname.

As a part of UNESCO’s global capacity-building strategy and thanks to the contribution from the Government of the Netherlands to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, this project is being implemented by the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean with the support of National Commissions for UNESCO in the various countries, as well as national and local stakeholders.

A training workshop on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) took place at the National Museum of Bamako from 5 to 10 September 2014. This workshop is part of the first phase of a project called ‘Inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Mali with a view to its urgent safeguarding’. It is the first project to be funded by the emergency international assistance mechanism of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund for a total of more than 300 000 Dollars.

The workshop was organized by the Directorate for Heritage and Culture of Mali (DNPC) in partnership with UNESCO, the opening ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Culture, Ms N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo, Mr Lazare Eloundou of the UNESCO Office in Bamako and representatives of various technical and financial partners, including those of the MINUSMA and the French Embassy in Mali, were in attendance.

The training is the first of a series of workshops on community-based inventorying that will take place at local level. It brought together 20 participants, including members of the local offices in Gao, Kidal, Mopti and Tombouctou and agents from the DNPC. It was facilitated by two experts from the UNESCO network from Burundi and Burkina Faso. Thanks to the logistical support of MINUSMA, participants from the north regions were able to travel to Bamako and take part in the different training module.

Mali’s intangible heritage: a national source of wealth to be preserved

‘Understanding the intangible cultural heritage of different communities contributes to intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for other ways of living. It contributes to social cohesion and helps people to feel a sense of belonging to a community and to society as a whole’ declared Mr Lazare Eloundou, from the UNESCO Office in Bamako, in his welcoming address.
The socio-cultural and security crisis between April 2012 and January 2013 in Mali particularly touched the intangible cultural heritage in the north regions. The urgent safeguarding of that cultural heritage must then remain an absolute priority in this post-crisis context in those regions. This living heritage is made up of secular cultural practices and manifestations which are essential components of the Malian identity and its knowledge and identification are indeed crucial to the return of a harmonious coexistence and a lasting peace between the people.

The ultimate goal for this 10-day workshop was to define the bases for the inventory of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) strategy in the north of the country and raise awareness among the communities about the preservation of the cultural wealth. Indeed, as the international community pointed out in 2003 in the foreword of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, it is the ‘mainspring of cultural diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development’ of our societies and communities.

Training modules adapted to field work

One of the goals of the exercise was to provide necessary technical and training material to the staff that will be in charge of directing the inventory exercise so that they can in turn pass on that knowledge to the investigating team responsible for elaborating this inventory with the communities. The participants have had the opportunity to review various topics such as the type of ICH to inventory in Mali, inventorying techniques and strategies, the current state of ICH resources for each of the represented regions or the language dimension of the documentation process.

‘It will allow the participants to better understand the objectives of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and to master the tools, techniques and inventorying materials. This workshop will above all be an opportunity to understand better why it is necessary for communities to safeguard the resources of intangible cultural heritage in places that have an essentially oral civilization’ added the Minister of Culture, Ms N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo, in her opening address.

‘The training has taught us a lot a new things, because we must admit that our knowledge in the field of intangible heritage is quite superficial. I was very happy with the demonstrations and I would like to congratulate the facilitators for their teaching abilities. I liked the clarity with which they spoke and thanks to their teaching, I will be able to keep on training myself’, noted Mr Boubacar Touré, workshop participant and former Regional Director of Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture of Tombouctou.

The modules taught in the field, especially with the Sogonafing community located in the district III of Bamako, allowed the participants to become familiar with both practical and concrete aspects.

‘It was really interesting, the field practicum taught us a lot. We have gained new knowledge and learned how to proceed and how to address people. We will be able to use this knowledge and to train others in the field’ aslo said Mrs Assitan Samaké, from the Cultural Field of Djimoutou, in the Koulikoro region.

This activity is related to the implementation process of the project for the rehabilitation of the damaged heritage in the north of Mali started by the UNESCO Office in Bamako in March 2014 and is one more step in the move towards of social cohesion and peace building.

‘The objective of preparing inventories is not so much to build a reserve of documents for museum or research purposes but to allow communities to respect and understand the role of their own intangible cultural heritage in the life of the community through its identification and definition, whether at health, education or environment level or to resolve conflicts’ reminded Cecile Duvelle, Secretary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The next step of the project is for the regional offices to organize training for the teams that will prepare the inventory of the circles and districts for which each four regions are responsible.

Documents

The current report results from the needs-assessment survey that was carried out in September-November 2014 on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Albania. The survey was guided by the intention to explore the legislative and policy documents in the sphere of ICH in Albania, to analyze the institutional and administrative framework for the implementation of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention, and to study the situation of awareness-raising activities, inventorying procedures, and educational and training programs on ICH issues in the country. The goal was to outline the major challenges encountered in the implementation of the 2003 Convention on the national level, to identify the main needs in the field of ICH safeguarding, and to propose recommendations for improvement, with a special attention to aspects of urgency, sustainability, and long-terms effects. In accordance with the formulated expectations, the needs assessment pursued the development of a multi-year action plan, which includes practical proposals for capacity-building and for enhancing the safeguarding policies in the country. The current needs assessment will enable to tailor the efforts of UNESCO within the framework of its global capacity-building strategy for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage

What can we learn from other programmes and organizations to refine UNESCO’s approach to policy advice in the field of intangible cultural heritage? How can we create synergies with the policy work undertaken under the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005)? These are key questions of a one-day workshop that the Intangible Heritage Section is organizing on 25 June 2014 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris with the participation of its own staff and colleagues working on the diversity of cultural expressions. Development experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNESCO’s Education Sector and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) are guest speakers. The work of conceptualizing appropriate approaches and formats to support countries in developing relevant legislation and policies for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage benefits from the support of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund and is urgently needed, as confirmed by the recent evaluation by the Internal Oversight Service of UNESCO’s standard-setting work of the Culture Sector.

• : الإنجليزية
• List of participants: الإنجليزية
• Programme: الإنجليزية

Organized by The Curacao National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean, a national consultation meeting was held on 24 and 25 June 2014 at the Jeugd Centrale Curacao (JCC), Curacao. The meeting brought together some 15 participants representing the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, National Archaeological-Anthropological Museum (NAAM), Museum Tula, The Curacao Museum, culture experts, crafts persons and practitioners from Curacao. The objective of the national consultation was to sensitize stakeholders on the upcoming project ‘Strengthening the capacities of Suriname and Dutch Caribbean islands for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,’ funded by an earmarked contribution from the Government of the Netherlands to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The meeting will be an excellent opportunity for the participants to take stock of the recent developments in the life of the Convention and the larger trends underway at UNESCO concerning category 2 centres. It will also facilitate joint efforts for the integration of the Organization’s medium-term strategy (37 C/4) and programme and budget for the coming quadrennium (37 C/5) into the medium-term and short-term planning of the respective centres, enabling them to continue to contribute effectively to UNESCO’s work.

Documents

• 37 C/5 MP IV Expected Result 6: National capacities strengthened and utilised to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, including indigenous and endangered languages, through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• Agenda: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• Evaluation and renewal process: a case study (presentation): English-French
• Medium-term strategy for UNESCO’s cooperation with category 2 centres in the field of intangible cultural heritage 2014-2021: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية
• Recent developments in the life of the Convention and the Organization (presentation): الإنجليزية

Reference documents

• Evaluation Report 2008-2014: الإنجليزية|الإسبانية

• Agreement concerning the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL) in Cusco, Peru: الإنجليزية|الإسبانية

Executive Board/General Conference documents

• Integrated Comprehensive Strategy for Category 2 Institutes and Centres
  37 C/Resolution 93: الإنجليزية|الفرنسية|الإسبانية|الروسية|العربية|الصينية

For further information:

• Category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO

Ethiopia is an ancient country with a remarkable rich linguistic and cultural diversity. This diversity includes tangible and intangible heritage with both traditional and modern cultural expressions, language, and centuries old know how in handicraft production. In fact, Ethiopia’s cultural industry is perhaps one of the oldest in the world and is exceptionally diverse. The other intangible heritage of Ethiopia is equally rich with an exceptional variety including ceremonies, festivals, celebrations, rituals, and other living expressions. Moreover, eight of the Ethiopia’s cultural and natural heritage sites are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Lists attesting to the outstanding universal value of Ethiopia’s heritage. The rich cultural landscape is further enhanced by the representation of numerous religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other traditional religions. The peaceful coexistence of these religious communities for centuries is a testament to Ethiopia’s social cohesion. Moreover, Ethiopia is a land endowed with immense biodiversity. Safeguarding and harnessing these assets would enable Ethiopia to capitalize on its rich heritage for socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Ethiopia and for sustainable development.

Ethiopia ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006.Ratification of the Convention was therefore, a landmark achievement for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This bold move gave the country an opportunity to conserve, promote, safeguard and develop it’s cultural diversity for sustainable development. Coupled with it’s existing legal and policy frameworks such as the 1995 constitution, the 1997 cultural policy and the 209/2000 proclamation which established the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), the country had therefore positioned itself to harness it’s potential in the development of the culture sector and particularly pay special attention to it’s rich intangible cultural heritages of over eighty ethnic groups.
As a signatory to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Ethiopian government was thus bound to observe it’s obligation under the Convention and it’s operational directives. Since 2006 and using it’s existing legal, policy, and institutional frameworks, the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia through the Authority for Research in Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) began the work of implementing the convention at the national level. A national workshop to sensitize stakeholders on the implementation of the convention was organized. Later on Inventories were developed for the ICH of many Nations, Nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia with much of the expertise for such undertakings coming from ARCCH. Ethiopia has one element (Meskel) inscribed in the List of Elements in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and a few others such as the Ashura Festival have been lined up for nomination into the lists within the framework of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
UNESCO’s highest priority for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is a global capacity-building strategy, put in place to strengthen countries’ capacities for the sustainable safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and for harnessing its potential for sustainable development while promoting broad public knowledge and support for the Convention’s concepts and objectives.
The Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism is the relevant Ministry charged with the responsibility of conservation, promotion, development and the safeguarding of culture of the Nations, Nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia for Sustainable Development. Through the ARCCH, much has been done regarding the implementation of the Convention. There is however, a lot that can be achieved if the Government lays a solid foundation for the implementation of the convention.

Documents

• Agenda - Réunion : Rapport d’atelier de Ahmed Skounti : الفرنسية
• List of Participant: الفرنسية
• Programme: الفرنسية

The workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention provided an overview of the objectives and key safeguarding concepts of the 2003 Convention as well as the national obligations of States Parties and the mechanisms for international cooperation. Thirty-five participants benefitted from the workshop. Most of them took part during the consultation meetings in November 2013. Cultural Officers of seven out of eight States were present. Most of the Ministry officials who participated in the workshop came from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum which has conducted significant researches and documentation of ICH through the network of State Museums and Cultural Officers. The increased number of participants from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum resulted in a more productive discussion and allowed for more state (provincial) level inputs.
This workshop was initially planned to cover both the ratification and implementation of the 2003 Convention. However, Myanmar ratified the 2003 Convention two weeks before the start of the workshop, thus the two expert facilitators, Paritta Koanantakool and Noriko Aikawa-Faure, adjusted their training programme to focus only on the effective implementation of the Convention at the national level. The facilitators included in the workshop agenda a day-long field study visit in locations where the crafts and rituals mentioned below were practiced. The field trip provided the participants to understand the essential role of communities in safeguarding ICH.

• Bronze casting craft in Tamapawaddy, Chanmyathase Township, Mandalay
• Silk weaving craft in Muand Dan Quarter, Amarapura Township, Mandalay
• Nat spirit worship in Mandalay where four spirit mediums/practitioners were interviewed.

In 2014, the training of trainers on the implementation of the Convention was the first step to build a core group of facilitators from Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden) who can deliver capacity-building courses for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and for other aspects of the implementation of the ICH Convention.

About 30 representatives of Ministries of Culture and UNESCO-trained experts from different countries in the Arab region will discuss with UNESCO and ALECSO the needs and challenges of developing conceptual and institutional frameworks for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The two international Organizations are co-organizing this meeting in collaboration with the Kuwait National Council for Culture, Art and Letters from 7 to 9 May 2014 in Kuwait City thanks to the generous hospitality of the Government of Kuwait.

• Programme: الإنجليزية
• Concept note: الإنجليزية

The expert facilitators and UNESCO staff will stay on in Kuwait for a second meeting to review the progress and challenges of implementing UNESCO’s capacity-building programme for intangible cultural heritage and make recommendation on ways forward in the Arab region (10 to 11 May).

• Provisional timetable: الإنجليزية
• Background note: الإنجليزية

The Yaoundé Office brought its expertise and collaboration to the training of trainers on inventories of the tangible and intangible heritage that took place in Yaoundé from 5 to 10 May 2014 by addressing the participants on the 2003 Convention, the importance of community-based inventories and the challenges of elaborating nomination files for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The workshop brought together 55 participants, including representatives from the 10 regions of Cameroon.

Results:

• The participants gained a better knowledge of the 2003 Convention
• The Ministry of Arts and Culture committed to roll out inventories

Perspective:

• Organization of other workshops with the communities with the communities
• Effective launch of inventories
• Support for the preparation of nomination files for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

From 31 March 31 to 6 April, the Dominican Republic hosts a workshop on intangible cultural heritage community-based inventories within the framework of a regional project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, with the support of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, thanks to the generous contribution of Norway.

Conducted by two members of the UNESCO network of facilitators, María Ismenia Toledo (Venezuela) and Enrique Pérez López (Mexico), the workshop brings together 30 specialists, students and bearers of intangible cultural heritage for a training on the approach promulgated by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to inventories and the role played by communities. The theoretical training is complemented with a technical part on data collection and a field exercise with the Chuineros of Cañafístol in Baní, in the province of Peravia, whose improvised songs in couplets are at risk of disappearing.

This activity has been made possible thanks to the support of the Vice Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Cultural Centre of Perelló, located in Baní, which was instrumental in obtaining the Chuineros’ free, prior and informed consent.

Documents

• Agenda: الإسبانية
• List of participants: الإسبانية

A first national meeting took place in Agadir from 26 to 30 March. This meeting is part of the project for capacity building for the safeguarding of living heritage implemented in the three countries thanks to the generous contribution of Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The workshop was organized by the UNESCO Office in Rabat and brought together not only representatives from the Ministry of Culture and of local communities involved but also representatives from the Ministries of Crafts, Agriculture, Education and Tourism.

The integration of intangible cultural heritage to the multisectorial policies and a good understanding of the key concepts of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by all stakeholders are essential to its effective implementation. These issues were raised during this training workshop that was co-facilitated by Mr. Ahmed Skounti (Morocco) and Mr. Mohamed Ould Mohamed Lemine Beijeu (Mauritania), UNESCO trained facilitators in the field of intangible heritage.

• List of participants : الفرنسية
• Présentation - Réunion : Rapport d’atelier de M. Ahmed Skounti: الفرنسية

The theme of the international conference 24-26 March in Bergen (Norway) focuses on the UNESCO Conventions on World Heritage (1972), Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and Diversity of Cultural Expression (2005).
The overall goal of the conference is, to explore synergies between the three conventions, how they can be utilized to realize their related ambitions and how other UNESCO related instruments, regional and national mechanisms and practices can be fruitfully implement as a whole.

The conference will examine the following questions:

• How can synergies between the conventions and other mechanisms and practices be obtained on the ground – what works in practice?
• What is the role of tangible as well as intangible cultural heritage and cultural expressions in contributing to sustainable development?

Target participants include researchers in cultural and natural heritage and sustainable development, practitioners in management of heritage sites and related instruments on the local level and higher levels. The conference will serve as a platform for exchange of ideas. It will provide:

• researchers with feedback on their findings and ideas for their work,
• local heritage managers with inspiration for new solutions,
• UNESCO and national level heritage managers with ideas for strategic developments,

Within the framework of the UNESCO/Flanders Project on Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the UNESCO Harare Multisectoral Regional Office (MSRO) organised a two-day workshop 18 – 20 March 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe. This workshop brought together twenty-two participants from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The workshop was facilitated by the UNESCO certified trainers in ICH, Mr. Stephen Chifunyise and Mr. Lovemore Mazibuko. Also in attendance and assisting with training was Mr. Marc Jacobs, from the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage (FARO).

Workshop Objectives

• Train at least two participants from each beneficiary country on the scope and objectives of the implementation of the 2003 Convention at national level with a focus on inventorying, preparation of international assistance requests and nomination files.
• Define and agree on the specific actions aimed at strengthening policy, legal and institutional frameworks of the beneficiary countries with reference to the provisions of the 2003 Convention and the Operational Directives.
• Create and agree on project activities and timelines which will guide the beneficiary countries in executing set action plans and main project goal of reinforcing the national capacities for the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

List of documents

• Agenda: الإنجليزية
• List of participants: الإنجليزية

From 25 February to 4 March 2014, the last of the workshops of the project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central America took place in Guatemala City and is dedicated to community-based inventorying. The workshop was intended for the technical staff of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala and for community members who bear intangible cultural heritage manifestations representative of the country’s cultural diversity.

Facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, Eva Martínez from Honduras and Enrique Pérez López from Mexico, this training aimed at equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to enable them to plan and facilitate the elaboration of inventories of intangible cultural heritage adapted to the characteristics of the communities who practise and transmit it.

The workshop included two days of field practice in the town of Chinautla, 10 km from the capital city, whose indigenous Maya-Pocomam population manufactures with technical precision pots and vases, among other pieces, with mud, straw and clay. This traditional craftsmanship which is passed down from mother to daughter since childhood, was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation by the Government of Guatemala in 2013.

Documents

• Agenda: الإسبانية
• List of participants: الإسبانية

From 11 to 14 February, the Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean is organizing a capacity-building workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level in Santiago de Cuba in Eastern Cuba. The workshop will bring together about twenty participants from the eastern provinces and Camagüey. Bearers of intangible cultural heritage from the region, alongside members of provincial councils and national institutions such as the National Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage or the Cuban Institute for Cultural Research, will receive intensive training on the objectives and key concepts of this Convention as well as on the obligations assumed by States that have ratified it and the mechanisms it provides for international cooperation.

Organized as part of the regional capacity-building programme benefiting Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti and funded through the generous contribution of Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, the workshop will be facilitated by two UNESCO-trained experts, Adriana Molano Arenas from Colombia and Francisco Javier López Morales from Mexico. It will offer a platform where participants will reflect collectively on experiences and challenges in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage within the broader context of sustainable development.

Documents

• Agenda: الإسبانية
• List of participants: الإسبانية

Following the national workshop on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage, a pilot activity on community-based inventorying was successfully carried out by the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) from February to April 2014. Two training sessions were organized as part of the inventorying exercise. These were followed by two inventorying exercises in Glengoffe, St. Catherine carried out on 19 March and 30 April 2014. Participants collected oral history data from the members of the craft community, which included jippy-jappa straw workers and a wood carver, using the digital recorders and video camera purchased for the project. They also made photographic documentation of the present processes involved in the creation of jippy-jappa straw craft and wood carvings. Following this, participants came together to critically analyze the data collected and created a pilot ICH inventory record of the jippy-jappa straw and woodcarving. This exercise involved the preparation of interview worksheets and inputting data: photographs and video into the ICH Inventory Database. A set of audio-visual equipment was also purchased to facilitate the pilot inventorying project and for use in future inventorying work. An ICH Equipment Release Form was developed and is in use to facilitate loans to the members of the ICH stakeholders’ network, to primarily ensure that communities have access to this equipment to carry out the work for which they have been trained.