Submitting States and priorities for 2021 cycle

Under Decision 13.COM 15, the Committee made two decisions: it set the total number of files for the 2020 and 2021 cycles at 100 (50 in 2020 and 50 in 2021), and it decided to examine at least one file per submitting State over these two years (known as priority (0)).

When establishing the list of nomination files to be treated, the conditions mentioned above are combined with the level of priorities stated in paragraph 34 of the Operational Directives:

• (i) Files from States having no elements inscribed, good safeguarding practices selected or requests for International Assistance greater than US$100,000 approved, and nominations to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding;
• (ii) Multinational files; and
• (iii) Files from States with the fewest elements inscribed, good safeguarding practices selected or requests for International Assistance greater than US$100,000 approved, in comparison with other submitting States during the same cycle.

For the 2021 cycle, an unusually high (85) number of nomination files were received also from a higher than normal number of submitting States (53) (by the deadline of 31 March 2020). In other words, the number of national files under priority (0) alone exceeds the annual ceiling of 50 files. Recognizing the increasing commitment of the international community to safeguard living heritage through the listing mechanisms, the Secretariat proposes exceptionally to show flexibility and make extra efforts so as to treat the following files for the attention of the sixteenth session of the Committee to be held in 2021:

• Fifty-three national files under priority (0)
• Seven files under priority (i); in addition to two national files having no elements inscribed, this group also includes five multinational files with at least one submitting State that has no elements inscribed.
• Total: 60 files

While the nomination files will be administered as described above, the Secretariat intends to bring the 2021 priority list to the attention of the Committee at its fifteenth session for discussion.

Those nomination files submitted for the 31 March 2020 deadline and that are not part of the 2021 cycle shall be treated in a future cycle in accordance with the provisions that will be in force at that time.