Events and meetings on intangible cultural heritage (co-)organized by UNESCO

The Naples Conference will explore synergies between the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage marking its 20th anniversary this year.

As the first major event on bringing together the World Heritage and Living Heritage Conventions following MONDIACULT, this Conference will celebrate heritage in its diverse forms, fostering enhanced and new forms of safeguarding through active participations of communities. Reflecting on the achievements of the two Conventions, discussions will center around the potential of heritage as a driver of sustainable development, peace and stability.

To ensure holistic and inclusive exchanges, the Conference will gather a diverse array of global cultural stakeholders as well as renowned thinkers and community leaders. Their perspectives will inspire an innovative approach to heritage that considers the close relationships between nature and culture, tangible and intangible, as well as heritage and creativity.

The Conference will be hosted by Italy and organized by UNESCO, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Culture, with the support of the City of Naples.

This event is a training of trainers’ workshop for incoming members of the Global facilitators network under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, notably from Europe and North America. The workshop is organized by UNESCO in partnership with the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe, and will be hosted by the Ministry of Culture of Albania, from 23 to 27 October 2023 in Tirana, Albania.

The five-day training workshop intends to equip the new facilitators with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully support the capacity-building programme for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention at the local, national, and international levels. As recognized resource persons of the 2003 Convention, the facilitators will help to create links between the Convention and local actors of living heritage safeguarding.

Link to the event on the website of the Ministry of Culture of Albania:

Four-day training workshop on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in situations of conflict and forced displacement, including a two-day field activity on conducting community-based needs identifications for intangible cultural heritage.

An online capacity-building exercise targeting stakeholders involved in nomination preparation in Small Island and Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean is taking place from 11 to 25 September 2023.

90 experts from 20 countries, including culture officers, civil servants, consultants, academics, non-governmental organizations, and bearer communities are coming together during 5 training sessions to improve their capacities for the elaboration of nomination files for the Lists of the Convention. Throughout the sessions, South-South cooperation and knowledge sharing among SIDS in the region are also promoted.

This training is part of a capacity-building project aiming at better equipping stakeholders engaged in safeguarding to prepare files that successfully respond to the criteria of the 2003 Convention’s evaluation system, thereby resulting in the effective safeguarding of living heritage across the region and contributing to greater geographical balance of the elements inscribed on the Lists. It is generously supported by The Netherlands.

Documents

• Timetable: English|French|Spanish

The UNESCO Living Heritage Entity is looking for a team of experts/evaluators to carry out a renewal evaluation of the International Research Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI), a UNESCO Category 2 Centre based in Osaka, Japan.

Proposals should reach UNESCO (ICH-capacity@unesco.org) no later than 17 September 2023 (midnight, Paris time).

Context

Category 2 institutes and centres under the auspices of UNESCO are a global network of institutions of excellence in the Organization’s domains of competence. Given their expertise, these institutes and centres contribute to the implementation of UNESCO’s priorities, programmes, and global development agendas during a defined period. They foster international and regional cooperation, research, knowledge production, policy advice, and capacity enhancement. Though independent of UNESCO, category 2 institutes and centres are a privileged partner of the Organization with access to international and intergovernmental bodies and networks, and may leverage UNESCO’s international reach and convening powers. Category 2 institutes and centres under the auspices of UNESCO are an integral part of the Organization’s Comprehensive Partnership Strategy.

The 35th session of the General Conference, in its 35 C/Resolution 52, approved the establishment in Japan of the International Research Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (hereafter, ‘the Centre’). An agreement between the Gov

From 25 to 26 July 2023, the Republic of Korea will host a Global Meeting for the 20th Anniversary of the 2003 Convention. Under the theme “Unleashing the power of living heritage for sustainable development and peace”, the Meeting in Seoul will celebrate achievements of twenty years of implementing the Convention and outline a vision for its future direction. Four thematic panels explore living heritage in relation to (1) sustainable livelihoods, (2) the natural world, (3) quality education and (4) the digital environment. Leading international thinkers, policy makers, civil society, experts, and community representatives will engage in this visionary discussion, which will be live streamed for the larger public.

The event is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (MOFA) and the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHA) in collaboration with UNESCO, the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP) and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHF).

Download Agenda: English|French

Live streaming:
25 July

• EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft9tRBofIC8
• FR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brtPJkfGWMM
• ES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGKEGnxo8wA
• KO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDi3V-PN2uc

26 July

• EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK9_hTZGrDk
• FR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OpwgvjvvlY
• ES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrOVqVU75W4
• KO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUABEDCDOh4