The Committee

1. Takes note that Spain has proposed the Atlas of the intangible heritage of Andalusia for selection and promotion by the Committee as a programme, project or activity best reflecting the principles and objectives of the Convention, described as follows:

          The Atlas of the intangible heritage of Andalusia aims to register, document, disseminate and safeguard intangible cultural heritage in Andalusia. Its responsible body is the Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (IAPH). The project develops management tools to aid its agents to identify, define and inventory Andalusian heritage. To date, initial registration in forty Andalusian districts has been completed, reaching a total of 1,500 records. The project also works to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage through audiovisual documents and publications, information campaigns, festivals and workshops. It creates specialized programmes in schools and universities, and organizes seminars, conferences, radio programmes, documentaries and television broadcasts. It promotes formal and informal education for the transmission of ICH, and scientific and technical studies and research methodologies to safeguard intangible heritage. It also aims to identify appropriate ways to safeguard elements and improve local sustainable development by collaborating with social agents and local development groups and affected communities. The project would not be possible without the co-operation and participation of the communities, groups and individuals. The working model, methodology and tools for ICH documentation are transferrable to other contexts.

2. Decides that, from the information provided in proposal 00508, the Atlas of the intangible heritage of Andalusia responds as follows to the criteria for selection in Paragraph 7 of the Operational Directives:

P.1    The programme aims to safeguard the heritage of Andalusia through participatory and networking methodologies and by implementing a strategic inventorying plan that focuses primarily on identification and documentation;

P.2    Although the Atlas project is a sub-national activity, the coordinating organization Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico has demonstrated multilateral cooperation on the institutional level (local and national, including academic institutions, documentation centres, others) and has had collaborations with several Latin American countries on other heritage topics;

P.3    The conception of the project reflects the principles of the Convention in its design and implementation, aiming to increase awareness within the communities, including the young; its major asset is the systematic way of documenting intangible heritage including viability assessments and identification of threats, which can form a solid base upon which effective safeguarding and revitalization can be built;

P.4    Although the proposal explains how the programme might be evaluated in the future, it offers no evidence to establish its effectiveness to date; it is unclear what steps are to be taken after the creation of the Atlas to enhance transmission of the heritage that has been documented, especially those elements in need of urgent safeguarding;

P.5    Numerous attestations submitted to the Secretariat testify to the participation in this programme of a large number of communities and groups;

P.6    The model, methodology and working tools can be used in other contexts, taking into account that one of the functions of the IAPH is to transmit information and technical advice related to intangible cultural heritage; once operational, the database can be freely accessed and used by national and international bodies;

P.7    Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico and other interested parties are ready to cooperate in dissemination of the project, if selected;

P.8    The programme can in the future be evaluated and outcomes assessed with quantitative and qualitative results; the indicators could be useful in the assessment of results and application of the project in other countries;

P.9    This programme is ambitious, involving considerable costs, yet is also flexible and can be adapted in a manner consistent with the capacities of a developing country.

3. Decides not to select the Atlas of the intangible heritage of Andalusia as a programme, project or activity best reflecting the principles and objectives of the Convention, while recognizing its potential to become a best safeguarding practice;
4. Invites the State Party to submit a new proposal with an assessment of its impact and a demonstration of its viability and sustainability for safeguarding intangible heritage;
5. Recommends that the State Party make evident how the programme contributes to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage more holistically, and particularly how its methods permit a wider participation of the community in such safeguarding.