The Committee

1. Takes note that Uruguay has requested international assistance for the project entitled Documentation, promotion and dissemination of the Candombe traditional drum calls, expressions of identity of the Sur, Palermo, and Cordón neighbourhoods in the city of Montevideo, described as follows:

Candombe traditional drums calls, or llamadas, of the Sur, Palermo and Cordon neighbourhoods of Montevideo, Uruguay, originated with African slaves. They are performed in neighbourhood streets and at carnivals by drum groups, accompanied by dancing and singing. Candombe is usually transmitted through families respected for their drum skills. However, since the 1990s, rising house prices have dispersed Candombe communities, leading to the loss and dilution of their heritage. The project plans to strengthen Candombe by recovering historic material about the heritage, making new recordings, conducting awareness-raising activities at education centres, holding training workshops, and producing a documentary film and audio CD to be broadcast and disseminated at Candombe performances and talks countrywide. A travelling exhibition will also be organized. The bearer community has taken part in the design of safeguarding actions through the Advisory Group for Candombe. The advisory group has links with other associations of people of African descent, who will assist in the gathering of written, oral, and musical information, cooperate in organizing and implementing educational activities, and foster the transmission and dissemination of Afro-Uruguayan culture.

2. Decides that, from the information provided in File 00555, Documentation, promotion and dissemination of the Candombe traditional drum calls, expressions of identity of the Sur, Palermo, and Cordón neighbourhoods in the city of Montevideo responds as follows to the criteria for international assistance in Paragraph 12 of the Operational Directives and to the additional considerations in Paragraph 10:

A.1    The community of Candombe practitioners and experts was involved in the elaboration of the nomination submitted for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and continued its participation in elaborating this request for international assistance; it is to have a central role in the implementation of the proposed activities;

A.2    The budget does not provide sufficient detail to determine whether the amount of assistance requested is appropriate; certain large costs seem to be overstated, particularly in the absence of concrete details to support the estimates;

A.3    The proposed activities are well conceived and feasible, especially the timetable; the project will be monitored by means of four quarterly assessments and a final evaluation that will result in a final report;

A.4    Potential impacts of the project need to be elaborated in greater detail and with more thought regarding the next phase of the programme to ensure its sustainability once the 18-month project is completed;

A.5    The beneficiary State Party shares the cost of the activities, contributing around one-fifth of the total budget, although the longer-term sustainability of the project is not clearly described;

A.6    Insufficient information is provided on the building up of capacities; although the community of musicians is involved, it is not demonstrated how the project aims to develop their capacities, except for their involvement in the school activity which represents a very small portion of the whole project;

A.7    The State Party has not previously received financial assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund;

10(a) There is little discussion of bilateral, regional or international cooperation in the implementation of this project, and only a brief mention of some ongoing activities for people of African descent;

10(b) The project develops from the inscription of Candombe on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 and can be expected to stimulate complementary activities in the future.

3. Draws the attention of the State Party to the importance of requesting reasonable amounts and clearly detailing the basis for estimating all costs;
4. Expresses its concern about the sustainability of the project considering the time-limited commitment of the State to support crucial positions such as the coordinator of the project;
5. Decides not to approve international assistance in the amount of US$218,800 for the project Documentation, promotion and dissemination of the Candombe traditional drum calls, expressions of identity of the Sur, Palermo, and Cordón neighbourhoods in the city of Montevideo at this time;
6. Invites the State Party to submit a revised request, giving particular attention to the amount and costs of the budget, preferably by the end of February 2012;
7. Further invites the State to focus in the revised request on expected results and feasibility rather than general objectives and to reinforce training programmes as well as to specify the dissemination strategy for the products;
8. Requests the Secretariat to work with the submitting State Party in the revision of its request;
9. Delegates to the Bureau of the Committee the authority to approve a revised request for international assistance in an appropriate amount, not to exceed US$218,800, on condition that the State Party submits a revised request, responding to the concerns laid out above.