Safeguarding Sudan's Living Heritage Against Conflict and Climate Change (SSLH) campain
Our Heritage Our Sudan is an online interactive platform developed under the Safeguarding Sudan Living Heritage (SSLH) project with the following sub-topics:
- Make News: Show and share Sudan’s amazing living heritage
- Build Resilience: Protect Sudan’s living heritage from the impact of war
On the 1st November the #OurHeritageOurSudan Campaign will start and run for 90 days to protect Sudan’s living heritage by showing and sharing, supporting and safeguarding its rich diversity.
Since the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023, Sudan has been in a humanitarian crisis. The conflict has left over half the country’s population, 24 million people, in need of food and other assistance, and led to the displacement over 5 million people within and outside Sudan.
The conflict has made a significant impact on Sudan’s rich and diverse Intangible Cultural Heritage or Living Heritage. Prior to the conflict, Sudan, as state party to the UNESCO ICH Convention, was actively engaged in the ICH safeguarding. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and Information, the National Council of Cultural Heritage and the Promotion of Languages was established for the implementation of the ICH Convention. These pioneering efforts were disrupted by the outbreak of the conflict.
In response to the emergency situation, the SSLH project has been partnering with the UNESCO Cairo Office and UNESCO Khartoum Office and organised two capacity building workshops on the topics of ICH Policy and ICH in Emergencies.
As a follow-up to the recommendations of these workshops, SSLH has developed two sslh.online platforms as party of an awareness raising campaign. These will receive User-Generated Content (UGC) of photos/videos/recordings from the communities in Sudan and beyond. The UGCs will provide effective tools to help the Sudanese communities stay connected, while generating engagement and support across the world. They can also help prompt humanitarian aid and other organizations to protect the cultural knowledge and practices of communities that underpin their resilience. Ultimately, the platform aims to mobilize international solidarity and promote a culture of peace for Sudan.
To maintain the quality of the platforms the SSLH project organizing team will moderate and curate the contents in close consultation with the Sudanese National Council and the UNESCO Field Offices in Cairo and Khartoum to ensure that they meet ethical standards.
The campaign is organized by a diverse team of Sudanese professionals under the umbrella of the project SSLH, which is funded by the British Council Cultural Protection Fund in partnership with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
Website: https://www.sslh.online/
YouTube channel: sslh.online
Hashtags: #OurHeritageOurSudan #SeeSudanHeritage #SaveSudanHeritage
