Overview:

The eighteen-month project was jointly implemented by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO Dakar Office. It aimed at strengthening national capacities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Senegal by building on technical capacities and implementing concrete safeguarding measures. The project responded to the issues identified in a needs assessment exercise conducted from 2016 until 2017, as well as an analysis carried out by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage as part of an ongoing national inventory exercise. Though Senegal has already benefited from previous living heritage safeguarding experiences, an insufficiently systematic approach to the process, as well as problems with methodology and harmonisation and the absence of a strategic action plan and integrated vision have been identified. To respond to this situation, the project provided technical assistance and training to strengthen the capacities of the relevant stakeholders, through a series of activities organized with the active participation of local community organizations, universities and schools. Specifically, the project aimed to: support the ongoing national inventory exercise through the development of a national inventorying strategy and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding plans; develop local expertise through the training of three national experts; and pilot a new approach to safeguarding living heritage involving the education system (schools).