Capacity building is one of the five functions that UNESCO performs to fulfil its mandate. As such, one of the top priorities for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is its global capacity-building programme. The Programme was put in place in 2009 to support countries in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage and harness its potential for sustainable development, while promoting broad public knowledge and support for the Convention.

Communities are at the heart of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage

The 2003 Convention places communities at the center of all its safeguarding activities. The capacity-building programme takes an inclusive approach to ensure the widest possible participation of all relevant stakeholders, especially relevant community groups, in the design and implementation of safeguarding activities.

What we do

  • Develop community-based inventorying and safeguarding methods
  • Support the ability of States to effectively implement the Convention
  • Integrate the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into sustainable development plans, policies and programmes at all levels
  • Strengthen institutional frameworks to help safeguard intangible cultural heritage
  • Enhance monitoring for the implementation of the Convention
© UNESCO

How we do it

The Programme offers capacity-building services at country level, combining training, advisory services, stakeholder consultation and pilot activities. These can be adapted to specific country needs and thematic topics, always with the view to ensuring the continued impact and sustainability of safeguarding measures at national level.

UNESCO develops content and training materials and draws upon its dynamic network of trained facilitators to deliver capacity-building services in countries around the world.

For more details on the global capacity-building programme, download our informative leaflet: English|French|Spanish|Russian|Arabic|Chinese

Training workshop for surveyors (1972 and 2003 Conventions)

19 - 20 April 2018

Bertoua (Cameroon)

Training workshop on intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development

4 - 5 April 2018

Tunis (Tunisia)

Capacity-building Workshop on Preparing Nomination Files and International Assistance Request

19 - 28 February 2018

Asmara (Eritrea)

Workshop on implementing the Convention at the national level (funded by Sofia category 2 centre)

5 - 9 February 2018

Dnipetrovsk (Ukraine)

Assessing needs and strengthening national capacities for safeguarding ICH in Malta

25 January 2018 - 5 February 2018

Malta (Malta)

Regional meeting: Cooperation mechanisms for intangible heritage and higher education

21 - 22 November 2017

Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Training workshop on the preparation of safeguarding plans for intangible cultural heritage and Meeting on results of...

20 - 22 November 2017

Azrou (Morocco)

Stakeholders' meeting

26 October 2017

Abuja (Nigeria)

Training of trainers workshop for the European chapter of the global facilitators’ network

18 - 22 September 2017

Sofia (Bulgaria)

Fieldwork for Inventorying and Digital Archiving of Eritrean Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)

15 September 2017 - 3 November 2017

Anseba, Gash-Barka, Maekel, South, Northern Red sea, Southern Red Sea (Eritrea)

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