The Bureau,

1. Recalling Article 23 of the Convention as well as Chapter I.4 of the Operational Directives relating to the eligibility and criteria of International Assistance requests,
2. Having examined document LHE/21/16.COM 3.BUR/3 as well as International Assistance request no. 01750 submitted by the Central African Republic,
3. Takes note that the Central African Republic has requested International Assistance for the project entitled ‘Capacity building of Gbaka, Mbati, Mondjombo communities and stakeholders in the Forest Prefecture of Lobaye and implementation of a pilot identification and inventory project for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage’:

To be implemented by the Ministry of Culture, this twelve-month pilot project aims to raise-awareness of the 2003 Convention in the Lobaye prefecture of Central African Republic. The project was proposed by a local NGO called Réseau National des Jeunes pour la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel (RNJSPCI)that is the interface between the different communities concerned and the Ministry in charge of culture. At the request of the Gbaka, Mbati and Mondjombo communities, the project aims to support the communities in safeguarding their living heritage by providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge. Activities will include training communities on the key principles of the 2003 Convention and on inventorying the intangible cultural heritage. The project will also contribute to assessing the viability of intangible cultural heritage elements in the region and to identifying appropriate safeguarding measures. It is expected to lead to similar initiatives in other areas of the country and to support tourism, thus generating financial resources for the communities and mobilizing other partners, such as municipalities, tourism agencies and cultural organizations, to consolidate the project’s achievements. The Secretariat submitted a technical assessment to the submitting state on 18 May 2021 aiming at providing guidance to improve the quality of the request. This was followed by several calls and online meetings during the evaluation process.

4. Further takes note that this assistance aims to support a project implemented at the national level, in accordance with Article 20 (c) of the Convention, and that it takes the form of the provision of a grant, pursuant to Article 21 (g) of the Convention;
5. Also takes note that the Central African Republic has requested assistance in the amount of US$55,049 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund for the implementation of this project;
6. Decides that, from the information provided in file no. 01750, the request responds as follows to the criteria for granting International Assistance given in paragraphs 10 and 12 of the Operational Directives:

Criterion A.1: The request demonstrates the role of the communities concerned in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project. It was designed by a local NGO (RNJSPCI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture following the request expressed by the community members to inventory their intangible cultural heritage. The communities will be involved in the capacity-building workshop and the community-based inventorying as well as in the monitoring and follow-up activities.

Criterion A.2: The amount requested cannot be considered appropriate since the budget does not fully correspond to the planned activities and timetable. Some activities included in the timetable, such as the development of communication tools and the documentation related to the inventory’s fieldwork, are not budgeted. Therefore, it is difficult to assess if the requested budget is appropriate in regard to the objectives, activities and scope of the project.

Criterion A.3: One of the main objectives of the project is to establish a pilot inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the province of Lobaye. However, most of the activities related to this important component of the project are not described, especially with regard to the specific methodologies used for inventory training, fieldwork, documentation and processing of the data collected. In addition, some activities such as the awareness-raising meetings with local authorities are included in the timetable but not described in the project. The information provided is not sufficient to determine the feasibility and relevance of the proposed activities.

Criterion A.4: The project consists of one capacity-building workshop during which the key principles of the 2003 Convention and inventorying methodology will be addressed. The workshop targets community representatives and professionals from the Ministry of Culture. However, the proposed activities, as presented, do not demonstrate that the results would lead to enhancing the capacities of the communities or to the establishment of a network of experts on intangible cultural heritage that could participate in drawing up inventories in the Central African Republic. Furthermore, the project intends to develop and implement safeguarding measures for the identified elements, but the file does not give any details on this important aspect of the project.

Criterion A.5: The submitting State Party will contribute 12 per cent of the total amount of the project for which International Assistance is requested from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

Criterion A.6: Information on one capacity building workshop to raise awareness about the 2003 Convention and safeguarding measures is included in the request, which nevertheless remains insufficient. Additional information is required to understand the impact of the project on the capacity of the communities to safeguard, inventory and transmit their living heritage beyond the completion of the project. This makes it difficult to determine the extent to which the capacities of the communities will be strengthened in the long term.

Criterion A.7: The Central African Republic has not previously received any financial assistance from UNESCO under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund of the 2003 Convention to implement similar or related activities in the field of intangible cultural heritage.

Paragraph 10(a): The project is local and national in scope and involves local and national implementing partner such as the Ministry of Culture.

Paragraph 10(b): The project should raise awareness about the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage among the communities concerned. It is also expected to increase interest among national communities in the country in inventorying and safeguarding their respective intangible cultural heritage.

7. Decides to refer the International Assistance request from the Central African Republic for the project entitled ‘Capacity building of Gbaka, Mbati, Mondjombo communities and stakeholders in the Forest Prefecture of Lobaye and implementation of a pilot identification and inventory project for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage’;
8. Invites the State Party to seek the assistance of an expert in the framework of a technical assistance, as established by the Committee at its eighth session (Decision 8.COM 7.c) in view of revising the request;
9. Encourages the State Party, if it wishes to resubmit its request, to revise the content of the project taking into account the above-mentioned concerns, and to ensure, in particular, that there is a clear correspondence between the overall objectives and the proposed activities, budget and timetable of the project.