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/23/18.COM 2.BUR/4 as well as International Assistance request no. 02004 submitted by The Bahamas,
3. Takes note that The Bahamas has requested International Assistance for the project entitled Community-based inventorying of the intangible cultural heritage in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas:

To be implemented by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (Division of Cultural Affairs), this twenty-four-month project aims to raise awareness about the importance of intangible cultural heritage in The Bahamas and to build local capacities to create and manage a national inventory. The project involves preparing a two-year plan to implement and ensure the sustainability of the inventory and creating an online multimedia platform to provide national access to the information and data. A national awareness campaign will be launched to engage traditional communities, academia, civil society and students and to spark conversations about living heritage. The project also entails implementing a local technical training programme, including train-the-trainer modules, to teach cultural practitioners, teachers and community leaders how to identify, define and catalogue elements of Bahamian living heritage. The trainees will then be charged with raising awareness about intangible cultural heritage and conducting inventorying exercises on an ongoing basis. In addition to identifying elements in need of urgent safeguarding, this project is expected to increase understanding of living heritage and its intrinsic value among the people of The Bahamas. It will also increase involvement in traditional cultural practices and contribute to their transmission.

4. Further takes note that:
   1. This assistance is to support a project implemented at the national level, in accordance with Article 20 (c) of the Convention;
   2. The State Party has requested International Assistance that will partly take the form of services from the Secretariat to the State; and

• The assistance therefore takes the form of the provision of a grant and of services from UNESCO (the provision of experts), pursuant to Article 21 (b) and (g) of the Convention;

5. Also takes note that The Bahamas has requested assistance in the amount of US$99,363 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund for the implementation of this project, which will be jointly implemented by the Division of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture of The Bahamas and the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean in Kingston;
6. Understands that the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean in Kingston will be responsible for the provision of one international expert for the capacity-building workshops, administrative assistance and technical support of the project (15,1 per cent of the requested amount). The requesting State will be responsible for all of the other activities related to project setup as well as: (a) the provision of materials, equipment and services; (b) the organization of a national awareness campaign, capacity-building workshops and community-based inventorying; and (c) dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage inventory and the results of the project (84,9 per cent of the requested amount).
7. Decides that, from the information provided in file no. 02004, 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: Preliminary fact-finding exercises were conducted with key stakeholders and local communities on five major islands in The Bahamas (and will be duplicated in eleven additional islands). Furthermore, while implementing the project, an ‘ICH Corps’ composed of communities, practitioners and stakeholders will play an integral role in identifying, defining, recording and safeguarding their living heritage elements, while reflecting the aspirations and interests of communities.

Criterion A.2: The budget is presented in a structured manner, reflecting the planned activities and related expenses. Detailed information on the part of the funds to be managed by the UNESCO Field Office is provided.

Criterion A.3: The request is clearly organized and includes a series of activities that are well-conceived and presented in a logical sequence. These include: (a) a national awareness campaign; (b) a local technical training programme, including train-the-trainer modules; (c) the development of a national intangible cultural heritage inventory; and (d) the creation of an online multimedia platform dedicated to the inventory. The expected results seem achievable within the proposed project duration and timetable.

Criterion A.4: The capacity-building workshops and pilot inventory projects are intended to provide participants (including community representatives, cultural stakeholders, teachers and national authorities) with the methodological tools and skills needed to continue working on the management and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage within their communities. For instance, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture of The Bahamas will train their staff to monitor and sustainably maintain the website and registry in collaboration with the ‘ICH corps’ on the various islands.

Criterion A.5: The requesting State will contribute 56 per cent (including in-kind contributions) and other partners will contribute a further 2 per cent of the total amount of the project budget (US$237,850). Consequently, International Assistance is requested from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund for the remaining 42 per cent of the project budget.

Criterion A.6: The project mainly aims to reinforce capacities in intangible cultural heritage at two levels. At the community level, community members will be sensitized and trained to inventory their living heritage, while at the institutional level, the project will strengthen the capacities of government officials from The Bahamas. Capacity-building activities will be conducted in sixteen islands. These activities will include awareness raising and training in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, as well as data collection and reporting mechanisms. The project is expected to involve at least 67 persons: 32 ‘living heritage ambassadors’, 25 participants in the capacity-building workshops and 10 persons to be recognized in the framework of the awareness-raising campaign.

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

Paragraph 10(a): The project is national in scope and involves a wide range of national and local implementing partners. The partnership was established when preparing this request, with representatives from the Local Government Administrations, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Paragraph 10(b): The requesting State has foreseen a series of actions to generate multiplier effects of the project and to solicit financial and technical contributions from other sources. Such actions include partnership with local business, support for entrepreneurship and the establishment of a cultural endowment fund. The establishment of an intangible cultural heritage inventory is also expected to serve as inspiration for other archipelago States Parties.

8. Approves the International Assistance request from The Bahamas for the project entitled Community-based inventorying of the intangible cultural heritage in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and grants the amount of US$99,363 for the implementation of this project according to the modality described in paragraphs 5 and 6;
9. Takes notes of the positive experience of the technical assistance provided to The Bahamas in finalizing this request, and invites the requesting State to build on the skills of the staff who directly benefited from this assistance;
10. Recommends the requesting State to be mindful of the progress of the ongoing Japanese Funds-in-Trust project ‘Capacity building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific and the Caribbean’ in The Bahamas, Belize, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu and to harmonize the activities of the two projects where appropriate;
11. Requests that the Secretariat reach an agreement with the requesting State on the budget of the activities to be covered by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, to ensure that the planned budgetary expenses are detailed and specific enough to provide a sufficient justification of the expenditures;
12. Invites the requesting State to use Form ICH-04-Report when reporting on the use of the International Assistance provided.