Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 20.COM 13

The Committee,

  1. Having examined document LHE/25/20.COM/13 and its annexes, as well as documents LHE/25/20.COM/INF.13.1 and LHE/25/20.COM/INF.13.2,
  2. Recalling Article 25.5 of the Convention and Chapter II of the Operational Directives,
  3. Further recalling its previous decisions concerning voluntary supplementary contributions to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, and most recently its decision COM 12,
  4. Thanks all the contributors who have generously supported the Convention and its Secretariat since the last session, namely France, Lithuania, Monaco, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as Germany in the framework of the JPO programme and the People’s Republic of China for its in-kind contribution;
  5. Takes note that while the mobilization targets for both funding priorities have not been met in terms of voluntary supplementary contributions to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, the Convention has received significant support through the Funds-in-Trust and other earmarked modalities, and expresses appreciation to all the contributors that have generously supported the Convention during the 2022–2025 quadrennium;
  6. Approves the two funding priorities for the period 2026–2029 entitled ‘Enhancing capacity-building approaches for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage with a focus on human well-being and community empowerment’ (Funding Priority A) and ‘Refining approaches for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage’ (Funding Priority B), accepts any future voluntary supplementary contributions made to support activities within the scope of these priorities, and authorizes the Secretariat to make immediate use of them;
  7. Commends the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sweden for their generous offer of voluntary supplementary contributions to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to support the thematic initiative on artificial intelligence and living heritage;
  8. Accepts with gratitude the generous contributions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sweden, approves their specific purpose and requests that the Secretariat ensure their proper planning and implementation;
  9. Encourages potential contributors to support the Convention, in particular within the framework of the two funding priorities defined for the period 2026–2029 and the Sub-fund for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat;
  10. Further encourages the Secretariat to pursue its efforts to mobilize funds to support the implementation of the Convention and to respond positively to the needs expressed by States Parties in accordance with the two funding priorities;
  11. Requests the Secretariat to report to it at its twenty-first session on progress made in implementing any voluntary supplementary contributions received since the twentieth session.

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