The Committee

1. Takes note that Sudan has requested International Assistance in the amount of US$200,000 for Documentation and inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the Republic of Sudan:

The intangible cultural heritage of Sudan comprises elements of Nubian, Christian and Islamic civilizations, all of which are reflected in the various cultural forms and expressions performed by different communities during certain festivals, celebrations and occasions, the most important of which are the life cycle rituals practised from birth to death. At present there are no definite inventories of Sudanese intangible cultural heritage, although numerous studies, collections, audio and visual recordings and bibliographies exist. This project proposes to build on this work to compile detailed, itemized and comprehensive lists of cultural forms, genres and activities pertaining to intangible culture in all parts of the country. It is believed that such an inventory would create a sense of awareness among local communities of the importance and value of their cultural heritage, develop positive attitudes towards its preservation, and reinforce existing cultural polices promoting socio-economic development, equity, peace and national integration. The project would necessitate capacity-building of staff working in institutions related to intangible cultural heritage; the creation of a database; and the establishment of a national documentation centre. Local communities would play a key role in the planning and compilation of the inventory, and local societies and recognized tradition bearers would guide and advise compilers, scholars and experts.

2. Decides that, from the information provided in file 00696, the request responds as follows to the criteria for granting International Assistance given in Paragraphs 10 and 12 of the Operational Directives:

A.1:   The communities concerned have not been adequately identified and their involvement in planning and carrying out the inventory has not been sufficiently addressed, nor were they involved in the elaboration of the request itself;

A.2:   It is impossible to evaluate the appropriateness of the amount requested because the budget presents numerous discrepancies in its details and inaccuracies in its calculations;

A.3:   Throughout the request, there is a lack of correspondence between the objectives, results and activities shown in the timetable and those reflected in the budget; the implementation strategy and methodology are not sufficiently described in order to ensure coherence in the project; the roles and responsibilities of different potential actors are not clearly defined;

A.4:   The sustainability of the project is not sufficiently demonstrated; a number of the potential effects that are mentioned exceed the scope of the project and the relation between them is not established;

A.5:   Although the request refers to a contribution from the requesting State to supplement the amount requested from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, it is not specified how these funds will be used and it is thus impossible to determine how the State Party will share the costs of the activities described;

A.6:   The proposal foresees a series of awareness-raising and training activities aimed at strengthening the capacities of cultural officers and communities by involving a variety of stakeholders such as the Ministry of Culture, community leaders and experts;

A.7:   International assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund for an amount of US$12,167 has been granted to Sudan in 2009 to elaborate a digitization strategy for Sudan’s folklore and traditional music archives; the project is underway at present;

10(a):    The project is national in scope and would involve national implementing partners;

10(b):    The creation of an inventory and the accompanying awareness-raising activities could stimulate other financial contributions for future safeguarding efforts;

3. Decides not to approve the request, and invites the State Party to submit a revised request responding more fully to the criteria for selection and to the considerations noted in the present decision;
4. Commends the State Party for its recognition of the important role of inventorying and capacity building for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage;
5. Invites the State Party to make the inventorying activity an occasion to develop a sustainable policy framework and institutional foundation for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in line with the spirit and the objectives of the Convention;
6. Recommends that the State Party carefully revise the detailed budget by correcting inaccuracies in the calculations and by identifying concretely the contribution of Sudan to the project, whether in cash or in kind;
7. Encourages the State Party to clearly identify, with the widest possible participation of the community, the human and technical resources available to the body in charge of the implementation to determine how the results and benefits of the project are expected to last beyond the end of the project.