This meeting aims to initiate an in-depth reflection on the working mechanisms of the 2003 Convention, following the first cycle of its implementation.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) during its 4th session from 28 September to 2 October 2009, noted an imbalance between the three Lists of the Convention – with a pronounced interest in favour of the Representative List, and very little interest in the Urgent Safeguarding List or the Register for Good Practices (Article 18), mechanisms nevertheless central to the Convention. The Subsidiary Body, responsible for examining the nominations to the Representative List, underlined that its workload was very heavy and proposed amendments to the Operational Directives so as to have a more manageable workload in the future.

The Committee considered it important and urgent to find appropriate solutions so that the General Assembly at its meeting in June 2010 could approve them. To this end an intergovernmental working group, open to all States Parties, was created to reflect upon improvements that could be brought about, based on the experience of the first cycle of implementation, and to present a report of its conclusions to the Assembly.

Following its first meeting in Abu Dhabi, two other meetings of the intergovernmental working group are foreseen on 21 May and 21 June 2010 respectively. The expert meeting on 15 March is convened to prepare the debates for this intergovernmental working group.

Report

• Report and summary records: English|French

Documents

• Agenda
  ITH/10/EM1/1 Rev.: English|French
• List of participants
  ITH/10/EM1/2 Rev.2: English/French
• Report of the Rapporteur of the Subsidiary Body charged with examining nominations to the Representative List
  ITH/09/4.COM/CONF.209/INF.6: English|French
• Excerpts of the draft summary records of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Committee (28 September to 2 October 2009, Abu Dhabi)
  ITH/10/EM1/3 (Rev. in English / en anglais): English|French
• Decision 4.COM 19 - Revisions of the Operational Directives
  ITH/10/EM1/4 Rev.: English|French
• Legal opinion on certain measures regarding the examination of nominations to the Representative List of Article 16 of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
  ITH/10/EM1/5 Rev.: English|French
• Excerpts of discussions and documents leading to the elaboration of the 2003 Convention and its Operational Directives concerning the nature of the intangible cultural heritage lists
  ITH/10/EM1/6 Rev.: English|French
• Discussions during the governance meetings of the World Heritage Convention concerning the management of nominations to the World Heritage List
  ITH/10/EM1/7 Rev.: English|French