Events and meetings on intangible cultural heritage (co-)organized by UNESCO

The purpose of the two-day regional seminar was to promote the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was to encourage States to ratify the Convention. The meeting was attended by 24 states.

• Agenda (French)
• Speeches:
  • Mr. Armoogum PARSURAMEN, director of BREDA (French)
  • Mr. Olabiyi Babalola Joseph YAI, president of Commission IV (Culture) of the General Conference of UNESCO (French)
  • H.Exc. Mr. Omolewa, ambassador and permanent delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO, President of the General Conference (English)
• List of participants (French)
• Final report (French)

This meeting on the roles of museums in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered two main questions:

1. How can museums contribute to safeguarding living heritage, especially at the level of local communities?
2. How can museums contribute to the visibility of forms of living heritage, in accordance with the aims of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003)?

• Background paper (English)

The meeting discussed how to accommodate gender issues in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. To what extent does the intangible cultural heritage depend on gender-specific practices and transmission? Does recognition and encouragement of female transmitters of intangible heritage contribute to the empowerment of women in contemporary societies? Can the concept of gender equality always be compatible with the preservation of traditional cultures and lifeways? How can we accommodate gender issues in the field of intangible cultural heritage? Ten participants addressed these and other questions to find realistic and meaningful solutions, with a view to the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

• Final report (English)

Documents

• Preliminary Draft International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and report by the Director-General on the situation calling for standard-setting and on the possible scope of such standard-setting
  32 C/26 + ADD.: English

• List of participants (English)
• Recommendations of experts(English)

Documents

• Report by the Director-General on the preliminary draft of an international convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage
  167 EX/22: English

The third session was held at UNESCO Headquarters from 2 to 14 June 2003. 249 participants representing 103 Member States took part in the meeting, as well as ten experts from UNESCO’s three permanent observation missions and representatives of two intergovernmental organizations and five non-governmental organizations (for a list of participants, see Annex III).
This being a continuation of the work of the first and second sessions of the Group of Experts (September 2002 and February 2003), the Chairperson (Mr Bedjaoui - Algeria), the four Vice-chairs (Mr Scovazzi - Italy, Mr Berke - Hungary, Mr Kim - Republic of Korea and Mr Yai - Benin) and the Rapporteur (Mr Barrios - Bolivia) were confirmed in their functions; Mr Berke was replaced by Mr Soòs for this 3rd session).

Secretariat report (CLT-2003/CONF.206/4) (English)

Working documents

• Third session of the first intergovernmental meeting of experts on the preliminary draft convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage
  CL/3669: English
• Report of the Second session
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/6: English|French
• Consolidated preliminary draft convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/2: English|French
• Report of the Intersessional Working Group of governmental experts
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/3: English|French
• Agenda
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/5: English-French
• Rules of Procedure
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/6: English|French

Information documents

• Practical information note
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/INF.1: English-French
• List of working documents
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/INF.2: English-French
• Note of the Secretariat regarding the cooperation between UNESCO and OMPI
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/INF.3: English|French
• Provisional List of Participants
  CLT-2003/CONF.206/INF.4: English-French

The Intersessional Working Group met at UNESCO Headquarters from 22 to 30 April 2003 and considered the articles concerning

1. the nature, composition and functions of the Committee;
2. the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the list of treasures of the world intangible cultural heritage;
3. finance and the creation of a fund for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage;
4. the form and content of international assistance; and lastly
5. the Convention’s general provisions.

The Preamble, the Annex and the Final Provisions could not be examined, due to lack of time; but more than 26 Articles were considered, and the results of this work were presented in a consolidated text, the Preliminary Draft, which was adopted by consensus and served as a basis for discussion at the third session in June 2003.

The Intersessional Working Group, as an informal body, did not have an official set of working documents created expressly for its meeting. Members were provided with relevant working documents of the previous sessions of the Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts, as follows:

• CLT-2003/CONF.203/3 Rev - Compilation of amendments from Member States concerning the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (English|French)

• CLT-2003/CONF.205/5 - Compilation of general comments from Member States concerning the preliminary draft Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (English|French)

• CLT-2003/CONF.205/6 – Report of the Secretariat on the second session of the Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts, notably Annex I (English)

Unofficial working documents (below) included an informal agenda (English-French), and two documents reflecting the results of the second session of the Intergovernmental Meeting of Experts. Please note that these documents were erroneously assigned code numbers that were later used for different documents during the third session of the Intergovernmental Meeting of E

UNESCO organized this meeting (co-sponsored by the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO) in order to define and reinforce its role in safeguarding the world’s endangered languages. Some seventy international experts, representatives of speech communities and NGOs from all over the world took part in this meeting. During the three days of the meeting, the experts:

1. reviewed, region by region, the existing research programs and related initiatives, as well as best practices for safeguarding and promoting endangered languages;
2. discussed strategies and possibilities for raising international awareness and promoting international co-operation in this field;
3. studied the role of UNESCO in safeguarding the world’s endangered languages as compared with that of other organizations (governmental, non-governmental and academic);
4. suggested concrete proposals for UNESCO activities in the field of safeguarding endangered languages in the near future, to start with the next biennium (2004 - 2005).

The proposals were approved by the participants on the last day of the meeting, as “Recommendations to UNESCO for Action Plans on the Safeguarding of Endangered Languages”.

• Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO (English)
• Address by Mounir Bouchenaki, ADG Culture (English)
• Working document on Language Vitality and Endangerment (English|French)
• Programme (English)
• List of participants (English)
• Recommendations (English|French)

See also: Endangered languages

At the second session of the Group of experts, which took place from 24 February to 1 March 2003, a consensus emerged on three essential points:

1. the purposes;
2. the definitions of the terms “intangible cultural heritage” and “safeguarding”;
3. the establishing of national inventories in order to ensure that this heritage can be identified.

The principle of a “list” or “register” of “intangible cultural heritage in danger” was also accepted. A Drafting Committee was set up by the plenary meeting, and contributed to progress on these points. Also at this second session, the plenary meeting adopted, on the motion of its Chairperson and in accordance with Article 4 of its Rules of Procedure, the principle of an intersessional mechanism in the form of an informal working group of 18 government experts, three experts (from three different Member States) from each electoral group.

• Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO (English)
• Secretariat report (CLT-2003/CONF.205/6) (English)

Working documents

• Circular letter of the Director-General CL/3651 and report on the first session (September 2002)
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/5: English
• Provisional List of Participants
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/4: English-French
• Agenda
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/1.Rev: English-French
• Rules of Procedure
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/2.Rev: English|French
• Compilation of amendments from Member States concerning the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/3 Rev: English|French
• Director-General’s preliminary report on the situation calling for standard-setting and on the possible scope of such standard-setting
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/4: English
• Compilation of general comments from Member States concerning the preliminary draft Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/5: English|French

Information documents

• Historical background to the preparation of the preliminary draft convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.6: English|French
• Impacts and best practices for safeguarding action - First “Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.7: English|French
• List of States having submitted comments and amendments to the Secretariat: synthesis of responses as of 22 January 2003: English-French
• List of working documents
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.4: English-French
• Note of the Secretariat on the Agenda
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.3: English|French
• Note of the Secretariat on the working documents
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.2: English-French
• Note on the Recommendation of the first session of the intergovernmental meeting of experts – Multilateral international instruments in force directly relevant to the intangible cultural heritage
  CLT-2003/CONF.205/INF.5: English-French
• Positions of Member States concerning the principle of list(s) of intangible cultural heritage, 7 October 2002: French
• Practical information note
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/INF.1 rev: English-French

Documents

• Financial regulations of the Special Account for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
  165 EX/15: English

The first session was held at UNESCO Headquarters from 23 to 27 September 2002. The experts worked on the basis of a document prepared by the Secretariat containing the first preliminary draft prepared earlier (largely by experts assisting in a personal capacity during March and June 2002), and contributions from 59 Member States which responded to the Director-General’s Circular Letter CL36/29 of 29 July 2002. At the end of their first session, the experts emphasized the strict interdependence of the tangible and the intangible heritage, and recognized the living, evolving nature of this heritage, as well as its extreme fragility.

• Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO (English)
• Report (English)

Working documents

• Provisional Agenda
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/1 Rev: English-French
• Draft Rules of Procedure
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/2: English|French
• Preliminary Draft Convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/3: English
• Director’s general preliminary report on the situation calling for standard-setting and on the possible scope of such standard-setting
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/4: English

Information documents

• Circular letter: Intergovernmental meeting of experts on the preliminary draft convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage
  CL/3632: English|French
• Executive Board Decision 164EX/3.5.2: English
• General Information Note
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/INF.1: English-French
• List of documents
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/INF.2 rev.: English-French
• Provisional list of participants
  CLT-2002/CONF.203/INF.3 prov.: English-French