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

The MEDLIHER Phase II evaluation meeting had took place in Cairo from 28 to 30 November 2010. It brought together those involved in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in the Mediterranean partner States. The primary objective was to select targeted projects, based on recommendations from the evaluation of the national assessments.

This workshop aimed to introduce the mechanisms for the implementation of the intangible cultural heritage Convention and strengthen national capacities to implement and safeguard intangible cultural heritage.

It brought together representatives of public institutions and civil society directly related to the inventory, management and promotion of intangible cultural heritage of their country to give them the tools necessary to safeguard the intangible heritage present in their territory. A particular focus was put on inventory-making as well as on the criteria and procedures for the inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Contact in UNESCO San José: Ms Martell Domingo

The Secretariat of the Convention organized, Monday 25 October 2010, an information meeting for the members of the Intergovernmental Committee. This meeting took place on Room II (Fontenoy) from 3 to 6 p.m..

The purpose of this meeting was to inform Committee members about the functioning of the Committee and its general working methods. At its last session, the General Assembly adopted revised operational directives for the implementation of the Convention. The Secretariat wished to inform all members of the Committee, before its fifth session, on the changes resulting from these revisions, in particular regarding the submission of nominations for the lists of the Convention and requests for international assistance under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. Moreover, the Secretariat presented the provisional agenda of the fifth session of the Committee and the Chairperson informed the participants of the action taken by the Kenyan Government regarding its hosting of the Committee’s next session in Nairobi, Kenya (15-19 November 2010). This information meeting was also open to interested States Parties, which are not members of the Committee and States not party to the Convention.

• Agenda: English|French
• Presentation: English

This workshop aims at gaining the support of communities, groups and individuals custodians of intangible cultural heritage to the principles of the 2003 Convention by providing the necessary tools for its understanding and ‘ownership’.

The specific objectives of the meeting are:

• to provide an overview of the 2003 Convention: its objectives, key concepts, and commitments to respect national and international cooperation mechanisms;
• to lay the groundwork necessary for a thorough understanding of key concepts of intangible cultural heritage and the arsenal of preventive measures listed by the Convention;
• to share past and ongoing experiences of safeguarding intangible heritage;
• to propose practical guidance for developing backup plans;
• to assist in the establishment of a Gabonese National Committee for Cultural Heritage.

Contact in UNESCO Libreville: Ms Yvette Kaboza

NGOs have an important role to play in the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. At the national level, they can operate between communities and governments and should be involved in identifying and defining intangible cultural heritage and in other appropriate safeguarding measures. At the international level, NGOs can have advisory functions, once they are accredited by the Committee, in particular to make recommendations to the Committee on nomination files for the Urgent Safeguarding List and proposals of best safeguarding practices.

Organized by the Estonian Folk Culture Development and Training Centre and the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO in close cooperation with UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Section, this capacity-building workshop provided up-to-date information on the Convention to NGOs and governmental counterparts in order to strengthen their capacities to contribute to its implementation and to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

The participating countries were Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Serbia, in addition to trainers and UNESCO representatives. It has been financially supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture and UNESCO.

Documents

• Agenda: English
• Participants: English
• Intangible cultural heritage keywords - Cécile Duvelle: English: Slideshow - Handout
• The role of NGOs in safeguarding ICH at national level as foreseen in the Convention and cooperation with other players - Harriet Deacon: English: Handout - Slideshow
• The activities of NGOs in the field of ICH and cooperation with governmental counterparts and/or communities: the experience of Norway - Eivind Falk: English
• The activities of NGOs in the field of ICH and cooperation with governmental counterparts and/or communities: the experience of Belgium - Jorijn Neyrinck: English
• Safeguarding ICH: key safeguarding measures - Wim van Zanten: English

Contact: Ms.Margit Siim
Webpage dedicated to the meeting on the website of the Estonian Folk Culture Development and Training Center: http://www.rahvakultuur.ee/?s=997

Following Argentina’s ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the intangible Cultural Heritage in June 2006, the Department of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO Office in Montevideo jointly convened this workshop on the implementation of the Convention.

The objectives of the workshop were to provide participants with essential information relating to the Convention and to discuss a national strategy for its effective implementation, with particular attention to the:

• enhancement of the existing national mechanism for safeguarding intangible heritage at the provincial and local levels;
• preparation of one or more inventories of intangible cultural heritage on Argentina’s territory; and
• criteria and procedures for nominations to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The workshop was specifically organized for Argentina officials responsible for cultural matters within the 23 provincial governments and at national level and some officials of Paraguay and Uruguay. Senior experts from Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Latin America (CRESPIAL) will bring their technical expertise through concrete examples of management of intangible heritage and will lead the interactive sessions with participants.

Documents

• Agenda: Spanish

Contact in UNESCO Montevideo: f.vacheron@unesco.org

Link to related Montevideo webpage

On 20 and 21 July, a regional consultation meeting, ‘Intangible Heritage Beyond Borders: Safeguarding through International Cooperation’, was held in Bangkok. The meeting gathered more than 30 government representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region aiming to strengthen international cooperation for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and preventing conflicts that might otherwise arise over the ownership, exploitation or misinterpretation of intangible heritage. The focus on intangible cultural heritage is exceptionally pertinent: contrary to monuments, intangible heritage is embedded only in humans and their locations often change without heed of national borders.

The meeting allowed for officials to discuss the issue of international cooperation, and address debates which were stimulated by presentations given by experts from Africa, Latin America, and Asia focussing the issue of intangible shared heritage, shared across borders.

Documents

• Agenda: English
• Background paper: English
• List of participants: English
• Opening remarks - Cécile Duvelle: English: presentation - speech
• Opening remarks - Gwang-Jo Kim: English
• Session 1: Diffuse heritage and diffuse communities - M.Silverse Anami, Kenya: English
• Session 2: Culture Beyond Borders, The Case of Tango - Ms.Isabel Sans, Uruguay: English
• Session 3: Rural to Urban and International Migration: Implications for Intangible Cultural Heritage - M.Rahul Goswami, India: English

Contact in Apia UNESCO office : Tim Curtis

At its 35th session in October 2009, the UNESCO General Conference approved the establishment of four category 2 centres for intangible cultural heritage in Asia and the Pacific. These are:

• In China, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia and the Pacific Region (see document 181 EX/17 Part V)
• In the Republic of Korea, the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia and the Pacific Region (see document 181 EX/17 Part V I)
• In Japan, the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia and the Pacific Region (see document 181 EX/17 Part VII)
• In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Regional Research Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia (see document 181 EX/20 Part VII)

This meeting brought together representatives of the future centres to exchange information on their recent and planned activities, and to discuss future collaboration.

Presentations

• Recent events in the life of the Convention: the third session of the General Assembly: English
• Road map for the establishment of a category 2 centre under the auspices of UNESCO: English
• Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage: UNESCO’s strategy for 2010-2011 and beyond: English