Meetings on intangible cultural heritage (co-)organized by UNESCO

On October 26-27 Kazakhstan ICH National Committee in cooperation with the Uly Tagzum accredited NGO has conducted the first online ICH Forum in Ulytau, Kazakhstan - the first medieval capital of Kazakhs. Public forum, which was supported by the UNESCO National Commission, was aimed on preservation and development of intangible cultural heritage. Kazakhstan joined the Convention (2003) in December, 2011. The intangible heritage of Kazakhstan had been recognized worldwide for last decade. Eleven elements of cultural heritage were inscribed to the UNESCO Representative List, including: Nauryz, Kazakh kuresu (traditional wrestling), traditional hunting with falcons, Heritageof Dede Korkyt, assembilng of a yurta, traditional playing of Kazakh kyi, spring holiday of horse breeders. Last year the list was amended with an ancient Kazakh game toguz-kumalak.
Academician Myrzatay Zholdasbekov, Chairman of National ICH Committee, and poet and ambassador Olzhas Suleimenov, Head of the International Center of Rapprochement of Cultures addressed forum participants. The forum was welcomed by Mr Zhenis Kasymbek, Akim (Governor) of the Karaganda Province and Ms Aliya Baysabayeva, Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO and ISESCO. Ms Ayzhan Bekkulova, President of the Craftsmen Union, presented recent activities of artisans and informed the forthcoming annual national Sheber contest. Representatives of UNESCO Almaty Office and the UNESCO-ICHCAP Center in Seoul shared the examples of support and cultural heritage promotion activities within the framework of global and regional projects in school and informal education and modern information technologies.
The forum compiled of more than about 70 artisans, directors of the local historic and ethnographic museums, ICH researchers and experts. It reviewed the issues of development and support of the Kazakhstan craftsmen, related trends of the local museums’ activities and the dimensions of a new UNESCO-ICHCAP project ‘Festivals on the Great Silk Way’.

The General Assembly of State Parties to the 2003 Convention at its seventh session (June 2018) approved the amendments to the Operational Directives on periodic reporting, thus transitioning towards a regional cycle of reporting on the implementation of the Convention. Following the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean (2020) and Europe (2021), the Arab States will be the third region to implement the new periodic reporting mechanism in 2022.
The new process of periodic reporting is linked to the overall results framework for the Convention which assists with a more accurate assessment of the implementation of the Convention as well as with ICH safeguarding at the national level.
In this context, UNESCO is undertaking a training for facilitators of the 2003 Convention from the Arab States region to support in building a group of resource persons available to help the roll out of the periodic reporting as well as assist Member States undertake and complete the periodic reporting exercise. More concretely, the training would aim to introduce and familiarize the facilitators with results-based reporting and the new online periodic reporting mechanism while also aiming to allow knowledge sharing and insights to design the programme for training the country focal points on periodic reporting scheduled for next year.
By the end of the training, participating facilitators will be better equipped to use the online reporting system and the overall results framework. They will also have an understanding of the benefits for countries to be gained from using this new online reporting system, and how the overall results framework may be applied at the national level for internal planning, monitoring and evaluation purposes.
The objectives of the training are the following:
1. Introduce the new periodic reporting system and the associated overall results framework;
2. Strengthen competencies and skillsets of facilitators to use the online reporting form as well as on how to produce participatory results-based reports;
3. Facilitate peer learning, networking and strategic discussions among participants; and
4. Share knowledge and insights to design the programme for the training of country focal points on periodic reporting.

UNESCO’s Living Heritage Entity and the Section of Global Citizenship and Peace Education is organizing the second edition of the online Training of trainers on living heritage and education in the spirit of SDG 4, Target 4.7. Bringing together UNESCO’s Culture and Education Sectors, and in the framework of the intersectoral thematic programme on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in formal and non-formal education, the online training will strengthen the capacities of individual specialists from across the world to act as resource persons able to support and promote the convergence of education programmes and the safeguarding of living heritage.

For more information on this event, please visit: https://www.ludovakultura.sk/pozvanka-webinar-zive-dedicstvo-a-vzdelavanie/

The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) was established in 2007 under the auspices of UNESCO, in order to support the implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention in South-East Europe.

Annual meetings since 2007 contributed to enhance a common understanding of opportunities and challenges linked to the safeguarding of the ICH as a key asset of South-East European cultural diversity, as well as to develop institutional and professional capacities within the relevant national authorities serving as a regional platform for sharing knowledge and good practices. Since 2018 the annual meetings focus on a specific thematic annually, so as to more effectively analyse issues raised by the experts and be integrated in the larger scale of ICH safeguarding agenda,

The present, 15th annual meeting is organized by UNESCO regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Venice, Italy) in close collaboration with the Living Heritage Entity, with the generous support provided by the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe (Sofia, Bulgaria).

The 15th annual meeting of the South-East European Experts Network on ICH takes place in the midst of the revised Periodic Reporting process in the European Region. Following the training of country focal points for periodic reporting in Europe region organized by Living Heritage Entity in March-April 2021, the meeting aims at:
• Taking stock of the progress achieved regarding the PR process in South-East European countries;
• Sharing knowledge, experiences and advice on strategies, mechanisms and tools for PR process in the region;
• Identifying possible opportunities for reinforced regional cooperation in implementing the 2003 Convention and safeguarding ICH.

Finally, the meeting is an opportunity to discuss and advance cooperation on intangible cultural heritage safeguarding issues with and among Member States and other relevant partners in South-East Europe, confirming the importance of ICH to sustain the regional cooperation process.