Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practices

The Committee meets annually to evaluate nominations proposed by States Parties to the 2003 Convention and decide whether or not to inscribe those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the Convention’s Lists.

By clicking on the inscribed elements listed below, you can discover the nominations, photos and videos, together with Committee decisions and evidence of community consent.

You may also experience a conceptual, visual and interactive navigation through ‘Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage’ interfaces which demonstrate the thematic interconnectedness between all the elements inscribed and their relation to nature or to threats.


The designations employed in the texts and documents of the nomination presented by the submitting State Party or States Parties do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Committee nor UNESCO concerning a) the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, b) the legal status of its authorities or c) the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.







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Results : 106 elements corresponding to 5 regions and 65 countries
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2017

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Basel CarnivalSwitzerland
Chogān, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytellingIran (Islamic Republic of)
Cultural practices associated to the 1st of MarchBulgaria – North Macedonia – Republic of Moldova – Romania
Door-to-door rounds of KurentiSlovenia
Kok boru, traditional horse gameKyrgyzstan
Nsima, culinary tradition of MalawiMalawi
Spring celebration, HıdrellezNorth Macedonia – Türkiye

2016

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Ma'di bowl lyre music and danceUganda

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Almezmar, drumming and dancing with sticksSaudi Arabia
Beer culture in BelgiumBelgium
Bhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius, Geet-GawaiMauritius
Carnival of El Callao, a festive representation of a memory and cultural identityVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Carnival of GranvilleFrance
Charrería, equestrian tradition in MexicoMexico
Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the OromoEthiopia
Idea and practice of organizing shared interests in cooperativesGermany
Khidr Elias feast and its vowsIraq
Kuresi in KazakhstanKazakhstan
Mangal Shobhajatra on Pahela BaishakhBangladesh
Nawrouz, Novruz, Nowrouz, Nowrouz, Nawrouz, Nauryz, Nooruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nevruz, Nowruz, NavruzAfghanistan – Azerbaijan – India – Iran (Islamic Republic of) – Iraq – Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Pakistan – Tajikistan – Turkmenistan – Türkiye
Oshi Palav, a traditional meal and its social and cultural contexts in TajikistanTajikistan
Palov culture and traditionUzbekistan
Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three RealmsViet Nam
Rumba in Cuba, a festive combination of music and dances and all the practices associatedCuba
Tahteeb, stick gameEgypt
Valencia Fallas festivitySpain
Winegrowers’ Festival in VeveySwitzerland
Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in JapanJapan

Register of Good Safeguarding Practices

Festival of folklore in Koprivshtitsa: a system of practices for heritage presentation and transmissionBulgaria

2015

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Fichee-Chambalaalla, New Year festival of the Sidama peopleEthiopia
Majlis, a cultural and social spaceUnited Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia – Oman – Qatar
Oshituthi shomagongo, marula fruit festivalNamibia
Sbuâ, annual pilgrimage to the zawiya of Sidi El Hadj Belkacem in GouraraAlgeria
Surova folk feast in Pernik regionBulgaria
Tradition of kimchi-making in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea
Tugging rituals and gamesCambodia – Philippines – Republic of Korea – Viet Nam

2014

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Male-child cleansing ceremony of the Lango of central northern UgandaUganda

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Baile ChinoChile
Gwoka: music, song, dance and cultural practice representative of Guadeloupean identityFrance
Mongolian knuckle-bone shootingMongolia
Practices and expressions of joking relationships in NigerNiger
Ritual and ceremonies of Sebeïba in the oasis of Djanet, AlgeriaAlgeria

2013

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Círio de Nazaré (The Taper of Our Lady of Nazareth) in the city of Belém, ParáBrazil
Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of ManipurIndia

2012

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaIndia
Fest-Noz, festive gathering based on the collective practice of traditional dances of BrittanyFrance
Fiesta of the patios in CordovaSpain
Ichapekene Piesta, the biggest festival of San Ignacio de Moxos Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseBelgium
Mesir Macunu festivalTürkiye
Qālišuyān rituals of Mašhad-e Ardehāl in KāšānIran (Islamic Republic of)
Schemenlaufen, the carnival of Imst, AustriaAustria
Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus ChristiVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Worship of Hùng kings in Phú ThọViet Nam

2011

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Yaokwa, the Enawene Nawe people's ritual for the maintenance of social and cosmic orderBrazil

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Ceremonial Keşkek traditionTürkiye
Equitation in the French traditionFrance
Leuven age set ritual repertoireBelgium
Mibu no Hana Taue, ritual of transplanting rice in Mibu, HiroshimaJapan
Ride of the Kings in the south-east of the Czech RepublicCzechia

2010

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

MeshrepChina

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Armenian cross-stones art. Symbolism and craftsmanship of KhachkarsArmenia
Chant of the Sybil on MajorcaSpain
Compagnonnage, network for on-the-job transmission of knowledge and identitiesFrance
Gastronomic meal of the FrenchFrance
Gióng festival of Phù Ðông and Sóc templesViet Nam
Hopping procession of EchternachLuxembourg
Houtem Jaarmarkt, annual winter fair and livestock market at Sint-Lievens-HoutemBelgium
Huaconada, ritual dance of MitoPeru
Human towersSpain
Kırkpınar oil wrestling festivalTürkiye
Krakelingen and Tonnekensbrand, end-of-winter bread and fire feast at GeraardsbergenBelgium
Naadam, Mongolian traditional festivalMongolia
Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei ritualsIran (Islamic Republic of)
Shrovetide door-to-door processions and masks in the villages of the Hlinecko areaCzechia
Sinjska Alka, a knights’ tournament in SinjCroatia
Traditional Mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the Michoacán paradigmMexico

2009

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Qiang New Year festivalChina
Sanké mon, collective fishing rite of the SankéMali
Suiti cultural spaceLatvia

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant from the Kastav areaCroatia
Busó festivities at Mohács: masked end-of-winter carnival customHungary
Carnaval de Negros y BlancosColombia
Dragon Boat festivalChina
Festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of DubrovnikCroatia
Holy Week processions in PopayánColombia
Ijele masqueradeNigeria
Mazu belief and customsChina
Nestinarstvo, messages from the past: the Panagyr of Saints Constantine and Helena in the village of BulgariBulgaria
Oku-noto no AenokotoJapan
Places of memory and living traditions of the Otomí-Chichimecas people of Tolimán: the Peña de Bernal, guardian of a sacred territoryMexico
Procession of the Holy Blood in BrugesBelgium
Procession Za Krizen (‘following the cross’) on the island of HvarCroatia
Ritual ceremony of the VoladoresMexico
Septennial re-roofing ceremony of the Kamablon, sacred house of KangabaMali
Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from GorjaniCroatia
YeongsanjaeRepublic of Korea

2008

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Baltic song and dance celebrationsEstonia – Latvia – Lithuania
Carnival of BincheBelgium
Cultural space and oral culture of the SemeiskieRussian Federation
Indigenous festivity dedicated to the deadMexico
Maroon heritage of Moore TownJamaica
Moussem of Tan-TanMorocco
Patum of BergaSpain
Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and FranceBelgium – France
Royal ancestral ritual in the Jongmyo shrine and its musicRepublic of Korea
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