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 : 144 elements corresponding to 5 regions and 79 countries
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2023

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Bolero: identity, emotion and poetry turned into songCuba – Mexico
Dabkeh, traditional dance in PalestinePalestine
Garba of GujaratIndia
Malhun, a popular poetic and musical artMorocco
The practice of opera singing in ItalyItaly

2022

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

August 15th (Dekapentavgoustos) festivities in two Highland Communities of Northern Greece: Tranos Choros (Grand Dance) in Vlasti and Syrrako FestivalGreece
Furyu-odori, ritual dances imbued with people’s hopes and prayersJapan
Kalela danceZambia
Raï, popular folk song of AlgeriaAlgeria

2021

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al-Qudoud al-HalabiyaSyrian Arab Republic
FalakTajikistan
L-Għana, a Maltese folksong traditionMalta
Pasillo, song and poetryEcuador
Visoko multipart singing from Dolen and Satovcha, South-western BulgariaBulgaria

Register of Good Safeguarding Practices

The School of Living Traditions (SLT)Philippines

2020

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Aboxan Musik ǀŌb ǂÂns tsî ǁKhasigu, ancestral musical sound knowledge and skillsNamibia

2019

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Byzantine chantCyprus – Greece
GnawaMorocco
Morna, musical practice of Cabo VerdeCabo Verde
Music and dance of Dominican BachataDominican Republic
Practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing)Norway

2018

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere), traditional group dances of NakhchivanAzerbaijan

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

As-Samer in JordanJordan
Dondang SayangMalaysia
Međimurska popevka, a folksong from MeđimurjeCroatia
Reggae music of JamaicaJamaica
Ritual and festive expressions of the Congo culturePanama
Singing to the accompaniment of the GusleSerbia

2017

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Al Azi, art of performing praise, pride and fortitude poetryUnited Arab Emirates
Colombian-Venezuelan llano work songsColombia – Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Dikopelo folk music of Bakgatla ba Kgafela in Kgatleng DistrictBotswana

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Khaen music of the Lao peopleLao People's Democratic Republic
Kushtdepdi rite of singing and dancingTurkmenistan
PuntoCuba
RebetikoGreece
Sega tambour of Rodrigues IslandMauritius
Xoan singing of Phú Thọ province, Viet Nam Viet Nam

2016

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Chapei Dang VengCambodia
Cossack’s songs of Dnipropetrovsk RegionUkraine
Ma'di bowl lyre music and danceUganda

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Almezmar, drumming and dancing with sticksSaudi Arabia
Bhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius, Geet-GawaiMauritius
Rumba in Cuba, a festive combination of music and dances and all the practices associatedCuba

Register of Good Safeguarding Practices

Safeguarding of the folk music heritage by the Kodály conceptHungary

2015

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Coaxing ritual for camelsMongolia
Glasoechko, male two-part singing in Dolni PologNorth Macedonia
Traditional Vallenato music of the Greater Magdalena regionColombia

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Aitysh/Aitys, art of improvisationKazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan
Alardah Alnajdiyah, dance, drumming and poetry in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
Epic art of GoroglyTurkmenistan

2014

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al-Ayyala, a traditional performing art of the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab EmiratesOman – United Arab Emirates
Al-Zajal, recited or sung poetryLebanon
Arirang folk song in the Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea
Baile ChinoChile
Ritual and ceremonies of Sebeïba in the oasis of Djanet, AlgeriaAlgeria
Ritual dance of the royal drumBurundi

2013

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Viet NamViet Nam
Music of TerchováSlovakia
Practices and knowledge linked to the Imzad of the Tuareg communities of Algeria, Mali and NigerAlgeria – Mali – Niger
Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of ManipurIndia

2012

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al ‘azi, elegy, processional march and poetryOman
Al-Taghrooda, traditional Bedouin chanted poetry in the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of OmanUnited Arab Emirates – Oman
Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Republic of KoreaRepublic of Korea
Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaIndia
Klapa multipart singing of Dalmatia, southern CroatiaCroatia

2011

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Esuwa, Harakbut sung prayers of Peru’s Wachiperi peoplePeru
Folk long song performance technique of Limbe performances - circular breathingMongolia
Saman danceIndonesia

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Bećarac singing and playing from Eastern CroatiaCroatia
Fado, urban popular song of PortugalPortugal
Mariachi, string music, song and trumpetMexico
Sada Shin Noh, sacred dancing at Sada shrine, ShimaneJapan
Tsiattista poetic duellingCyprus

Register of Good Safeguarding Practices

Táncház method: a Hungarian model for the transmission of intangible cultural heritageHungary

2010

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

MeshrepChina
Ojkanje singingCroatia

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al-Bar’ah, music and dance of Oman Dhofari valleysOman
Chant of the Sybil on MajorcaSpain
FlamencoSpain
Gagok, lyric song cycles accompanied by an orchestraRepublic of Korea
Kalbelia folk songs and dances of RajasthanIndia
Kumiodori, traditional Okinawan musical theatreJapan
Mongolian traditional art of KhöömeiMongolia
Music of the Bakhshis of KhorasanIran (Islamic Republic of)
Peking operaChina
Pirekua, traditional song of the P’urhépechaMexico
Ritual dramatic art of Ta‘zīyeIran (Islamic Republic of)
Sutartinės, Lithuanian multipart songsLithuania
Traditional Sohbet meetingsTürkiye

2009

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Ca trù singingViet Nam
Cantu in paghjella, a secular and liturgical oral tradition of CorsicaFrance
Mongol Tuuli, Mongolian epicMongolia
Traditional music of the TsuurMongolia

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Art of Azerbaijani AshiqAzerbaijan
Âşıklık (minstrelsy) traditionTürkiye
DoinaRomania
GagakuJapan
Gesar epic traditionChina
Grand song of the Dong ethnic groupChina
Hua’erChina
Katta AshulaUzbekistan
MaloyaFrance
ManasChina
Mongolian art of singing, KhoomeiChina
NanyinChina
Quan Họ Bắc Ninh folk songsViet Nam
Radif of Iranian musicIran (Islamic Republic of)
Seto Leelo, Seto polyphonic singing traditionEstonia
TangoArgentina – Uruguay
Tibetan operaChina
Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scaleCroatia
Xi’an wind and percussion ensembleChina
Yueju operaChina

2008

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah epicEgypt
Albanian folk iso-polyphonyAlbania
Art of Akyns, Kyrgyz epic tellersKyrgyzstan
Azerbaijani MughamAzerbaijan
Baltic song and dance celebrationsEstonia – Latvia – Lithuania
Baul songsBangladesh
Bistritsa Babi, archaic polyphony, dances and rituals from the Shoplouk regionBulgaria
Canto a tenore, Sardinian pastoral songsItaly
Cultural space of the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit of the Congos of Villa MellaDominican Republic
Darangen epic of the Maranao people of Lake LanaoPhilippines
Fujara and its musicSlovakia
Georgian polyphonic singingGeorgia
Hudhud chants of the IfugaoPhilippines
Iraqi MaqamIraq
Kihnu cultural spaceEstonia
Kun Qu operaChina
La Tumba FrancesaCuba
Lakalaka, dances and sung speeches of TongaTonga
Mak Yong theatreMalaysia
Mystery play of ElcheSpain
Nôgaku theatreJapan
Olonkho, Yakut heroic eposRussian Federation
Pansori epic chantRepublic of Korea
Polyphonic singing of the Aka Pygmies of Central AfricaCentral African Republic
Shashmaqom musicUzbekistan – Tajikistan
Song of Sana’aYemen
Tradition of Vedic chantingIndia
Traditional music of the Morin KhuurMongolia
Urtiin Duu, traditional folk long songChina – Mongolia
Uyghur Muqam of XinjiangChina
Vimbuza healing danceMalawi
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