On Monday 9 December, the fourteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will commence in Bogota, Colombia. Chaired by Ms María Claudia López Sorzano, Secretary for Culture, Leisure and Sport of the City of Bogota, this will be the first time that a meeting of the Committee takes place in Latin America. The UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will be also be present at the session.
Over six days the annual gathering will bring together more than 750 participants – representatives of States Parties, non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions and other stakeholders – from across the globe. The members of the Committee will discuss a number of issues that are key to the further development of the Convention, notably, a set of principles and modalities on how best to safeguard living heritage in emergency situations, follow-up of inscribed elements, reform of the Periodic Reporting mechanism and the participation of non-governmental organizations in the implementation of the Convention. The Committee will also begin a reflection on the nature and purposes of the listing mechanisms under the 2003 Convention.
The Committee meeting will also be an opportunity to celebrate the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019, proclaimed by the United Nations. A UNESCO-curated sound exhibition is organized to showcase some of the links between intangible cultural heritage and indigenous languages. Another side event will be a panel discussion on the safeguarding of cultural heritage and indigenous languages through education.
- All participants to the Committee meeting are welcome to attend the side events and can consult the calendar of events here.
- The agenda, timetable and documents of the meeting are also available for consultation at the meeting’s dedicated webpage.
- The sessions of the committee will be broadcasted live and can be accessed here.
- As the start of the meeting is fast approaching, those participants who did not registered yet are invited to do so here.
Meeting:
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14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee (9 December 2019 – 14 December 2019)