Partnerships for Inventorying Mediterranean Living Heritage

6 July 2012

Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan have just taken another step in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage. After months of meticulous preparation, the three partner countries of the ‘MedLiHer - Mediterranean Living Heritage’ project have signed partnership agreements with UNESCO, co-financed by the European Union and UNESCO. Each US$175,000 partnership will support implementing national projects focused on community-based inventorying.

In Lebanon, the research teams will be working with the communities of Zajal, a form of poetry widespread in the country. Egypt and Jordan will work with local communities in the governorates of Damietta and Madaba. For each project a workshop will train the concerned actors before the field inventorying begins.

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage provides that each State Party shall draw up, in a manner geared to its own situation, one or more inventories of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory, thus ensuring its identification in order to safeguard it (Article 12).

• Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,