23 May 2025
The Republic of Korea and UNESCO established a Framework Agreement for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The signing was marked by a ceremony held at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, in the presence of H.E. Mr Choi Eung-Chon, Administrator of the Korea Heritage Service, H. E. Ms Sang Mee Bak, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Korea to UNESCO, Mr Ernesto Ottone R., Assistant Director-General for Culture and Ms Fumiko Ohinata, Secretary of the 2003 Convention.
This reinforced cooperation will support the thematic development of the 2003 Convention, with emphasis on the establishment of an online platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences, with reference to the reflection set by the Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on a broader implementation of Article 18 of the 2003 Convention.
It is expected that the future platform will provide an online space for communities and other stakeholders of the 2003 Convention to collaborate, build capacities and share good safeguarding experiences, with a view to serving as a tool and source of inspiration for people seeking guidance in the field of living heritage safeguarding. Anchored in the community-based and participatory approaches of the 2003 Convention, there are high hopes that the new platform will contribute to achieve a broader implementation of Article 18 of the 2003 Convention.
This signing of the Framework Agreement was followed by a celebratory event marked by the launch of the ‘early harvest’ version of the Platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences, which showcases a pilot set of approaches and measures successfully implemented by communities worldwide to address specific safeguarding needs.
The ceremony was also the opportunity to launch a new UNESCO initiative generously supported by the Republic of Korea through the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP): the self-learning course ‘Overall Results Framework (ORF) for the implementation of the 2003 Convention’, hosted within the UNESCO Learning platform for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The course introduces learners to the ORF’s structure and content, as well as its application in results-based approaches to project management.
As a key component of the 2003 Convention’s capacity-building programme, the Learning platform is intended for a broad audience, including government officials, cultural practitioners, educators, community representatives, civil society organizations, students, and members of the Global Network of Facilitators. Further courses, including in multiple languages, will be progressively added to the platform.
For more information about the Platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences, visit: https://ich.unesco.org/en/sharing-good-safeguarding-experiences
For more information about the Learning Platform for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, visit: https://capacity-building.ich.unesco.org/
