The rural festivities of the Red and Blue Bands in the small city of Majagua, in the very centre of Cuba, are known throughout the island as an enduring social institution that brings residents from different generations into one or the ›››

An expert mission travelled to Haiti from 18 to 24 February to conduct an initial needs assessment and plan future activities for a UNESCO-led capacity-building programme for the effective safeguarding of the country’s intangible cultural heritage. Organized with the support of the Intangible C ›››

Ten years after the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by the General Conference of UNESCO on 17th October 2003, the international community is celebrating, this year, the 10th anniversary of the Convention. A significant number ›››

How can Arab States effectively implement the 2003 Convention at the national level? What can be done to promote regional cooperation in the Arab world and to strengthen the capacities of all concerned stakeholders? What are the best ways to raise people’s ›››

Held in Paris from 3 to 7 December 2012, the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has completed its work, with more than 800 participants including experts, practitioners and government officials. The sixteen new periodic reports from ›››

Four years of cooperation for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic* will come to an end with the completion of the project MedLiHer - Mediterranean Living Heritage in December 2012. To showcase this experience ›››

‘We must begin by emphasizing within the community itself upon the importance of safeguarding our most precious heritage our ancestors left us.’ (Ginuervel Roach, Curaçao youth participant). With an increased awareness of the significance of living heritage and the pivotal role of y ›››

This is the key question to be addressed in the first review of UNESCO’s strategy to build capacity for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage to be completed this year. Already 42 UNESCO Member States are benefitting from tailored capacity-building projects in the fields o ›››

What does it mean to speak of an ‘element’ of intangible cultural heritage in the 2003 Convention and its Operational Directives? What are the actual trends, categories and examples of the elements inscribed on the Lists so far? How should similar elements, wi ›››

For the first time since their ratification of the 2003 Convention in history, Sao Tome and Principe brought together a range of key stakeholders to give a boost to the safeguarding of its living heritage. The representative from governments and civil society ›››