Safeguarding and capacity building for the intangible cultural heritage of Al-Aragoz traditional hand puppetry in Egypt

Benefitting country(ies): Egypt

Mis en œuvre par le Fonds de développement culturel, ce projet de vingt-quatre mois vise à revitaliser et à sauvegarder les marionnettes à gaine traditionnelles d’Al-Aragoz grâce à la documentation, à la formation et au renforcement des capacités. Le projet vise à mettre en œuvre le plan de sauvegarde actualisé décrit dans le dernier rapport périodique soumis par l’Égypte sur l’élément « M

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,840 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    10/12/2025 - 30/11/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Awareness raising on the importance of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage among traditional leadership and local communities in Zimbabwe

Benefitting country(ies): Zimbabwe

To be implemented by the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, this two-year project aims to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding among traditional leaders and local communities in Zimbabwe. The project involves translating a summary of the 2003 Convention into local languages and establishing an information centre that will manage online platforms and share content, information and experiences

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 321,339 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    20/11/2024 - 06/11/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Building capacities for safeguarding living heritage and preparing nominations to the Lists of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Gabon Guinea-Bissau Lesotho Sao Tome and Principe South Sudan

The project aims to safeguard and promote the rich diversity of intangible cultural heritage in Africa with a focus on nine countries that do not yet have any living heritage element inscribed on the Lists and Register of the 2003 Convention (at the end of the nineteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee in December 2024) – these are Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini,

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 606,650
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2024 - 01/09/2027

Enhancing implementation of the 2003 Convention through community-based inventorying and urgent safeguarding measures in the State of Palestine

Benefitting country(ies): State of Palestine

Implemented by the UNESCO Office in Ramallah, in close coordination with the Directorate of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the State of Palestine, this two-year project aims to support the implementation of the 2003 Convention through community-based inventorying and planning for urgent safeguarding measures focusing on three key objectives. The first objective is to strengthen national capacities by conducting

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 100,000 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/07/2025 - 01/07/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Preparation of inventories of the intangible cultural heritage of Honduras with the active participation of the communities

Benefitting country(ies): Honduras

Mis en œuvre par l’Institut hondurien d’anthropologie et d’histoire (IHAH), ce projet de vingt-six mois vise à renforcer les capacités nationales de sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel et à établir des inventaires complets avec la participation active des communautés dans quatre municipalités du Honduras. Le dernier rapport périodique soumis par le Honduras en 2021 indique la nécessité de systématiser les informations recueillies duran

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 100,000 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    22/05/2025 - 31/05/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Empowering communities for the safeguarding of Belize's foodways: a community-based inventory project for sustainable development and disaster resilience

Benefitting country(ies): Belize

To be implemented by the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), this twenty-four-month project aims to strengthen community capacity and create a comprehensive inventory of foodways in Belize, which faces threats related to globalization, rapid urbanization and climate change. The project will equip community members and cultural officers with the knowledge and skills to document, inventory and safeguard living

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,600 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/04/2025 - 30/04/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Building capacities on intangible cultural heritage inventorying, safeguarding and awareness raising activities in The Gambia

Benefitting country(ies): Gambia

To be implemented by the National Centre for Art and Culture, this two-year project aims to build the capacities of communities and practitioners and to promote the safeguarding and transmission of The Gambia’s intangible cultural heritage. The project has a particular focus on the safeguarding of the Kankurang, Manding initiatory rite, an element inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of t

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,930 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    12/02/2025 - 15/04/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Safeguarding semba by creating new levers for intergenerational transmission and income-generating opportunities

Benefitting country(ies): Angola

Implemented by the Instituto Nacional do Património Cultural (INPC), this two-year project aims to establish suitable conditions for safeguarding semba, a traditional musical genre and dance, by creating opportunities for intergenerational transmission and income generation. Rooted in working-class neighbourhoods, semba is a symbol of Angolan identity-building and anticolonial resistance. However, lately it has begun to lose influence and significance among

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 86,050 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    31/03/2025 - 30/03/2027
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Establishment of an online platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences

The establishment of an online platform for sharing good safeguarding experiences is a priority identified under the reflection on a broader implementation of Article 18 of the 2003 Convention, launched by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (see Decisions 16.COM 14 and 19.COM 10). The new platform will provide a digital space for communities and other stakeholders of the

  • Project budget:
    US$ 128,000
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2025 - 01/01/2027

Integration of living heritage into education in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

The project aims to strengthen the capacities of key stakeholders in two Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) regarding the integration of living heritage into schools. Building on the recommendations from a previous regional project (‘Learning with Intangible Cultural Heritage for a Sustainable Future in Latin America and the Caribbean’; 2021-2022), this new initiative includes capacity-building and teacher training activities focused

  • Project budget:
    US$ 82,237
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2024 - 01/12/2026
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

International Food Atlas and Digital Platform for safeguarding, promoting and transmitting foodways to future generations

The project aims to reinforce the value of foodways as living heritage and their contribution to achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Foodways are closely linked to many aspects of socio-economic development and cultural life, including farming, fishing, rituals, traditional skills, culinary techniques, sustainable food production, seed diversity, ecosystem preservation, and knowledge about nature and the universe

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 2,500,000
  • Source:
    Saudi Arabia Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2023 - 01/12/2026

Implementing community-based heritage festivals in eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh

Benefitting country(ies): Bangladesh

Implemented by the Bangladesh National Museum, this two-year project aims at implementing community-based and -led intangible cultural heritage festivals across eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. The project is a collaborative effort between the Bangladesh National Museum and the Consortium for ICH-pedia in Bangladesh. It focuses on safeguarding, promoting and transmitting the living heritage of eight communities through capacity building, research

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,700 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    14/10/2024 - 30/10/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Exchange of experiences and cultural dialogues for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of Afro-descendant peoples through the preparation of inventories in the SICA region and Cuba

Benefitting country(ies): Belize Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama

To be implemented by the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination (CECC/SICA) in cooperation with the Regional Center for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL) and with the involvement of the Central American Black Organization (ONECA), this eighteen-month multinational project aims to build collective and participatory knowledge on the processes of inventorying the living

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,990 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    24/03/2025 - 23/10/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Emergency response to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of Lalibela, World Heritage property, and the surrounding area endangered by conflict

Benefitting country(ies): Ethiopia

Implemented by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, in collaboration with the Association of St. Lalibela and Surrounding Heritage Conservation and Protection, this three-year project aims to contribute to the revival of the traditional church schools in Lalibela and the surrounding areas. These church schools, situated within the World Heritage property of the ‘Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela’, have been temporarily closed due to ong

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 150,000 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    18/10/2023 - 18/10/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Supporting the community of artists and artisans of the village of Noailles to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of metal cutting in the context of the security crisis and for resilience in Haiti

Benefitting country(ies): Haiti

For several generations, the village of Noailles was home to communities of metal cutters, listed in the inventory of Haiti’s intangible cultural heritage. This form of expression was revived in the mid-twentieth century, using recycled drums as raw material. Cutting metal is the primary means of subsistence and source of resilience for the artisans and community members. Implemented by the U

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 280,092 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    16/10/2023 - 15/10/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Community-based inventorying of the intangible cultural heritage in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Benefitting country(ies): Bahamas

To be implemented by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (Division of Cultural Affairs), this twenty-four-month project aims to raise awareness about the importance of intangible cultural heritage in The Bahamas and to build local capacities to create and manage a national inventory. The project involves preparing a two-year plan to implement and ensure the sustainability of the inventory

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,363 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    14/08/2024 - 31/08/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Consolidating and upscaling efforts of community museums to safeguard six intangible cultural heritage elements in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

Implemented by the Uganda Community Museums Association (UCOMA), an accredited NGO, this two-year project aims to increase the capacity of community museums to sustainably safeguard Uganda’s intangible cultural heritage inscribed on the Lists of the 2003 Convention. It is the second phase of the project entitled ‘Strengthening the capacity of community museums to promote inscribed intangible cultural heritage’, which was implemented from

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,601 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    12/08/2024 - 31/08/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Safeguarding and promoting Gbofe

Benefitting country(ies): Côte d'Ivoire

To be implemented by the Office Ivoirien du Patrimoine Culturel (the Ivoirian Cultural Heritage Office), this two-year project aims to ensure the viability of the Gbofe, a transverse trump and a performance of the Tagbana community that encompasses music, song and dance. The element was incorporated in 2008 in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 100,000 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/11/2024 - 31/08/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French

Palm wine tapping

Benefitting country(ies): Gambia

Implemented by the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of Palm wine tapping to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Palm wine tapping entails using strong tree fibres to make a climbing belt, climbing the palm tree, using a knife to make small holes at the top

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,540 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 31/08/2026

Safeguarding of ludodiversity in Malawi through formal and non-formal education

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi

The objective of this three-year project, implemented by the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO, is to contribute to the safeguarding of the ludodiversity of Malawi through informal learning and transmission of nine traditional games within practicing communities. The nine games were identified by practitioners in three regions of Malawi and included in an inventory of ludodiversity of Malawi in 2013, but

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 305,144 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    26/06/2023 - 15/07/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 3: English
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for resilient communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding

Benefitting country(ies): Belize Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama

The project aims to enhance the role communities play in managing and safeguarding the region’s cultural and natural heritage and is designed to strengthen synergies between tangible and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. It will support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through integrating heritage safeguarding into urban planning while enhancing sustainable tourism in the region. The project is being implemented during 2

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 2,300,000
  • Source:
    Saudi Arabia Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2023 - 01/06/2026

Ancestral and traditional techniques for the elaboration of the 'Poncho Para'i de 60 Listas', from the city of Piribebuy, Republic of Paraguay

Benefitting country(ies): Paraguay

To be implemented by the National Secretariat of Culture in partnership with UNESCO, this project aims to ensure the transmission of the knowledge and techniques of making the Poncho Para’í de 60 Listas. The project involves promotion activities such as a television show, a permanent exhibition, craft fairs and a weaving competition. The homes and workshops of poncho artisans will be gi

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 74,500 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    07/11/2024 - 06/05/2026
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Strengthening the capacities of La Cofradía del Espíritu Santo de Los Congos de Villa Mella and El Teatro Cocolo Danzante de Los Guloyas de San Pedro to safeguard their heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Dominican Republic

This two-year project aims to strengthen the practice and transmission of these traditions through two pillars: training to build capacities of future generations of bearers and awareness-raising on the importance of these two elements for Dominican society. La Cofradía del Espíritu Santo de Los Congos in Villa Mella and El Teatro Cocolo Danzante Los Guloyas in San Pedro de Macorís a

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,752 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2024 - 30/04/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French

Revision of the national intangible cultural heritage inventory and capacity-building on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the local communities in five provinces of Kazakhstan

Benefitting country(ies): Kazakhstan

Implemented by the Kazakhstan Intangible Cultural Heritage National Committee, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Information, this twenty-two-month project aims to build the capacities of local communities and national authorities to safeguard their living heritage. The main focus of the project is to update the existing national intangible cultural heritage inventory of Kazakhstan, which has not been

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,600 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    13/08/2024 - 30/04/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Vodun, beliefs, social practices and ways of living

Benefitting country(ies): Benin

Implemented by the Ministry of Culture, this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of Vodun, beliefs, social practices and ways of living to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Originating in West Africa and practised wherever enslaved people were deported, it combines beliefs in deities, social practices through rituals, and a way of life. Vodun deities

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,373 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    11/08/2025 - 30/04/2026

Knowledge and skills associated with the manufacture of the Saponé hat

Benefitting country(ies): Burkina Faso

Implemented by the Ministry of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of Knowledge and skills related to the manufacture of the Saponé hat to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The element refers to the knowledge and techniques related to the production, research and manufacture of the Saponé hat, a c

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,900 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/08/2025 - 30/04/2026

Khanga – a symbol of Tanzanian identity and cultural heritage

Benefitting country(ies): United Republic of Tanzania

Implemented by the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of Khanga – a symbol of Tanzanian identity and cultural heritage to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Khanga is a rectangular cloth that is deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of the practising, primarily coastal, communities. The cloth is c

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 10,000 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    25/08/2025 - 30/04/2026

The Masquerade traditions of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Benefitting country(ies): Saint Kitts and Nevis

To be implemented by the Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship, Cooperatives and Creative Economy, this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of The Masquerade traditions of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The centuries-old Masquerade traditions traditionally mark the start of the Christmas season. They feature dance performances accompanied by the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,926 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/08/2025 - 30/04/2026

The Flower Festivals of Saint Lucia (The 'La Rose' and 'La Marguerite' Festivals)

Benefitting country(ies): Saint Lucia

Implemented by the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO, this preparatory assistance request concerns the nomination of The Flower Festivals of Saint Lucia to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Celebrated annually on 30 August and 17 October, the Flower Festivals date back more than 250 years and have become a symbol of community resilience, particularly in the face

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 10,000 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    22/07/2025 - 30/04/2026

Safeguarding plans for the transfer of three elements of Mali's intangible cultural heritage inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List to the Representative List

Benefitting country(ies): Mali

Implemented by the National Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage, this two-year project aims to support safeguarding plans for three elements inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: (a) ‘The Sanké mon: a collective fishing rite of the Sanké’ (inscribed in 2009); (b) ‘The secret society of the Kôrêdugaw, the rite of wisdom in Mali’ (inscribed in 2011); and

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,950 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/04/2024 - 31/03/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Consolidating the promotion of intangible cultural heritage education in institutions of higher learning in collaboration with bearer communities

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

Implemented by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), an accredited non-governmental organization under the 2003 Convention, this two-year project aims to promote intangible cultural heritage education in higher-learning institutions. The project builds on the achievements of a previous intervention aimed at raising awareness of the relevance of living heritage in Uganda’s current development context among the management and academic staff of f

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,203 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/04/2024 - 17/03/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Xeedho

Benefitting country(ies): Djibouti

Being implemented by the Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Wakfs Goods, this project aims to revitalize the practice of Xeedho in Djibouti by organizing Xeedho associations consisting of bearers and community representatives from several regions and transmitting the element to younger generations through training sessions. Other project activities include providing capacity-building workshops for teachers, producing television programmes, debates and

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 116,450 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/09/2022 - 16/03/2026
  • Documents:
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Identification, capacity-building, safeguarding and promotion of traditional dances of Togo as a vector of sustainable cultural development

Benefitting country(ies): Togo

Implemented by CUL.DEV (Culture and Development), an accredited NGO under the Convention, this twenty-five-month project aims to identify, safeguard and promote traditional dances in Togo. The project involves inventorying the dances, including categorizing them and describing the related performance techniques, music, rhythms, contexts, dress and norms, as well as their social, spiritual and secular roles within the communities. The

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,876 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/08/2023 - 16/03/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 3: French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Development of a national inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Sao Tome and Principe

Benefitting country(ies): Sao Tome and Principe

Implemented by UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, this sixteen-month project aims to strengthen national capacities, raise awareness about intangible cultural heritage among bearers, practitioners and the public, and support community-led safeguarding efforts. It is the first project of its kind in Sao Tome and Principe and will provide the country with an inventory framework

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,916 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    07/11/2024 - 06/02/2026
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French

Practical handbook on periodic reporting with a self-learning tool on the Overall Results Framework for the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

In the context of the 2003 Convention’s global capacity-building programme, this project aims at creating a practical handbook and a self-learning tool, to address the practical needs of the country focal points in the preparation of their periodic reports on the implementation of the Convention at the national level, as well as to familiarize actors working in the field of safeguarding o

  • Project budget:
    US$ 90,000
  • Source:
    The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2022 - 31/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Pilot inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the ten departments of the Centre Region in Cameroon

Benefitting country(ies): Cameroon

Implemented by UNESCO’s Multisectoral Regional Office for Central Africa, in cooperation with the Ministry of Arts and Culture, this eighteen-month project aims to lay the foundations for the sustainable safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Cameroon, re-orienting the inventorying system previously set up in the country. The project involves capacity building for the creation of participatory community-based inventories, raising awareness o

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,978 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    24/10/2023 - 31/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Pilot inventory of intangible cultural heritage in six provinces of Chad

Benefitting country(ies): Chad

To be implemented by the Ministry of Culture and the Promotion of Diversity, in close collaboration with the Chad National Commission for UNESCO, the proposed eighteen-month project is aimed at inventorying elements of intangible cultural heritage in six regions of Chad. Although the State Party ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in 2008, the country

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,610 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/08/2023 - 31/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French

Xhubleta, skills, craftmanship and forms of usage

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

This two-year safeguarding programme aims to support efforts to enhance the practice and transmission of Xhubleta craftsmanship in northern Albania. It has three main objectives: ensuring the needed infrastructure for the revitalization of the craft, enhancing the capacities of bearers to make Xhubleta and increasing the visibility of Xhubleta and of intangible cultural heritage values among the community. The proposed

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 91,092 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    28/12/2023 - 31/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report 2025: English
    Progress report 2024: English

Inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of traditional and religious festivities in the municipalities of Bluefields, Diriamba, León, El Viejo and Masaya

Benefitting country(ies): Nicaragua

Implemented by the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture, this twenty-four-month project aims to prepare an inventory of Nicaraguan intangible cultural heritage and to contribute to the safeguarding of elements related to the following traditional and religious festivities: (a) the traditional May Pole Festival; (b) the San Sebastian Patron Saint Festival; (c) the Festival of the Virgin of the Throne; (d) ‘La G

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 100,000 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2024 - 31/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of Ukrainian displaced persons in Hungary: inclusive community practices

Benefitting country(ies): Hungary

Implemented by the Hungarian Open Air Museum, this fifteen-month project aims to develop a methodology for engaging museums with the Ukrainian communities displaced in Hungary, while supporting the safeguarding of their intangible cultural heritage. The project is based on the outcomes of the UNESCO initiative on community-based needs identification of living heritage safeguarding among displaced communities from Ukraine in five

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,710 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    25/09/2024 - 26/12/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Safeguarding of the social and cultural practices associated with landships in Barbados

Benefitting country(ies): Barbados

To be implemented by the Division of Culture, Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados, this twenty-four-month project aims to spread awareness and support the transmission of landships, community-based cultural groups known for their social structure, performances and shared traditions. In addition to strengthening the capacities of existing landships, the project entails spreading awareness of the element and increasing opportunities

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,900 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 12/2025 - not yet under implementation

Building sustainable capacities to safeguard the art of singing, playing and making of the lahuta

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

To be implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation of Albania, in partnership with the NGO Fondazione Arte, this thirty-six-month project aims to safeguard the endangered practice of playing, singing with, and making the lahuta, a single-stringed wooden instrument. The project entails documentation, inventorying, cultural mapping, training and awareness-raising activities. The activities will be carried out primarily in

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 154,846 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 12/2025 - not yet under implementation

Negliubka Textile Tradition of Vetka District Gomel Region

Benefitting country(ies): Belarus

To be implemented by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, this thirty-six-month project aims to safeguard and spread awareness of the negliubka textile tradition, a traditional weaving and embroidery practice observed exclusively by women. In addition to spreading awareness about negliubka and strengthening regional identity, the project will focus on disseminating practical knowledge about the element. It

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 90,282 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 12/2025 - not yet under implementation

Capacity building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific and the Caribbean

Benefitting country(ies): Bahamas Belize Fiji Tonga Vanuatu

In line with the Operational principles and modalities for safeguarding living heritage (or ICH) in emergencies, the project addresses the severe threats from natural disasters to the transmission and viability of ICH in five Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean and the Pacific, notably: Belize, the Bahamas, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. It aims to integrate ICH safeguarding into

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 500,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2022 - 01/12/2025

Sustaining Seperu folk dance and associated practices

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana

Implemented by the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, this eighteen-month project aims to safeguard ‘Seperu folk dance and associated practices’, an element inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2019. The element involves singing, dancing and sacred rituals which are significant in the life of the communities in the Chobe District. The kno

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 94,447 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/08/2023 - 30/11/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Progress report: English

Pilot inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of the communities of the Lobaye forest prefecture

Benefitting country(ies): Central African Republic

Implemented by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, the purpose of this eighteen-month project is to develop a pilot intangible cultural heritage inventory for twelve ethnocultural communities of the Lobaye forest prefecture. The area ‘Basse-Lobaye’ has also been designated as a Man and Biosphere reserve since 1977. More specifically, it aims to provide Central African Republic with its first intangible cul

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,997 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    29/04/2024 - 31/10/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 3: French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Development of inventory of intangible cultural heritage covering all seven provinces of Nepal

Benefitting country(ies): Nepal

To be implemented by the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) of Nepal, this twenty-four-month project aims to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in Nepal. The project entails raising awareness of the 2003 Convention and promoting its implementation, building capacity for community-based inventorying, and developing an inventory of at least twenty

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,033 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 10/2025 - not yet under implementation
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

The sound of Tango - Phase II

Benefitting country(ies): Uruguay

To be implemented by the Cienarte Foundation, this twenty-six-month project aims to promote the intergenerational transmission of the Tango tradition through education, artistic activities and publications. It is the second phase of the project ‘The Bandoneon: sound of Tango’ which relates to the multinational element ‘Tango’ inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Argentina and Uruguay

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 89,969 granted in 2025
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 10/2025 - not yet under implementation
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Digital journey to intangible cultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan

Benefitting country(ies): Kyrgyzstan

This thirty-month project is a second phase of the project on Safeguarding Practices and Rare Rituals Related to Sacred Sites in Kyrgyzstan, implemented in 2018–2020 with the support of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. Initiated by community leaders of the pilgrimage practices, the project’s overall objective is to develop a website about ICH elements, with audiovisual materials and comprehensive information about the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,963 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    31/03/2023 - 30/09/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2024: English
    Progress report 2023: English

Sustaining and transmitting Mongol biyelgee

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

The purpose of this three-year project is to assess and enhance the viability of Mongol Biyelgee and to transfer the element from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Being implemented by the Institute of Culture and Arts Study of the Mongolian State University of

Living heritage and the sustainable development goals: safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through formal and non-formal education in the Asia and the Pacific Region and in Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Benin Nepal Thailand

As part of the implementation of the funding priority under the 2003 Convention ‘Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in formal and non-formal education’ and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Target 4.7), the project proposes to develop and pilot learning tools/materials/pedagogies concerning the integration of living heritage in non-formal education in the Community Learning Centers in Nepal and Thailand. It explores the

  • Project budget:
    US$ 180,000
  • Source:
    The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2021 - 31/07/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report - Nepal & Thailand: English
    Progress report - Benin: French

Capacity building for stakeholders involved in safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in Burkina Faso

Benefitting country(ies): Burkina Faso

The proposed twenty-four-month project is geared at building the capacities of stakeholders involved in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Burkina Faso. Following an inventorying process conducted as part of the implementation of the Convention, the need to establish a critical mass of stakeholders capable of taking on the process of safeguarding living heritage at the national level became clear. In

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 387,770 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    07/10/2020 - 31/07/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 4: French
    Progress report 3: French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French
    Progress report 1 (Phase 1): French
    Final report (Phase 1): French

Tais, traditional textile

Benefitting country(ies): Timor-Leste

This three-year project is being implemented by the Timor-Leste National Commission for UNESCO. Activities include promoting this handwoven traditional textile in fairs, creating a television programme and adding Timor-Leste’s cultural elements, including Tais, to school curricula. In terms of research, the project entails recruiting an international expert to conduct field research and to document and photograph the raw materials used a

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 265,895 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    16/05/2022 - 31/07/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report 5: English
    Progress report 4: English
    Progress report 3: English
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Safeguarding and inventories of children's tales and narratives in Mauritania

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritania

Implemented by Association Maison des Théâtres, this eighteen-month project aims to safeguard children’s tales and narratives in Mauritania by creating an inventory and ensuring the transmission of the practice to future generations. The project involves the implementation of community workshops on how to develop participatory inventories, followed by the identification and inventorying of children’s tales and narratives across Mauritania. The tales

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 87,460 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/12/2023 - 30/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Elaboration of an inventory of national intangible cultural heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Rwanda

Implemented by the Rwandan National Commission for UNESCO, this eighteen-month project aims to develop the first inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of Rwanda and to support the government’s national safeguarding efforts. The project involves: (a) implementing a capacity-building training workshop about the Convention and the importance of intangible cultural heritage, including training on relevant techniques and tools; (b) conducting c

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,230 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2023 - 30/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: French
    Progress report 1: French

Urgent safeguarding of the making of traditional musical instrument Kobyz and its tradition of Zhyrau performance

Benefitting country(ies): Uzbekistan

Implemented by the UNESCO Office in Tashkent in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Uzbekistan, this eighteen-month project aims to safeguard and raise awareness of Karakalpak living heritage in Uzbekistan, with a focus on the endangered kobyz and zhyrau traditions. Using a gender-based approach, the project involves identifying and documenting the techniques of creating

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,903 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/08/2023 - 30/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Support of the development and implementation of capacity-building activities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in conflict-related situations, including situations of forced displacement

UNESCO in the framework of the 2003 Convention has explored the role of living heritage in emergencies, including conflict and disaster situations. In 2020, the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention adopted operational principles and modalities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies, which offers guidance to national and international stakeholders on how best to engage and safeguard living heritage

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 100,000
  • Source:
    Azerbaijan earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2021 - 01/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and contributing to sustainable development in Kenya

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

In the context of the 2003 Convention’s global capacity-building programme, this project aims at strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and contributing to sustainable development in Kenya. The project will deliver training activities to strengthen the capacities of national stakeholders in the following areas: knowledge of the 2003 Convention, its key concepts and approaches; methodologies for community-based inventorying for safeguarding i

  • Project budget:
    US$ 75,938
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2022 - 01/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Strengthening capacities for preparing nomination files for the Lists of the 2003 Convention in Small Island and Developing States (SIDS) in Latin America and the Caribbean

Benefitting country(ies): Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago

In the context of the 2003 Convention’s global capacity-building programme, this project aims at building capacities of Small Island and Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean on the preparation of nomination files for the Lists of the 2003 Convention, with a view to improve the effective safeguarding of living heritage across the region and contribute to greater geographical balance of the elements i

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 75,000
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2022 - 01/06/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Development of an inventory of intangible cultural heritage in South Sudan

Benefitting country(ies): South Sudan

Led by the Ministry of Culture, in close collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Juba, the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee (NICHC) and the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, this twenty-four-month project is aimed at developing an inventory of intangible cultural heritage in South Sudan in order to contribute to its safeguarding. Due to the ongoing social transitions in

News and activities:

Field School for capacity-building in safeguarding living heritage of ethnic communities in Thailand

Benefitting country(ies): Thailand

This two-year project seeks to enhance the capacity of five ethnic groups and relevant stakeholders in Thailand to safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The ethnic groups (Pgakenyaw Karen, Pwo Karen, Moken, Moklen and Urak Lawoi) were chosen on the basis of their vulnerability and their willingness to engage in the safeguarding activities. The project entails establishing the Field School for

Social practices and cultural elements of Toare Gulf mask festival

Benefitting country(ies): Papua New Guinea

To be implemented by the Papua New Guinea National Cultural Commission, this project is aimed at preparing a nomination file to the Urgent Safeguarding List for the social practices and rituals related to the Toare mask festival. The Toare community has a population of around six to seven hundred people and is located in the Uamai villages. An annual celebration

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 10,000 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    20/08/2024 - 30/04/2025
  • Documents:
    Final report: English

Imbalu ceremonies

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

Implemented by the Inzu Ya Masaaba/Institution of the Umukuuka, this project is aimed at preparing a nomination file to the Urgent Safeguarding List for the Imbalu Ceremonies in Uganda. The ceremonies are a rite of passage for young men that involve many activities, from cultural education, to running, dancing and beer brewing. They culminate with the circumcision of initiates

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 7,970 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/09/2024 - 30/04/2025
  • Documents:
    Final report: English

Aixan/Gana/Ob#ANS TSI //Khasigu, ancestral musical sound knowledge and skills (international assistance)

Benefitting country(ies): Namibia

Being implemented by the Namibia National Commission for UNESCO, this thirty-six-month project is aimed at safeguarding the Aixan /Gana /Ob #ANS TSI //Khasigu, as the tradition of performing such music currently faces many threats. Specifically, the project intends to: improve the visibility of the element and of living heritage in general; enhance, preserve and promote the element among youth, community

Capacity building on traditional Koryo celadon making practice

Benefitting country(ies): Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The proposed six-month project is aimed at building capacities relating to the traditional Koryo celadon making practice. The project is to be implemented by a working group established by the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences, in cooperation with the National Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for UNESCO. Recently, decreased interest in the tradition has resulted in dwindling c

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 41,767 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2024 - 31/03/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

To get together - Enhancement of the capacities of displaced communities from Ukraine living in Slovakia through living heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Slovakia

Implemented by the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, this twenty-month project aims to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of Ukrainian communities temporarily displaced in Slovakia and raise awareness of the important role of living heritage safeguarding for forcefully displaced communities. The project is based on the outcomes of the UNESCO project ‘Assessing the n

Community-based teaching and learning of Ukraine’s living heritage in Romania

Benefitting country(ies): Romania

Implemented by the Asociatia Serviciul Iezuitilor pentru Refugiati din Romania (JRS Romania), this fourteen-month project aims at safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of Ukrainian communities temporarily displaced in Romania and seeks to raise awareness of the important role of living heritage in supporting the resilience of these communities and encouraging social cohesion. The project is based on the outcomes of

Strengthening and promotion of the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and meanings related to the production of traditional pottery in Checca Pupuja, Puno

Benefitting country(ies): Peru

Implemented by the UNESCO Office in Lima in cooperation with the Intangible Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture of Peru, this eighteen-month project aims to promote the intergenerational transmission of the knowledge and techniques related to traditional Checca Pupuja pottery. One of the main aspects related to the importance of this pottery is that it fulfils three main functions

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,275 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2023 - 28/02/2025
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Capacity-building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and contributing to sustainable development

Benefitting country(ies): Gambia Ghana

As part of the implementation of the funding priority under the 2003 Convention ‘Strengthening capacities to safeguard intangible cultural heritage and contribute to sustainable development’, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Target 11.4; 5.5 and 17.9), as well as the African Union Agenda 2063, in the Gambia, the project proposes to train all relevant stakeholders on how to better safeguard intangible cultural heritage through the effective imp

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 275,938
  • Source:
    France earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2021 - 01/01/2025
  • Documents:
    Final report - The Gambia: English
    Final report- Ghana: English

Strengthening capacities at the national and local levels for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Dominica

Benefitting country(ies): Dominica

This project aims at enhancing capacities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Dominica. The need for support was expressed in the context of the periodic reporting exercise in Latin America and the Caribbean, which brought to the fore that, to date, the implementation of the Convention in Dominica had not progressed significantly since the ratification in 2005. Therefore, this

  • Project budget:
    US$ 65,000
  • Source:
    Kuwait earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2021 - 01/01/2025
  • Documents:
    Progress report earmarked contribution Kuwait (Dominica): English

Documentation and inventory of peu karioi (performing arts) in the Cook Islands

Benefitting country(ies): Cook Islands

Being implemented by the Cook Islands Ministry of Cultural Development, this eighteen-month project is geared at documenting and inventorying peu karioi (performing arts) in the Cook Islands, which constitutes a traditional technique of telling stories, proverbs, myths and legends. Conventionally, the elders of each island transmit knowledge about the peu karioi to the next generation orally. However, this approach is

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,983 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    08/10/2021 - 31/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2023: English
    Progress report 2022: English

Community-based inventorying and capacity building of indigenous communities for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

Benefitting country(ies): Pakistan

Being implemented jointly by the UNESCO Office in Islamabad and the National Heritage and Culture Division (NHCD) of the Government of Pakistan, this twenty-four-month project has been designed in collaboration with the communities concerned. The main objective of the project is to enhance the capacities of communities and stakeholders to safeguard intangible culture heritage for sustainable development in the regions

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,990 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/12/2021 - 31/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2: English
    Progress report 1: English

Safeguarding Saint Kitts and Nevis Intangible Cultural Heritage: developing a National Intangible Cultural Heritage Policy

Benefitting country(ies): Saint Kitts and Nevis

This is a two-year project based on a series of consultations with traditional and knowledge bearers and communities, groups and individuals about opportunities and challenges in the practice of their living heritage. The primary objective is the development of a National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Policy, which was recognized in the consultations as fundamental to safeguarding living heritage and fostering

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 91,252 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/12/2022 - 31/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2024: English
    Progress report 2023: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in disaster contexts

Benefitting country(ies): Honduras Philippines

In the context of the global capacity-building programme, this activity aims to strengthen capacities for integrating disaster risk reduction into community-based inventories of intangible cultural heritage through pilot activities in Honduras and the Philippines. The project will comprise: Online training workshops on intangible cultural heritage and disaster risk reduction; Pilot-inventorying activities integrating awareness for disaster risk reduction; Awareness-raising activities to

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 100,000
  • Source:
    Switzerland earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/12/2019 - 30/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Progress report: English

Strengthening capacities at the national and local levels for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in the United Republic of Tanzania and contributing to sustainable development

Benefitting country(ies): United Republic of Tanzania

In the context of the 2003 Convention’s global capacity-building programme, this project is designed to strengthen capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage at national and local levels, including among government institutions and communities in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. More specifically, the objectives of the project are the following: Contribute to sustainable development in the United Republic of Tanzania through the implementation o

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 81,271
  • Source:
    The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2022 - 30/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Final narrative report: English
    Progress report: English

Inventorying of Kuyabila of the Tonga ethnic group of Zambia

Benefitting country(ies): Zambia

This twenty-four-month project, being implemented by Zambia’s Ministry of Tourism and Arts, aims to undertake an inventory of the Tonga ethnic group’s poems in the Monze and Namwala districts of the country’s southern province. Accompanied by music and a special dance, kuyabila is the poetry of the Tonga people. It is accompanied by music and a special dance and performed durin

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 83,790 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    21/12/2021 - 20/12/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2023: English
    Progress report 2022: English
    Final report: English

Implementation of a plan for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Equatorial Guinea: training and pilot inventory of traditional dances

Benefitting country(ies): Equatorial Guinea

To be implemented by the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Handicraft Promotion, this twenty-one-month project aims to build national capacity for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Equatorial Guinea and to establish a pilot inventory. The project involves a series of training workshops on the principles of the 2003 Convention, inventorying and safeguarding. It also entails carrying

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 100,000 granted in 2024
  • Dates of implementation:
    Approved in 10/2024 - not yet under implementation
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Safeguarding of Okuruuo through community-based capacity building, inventorying and documentation interventions in Namibia

Benefitting country(ies): Namibia

Implemented by the Namibia National Commission for UNESCO, the proposed thirty-six-month project is aimed at safeguarding Okuruuo. The sacred ritual practice of Okuruuo (meaning Holy Fire) is central to the cultural values and social practices of the communities concerned. However, the current situation – including a rapid increase in urbanization – threatens its continuous practice and sustainability. Awareness-raising, capacity-building and training initiatives hav

Capacity building for community leaders and public managers to safeguard the living heritage of Afro-descendant communities in the SICA region and Cuba

Benefitting country(ies): Belize Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama

This project aims to build a common conceptual and methodological basis for the safeguarding intangible cultural heritage of Afro-descendants in Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. It is the first stage (preparation and planning) of a larger initiative titled ‘Safeguarding of the Afro-descendant Intangible Cultural Heritage of the SICA region and Cuba,’ to be

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,986 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    06/02/2023 - 30/08/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (July 2023): English
    Progress report (June 2023): English
    Final report: English

Community-Based inventory, documenting and safeguarding folklore of the Syunik region of Armenia

Benefitting country(ies): Armenia

Being implemented by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, this twenty-four-month project aims to inventory, document, safeguard and promote the oral heritage of the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia. As a response to this lack of documentation and to the dwindling practice of and interest in local folklore, the project seeks

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 70,855 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/04/2022 - 15/07/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2024: English
    Progress report 2023: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening capacities for periodic reporting under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Seychelles Somalia South Sudan Togo Uganda United Republic of Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe

Africa is the fourth region to be undertaking periodic reporting under the revised regional cycle approved by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention Decision 14.COM 8. The present project aims to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of States Parties in the region, in conducting a thorough review of the state of safeguarding policies, programmes, and initiatives in

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 250,000
  • Source:
    Saudi Arabia Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2023 - 01/07/2024

Spring rite of Juraŭski Karahod (international assistance)

Benefitting country(ies): Belarus

Being implemented by the Centre of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, the proposed twenty-four-month project has three main objectives. The first objective is to research the area where Juraǔski Karahod was spread historically and develop an effective strategy for its revitalization, performance and transmission. Second, the visibility of the element is expected to

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 87,761 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/12/2020 - 30/06/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2 (March 2023): English
    Progress report 1 (November 2021): English
    Final report: English

Safeguarding the Oulad Mbarek epic

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritania

Given the ever-decreasing number of bearers, namely the griot, the project aims to collect the repertoire of poems in writing, sound and image to promote access to and facilitate transmission of the tradition. The project, which is being implemented by the International Foundation of the Aïn Farba Festival in close collaboration with local communities, is based on three major axes:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 88,375 granted in 2021
  • Dates of implementation:
    08/08/2022 - 30/06/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2023: French
    Progress report 2022: French
    Final report: French

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in basic education in Namibia and Zimbabwe

Benefitting country(ies): Namibia Zimbabwe

This project will contribute to building coordination mechanisms between the Ministries of Education and Culture in Namibia and Zimbabwe to ensure that a robust methodology for heritage-based education is anchored in national policies and available to enrich teacher training courses and curriculum development for the future. The innovative and transformative methodology of learning with living heritage will be embedded in

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 355,860
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2022 - 01/06/2024

Between the Amazon and the Andes: safeguarding and transmission of the Traditional knowledge and techniques associated with Pasto Varnish mopa-mopa of the Putumayo and Nariño departments of Colombia

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

The project supported initiatives led by the practitioners (harvesters, woodworkers, varnishers) to guarantee the future safeguarding of the element. The project developed four main activities: (a) capacity building training for trainers targeting fifty-five practitioners; (b) a pilot apprenticeship programme in which each practitioner worked alongside an apprentice in a one-to-one learning environment; (c) documentation of the life and work of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,925 granted in 2022
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/08/2022 - 30/04/2024
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (September 2023): English
    Progress report (January 2023): English
    Final report: English

Nomadic Mongolia festival

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

Implemented by the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage, this ten-month initiative aimed to prepare a proposal in view of sharing safeguarding experiences related to the Nomadic Mongolia festival through the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices, in the sense of Article 18 of the Convention. The Nomadic Mongolia festival is a nationwide celebration of intangible cultural heritage, held

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 8,340 granted in 2023
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/09/2023 - 15/04/2024
  • Documents:
    Final report: English

Learning with intangible cultural heritage for a sustainable future in Latin America and the Caribbean

Benefitting country(ies): Chile Ecuador Guatemala Peru

Under the overall coordination of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago (OREALC) and funded by the generous support of The Netherlands, this project focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating pilot projects in Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and Chile to demonstrate how intangible cultural heritage can effectively be integrated in education programs. The implementation

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 111,000
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2021 - 01/12/2023
  • Documents:
    Progress report earmarked contribution The Netherlands (LAC ICH ED): English

The Bandoneon: sound of Tango

Benefitting country(ies): Uruguay

Implemented by the Cienarte Foundation in cooperation with the Interministerial Commission for the Support of Tango and Candombe, this thirty-month project aimed at safeguarding the traditional sound of tango produced by the bandoneon, its emblematic instrument. The bandoneon is an essential part of tango (a binational nomination between Argentina and Uruguay, inscribed on the Representative List of the 2003 Convention in

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,764 granted in 2020
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2020 - 25/10/2023
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2022: English
    Progress report 2021: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening capacities for the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Antigua and Barbuda

Benefitting country(ies): Antigua and Barbuda

This nineteen-month project is aimed at strengthening capacities for the sustainable implementation of the 2003 Convention in Antigua and Barbuda to ensure the inventorying, promotion and safeguarding of living heritage in the country. Being implemented by the Cultural Development Division of the Ministry of Sports, Culture, National Festivals and the Arts with the assistance of the UNESCO Cluster Office for the

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 97,754 granted in 2020
  • Dates of implementation:
    10/03/2022 - 29/09/2023
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Inventory of intangible culture of craftsmanship in the core of Historic Cairo

Benefitting country(ies): Egypt

Implemented by the Egyptian Society for Folk Traditions (ESFT), this project aimed at preparing a community-based inventory of twenty types of crafts produced in the historic areas of Cairo, known as Historic Cairo, a World Heritage property under the 1972 Convention. Previous initiatives provide a useful starting point, particularly for noting the traditional crafts that have already vanished, along with the

News and activities:

Updating of the 2009 inventory of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in Burundi with the participation of the communities

Benefitting country(ies): Burundi

Entrusted mainly to the General Directorate of Culture and Arts, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research through the Burundi National Commission for UNESCO, this project is aimed at updating the 2009 inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Burundi, with the participation of the communities concerned. Stemming from the expressed wishes of the communities concerned, the

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 96,052 granted in 2020
  • Dates of implementation:
    05/05/2021 - 17/07/2023
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 2022: French
    Progress report 2021: French
    Final report: French

'Proud of my Heritage': transmission and safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in Grenada through inventorying and education initiatives

Benefitting country(ies): Grenada

Though the country has a rich array of cultural expressions, they are threatened by several factors. In this context, this project had three key objectives. Firstly, pilot inventorying exercises were conducted in the tri-island of Grenada. During this stage, capacity building workshops on the 2003 Convention, mechanisms to safeguard living heritage, and community-based inventorying methodologies were held with local stakeholders. Secondly

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,862 granted in 2020
  • Dates of implementation:
    21/09/2021 - 01/05/2023
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (June 2022): English
    Final report: English

Supporting the resilience of Ukrainian school children through enhancing awareness of their living heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Ukraine

On 18 March 2022, the Living Heritage Entity organized a first meeting with key living heritage stakeholders from Ukraine and neighboring countries hosting Ukrainian refugees to discuss how best to support the safeguarding of living heritage of Ukraine. The nexus between living heritage and education was identified as a priority area for action. This project seeks to enhance awareness of living heritage

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 68,550
  • Source:
    Heritage Emergency Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2022 - 01/05/2023

Capacity-building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through creation of community-based inventory for Luang Prabang

Benefitting country(ies): Lao People's Democratic Republic

The project, implemented by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Team of the Department of Information, Culture and Tourism in Luang Prabang, aimed at building capacities for safeguarding living heritage through the creation of a community-based inventory for Luang Prabang. In the long term, the project plans to merge intangible cultural heritage mapping with the existing Luang Prabang World Heritage Town Management

Safeguarding and promoting intangible cultural heritage and supporting creativity of young people in the field of the music industry in the eastern region

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

The project consists in highlighting the role of intangible cultural heritage of the eastern region and developing the music sector so that it creates new employment and income generation opportunities for young people, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the country. This will be achieved through the capacity building of the actors concerned by the safeguarding of the intangible

  • Project budget:
    US$ 336,480
  • Source:
    Morocco Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

National Oral Traditions (NOT), additional collection component

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritania

The project is an additional component of the National Oral Traditions (NOT) project, implemented by the Mauritanian Institute for Research and Training in Heritage and Culture (IMRFPC). The project was set up in 2015 to safeguard and enhance the sound corpus of the IMRFPC. Despite the high value of the corpus of oral traditions housed at the IMRFPC, it is not

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 90,562 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    05/10/2020 - 10/12/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French
    Final report: French

Community-based inventorying and transmission of intangible cultural heritage in the island of Tongatapu in Tonga

Benefitting country(ies): Tonga

The project was implemented by the Culture Division of the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with community representatives and associations, focuses on community-based inventorying and the transmission of intangible cultural heritage in the island of Tongatapu in Tonga. Numerous elements of Tongan living heritage are currently under threat, for reasons that include rapid changes in Tongan society due to migration

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 85,913 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    22/03/2019 - 09/11/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (July 2020): English
    Final report: English

Community based Inventory of ICH in Albania with a view to safeguarding and transmitting to future generations

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

Implemented by the Ministry of Culture, the project aimed at carrying out a community-based inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Albania, with a view to drawing up tailored action plans for its safeguarding and transmission to future generations. Though considerable efforts had already been undertaken to safeguard living heritage in Albania, a thorough national inventory of intangible cultural heritage including

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 213,260 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    20/02/2020 - 30/10/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 3 (April 2022): English
    Progress report 2 (October 2021): English
    Progress report 1 (June 2021): English
    Final report: English

Assessing the needs of living heritage safeguarding among displaced communities from Ukraine in five neighboring countries: Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia

Benefitting country(ies): Hungary Poland Republic of Moldova Romania Slovakia Ukraine

In April 2022, UNESCO launched a community-based needs identification for safeguarding living heritage among communities, groups and individuals from Ukraine displaced by the war. Focus was given to five neighbouring countries, which were receiving most refugees in the first weeks and months of the war: Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The project was developed following the recommendations of the first

  • Project budget:
    US$ 57,800
  • Source:
    Heritage Emergency Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2022 - 01/09/2022

Pilot project to create a local ICH management committee and first steps towards a national strategy for decentralized ICH management

Benefitting country(ies): Mozambique

Implemented by the ARPAC Provincial Delegation in Manica, the project was directed at creating a local committee for the management of intangible cultural heritage in the community of Chinhambudzi, Manica Province. Despite positive results achieved in recent years in safeguarding living heritage in Mozambique, resources and a defined institutional structure for managing living heritage are still lacking. To fill this

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 91,430 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    20/02/2020 - 18/08/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (October 2021): French
    Progress report (November 2020): French
    Final report: French

Inventorying oral traditions, expressions, local knowledge and practices of the Korekore of Hurungwe district in Zimbabwe

Benefitting country(ies): Zimbabwe

The project implemented by Chinhoyi University of Technology, aimed at producing a comprehensive inventory of the oral traditions, expressions, local knowledge and practices of the communities of the Hurungwe district in north-western Zimbabwe. Despite the abundance of living heritage in the region, a shortage of resources and skills necessary for the implementation of the 2003 Convention has been noted, and traditional

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 93,243 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    19/07/2018 - 09/07/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Inventory, safeguarding and promoting knowledge of how to manufacture and play Togo’s traditional musical instruments (national phase)

Benefitting country(ies): Togo

Implemented by the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, the project mainly aimed to inventory, safeguard and promote knowledge related to the manufacture and practice of traditional musical instruments in Togo. It built on lessons learned from the first phase of the project, which took place in the Maritime region (south Togo) between January 2016 and February 2017. The last general inventory of

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,890 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    11/03/2019 - 30/06/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French
    Final report: French

Strengthening the capacity of community museums to promote inscribed intangible cultural heritage elements

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

Implemented by the Uganda Community Museums Association, this project was intended to strengthen the capacities of community museums to promote inscribed elements of intangible cultural heritage in Uganda. Although several safeguarding measures have been proposed for these elements, the concept of intangible cultural heritage was still not well-understood, particularly among young people, and the elements were not sufficiently visible at

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 61,471 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    06/05/2020 - 10/06/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Safeguarding ICH in Malawi through non-formal learning and transmission

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi

Implemented by the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO, the twenty-four-month project aimed to help safeguard Malawi’s intangible cultural heritage by increasing the number of experts trained in safeguarding, updating and developing new inventories, and disseminating the information through non-formal education. Previous capacity-building efforts trained a group of teachers and youth practitioners on the implementation of the 2003 Convention and safeguarding measures,

Development of an inventory of intangible cultural heritage for Shiselweni region in Eswatini

Benefitting country(ies): Eswatini

Implemented by the Eswatini National Trust Commission, the project aimed to raise awareness among stakeholders about the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, build capacity among community members to conduct fieldwork, and produce an inventory of intangible cultural heritage elements in the Shiselweni region. Shiselweni, located in the southwest, is the country’s only region that has not established an inventory.

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 64,824 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2019 - 22/04/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report : English
    Final report: English

Identification, definition and inventory of the intangible cultural heritage in the Cuban province of Guantánamo

Benefitting country(ies): Cuba

As part of a long-term national strategy for the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Cuba, the project aimed at identifying, defining and inventorying the intangible cultural heritage present in Guantanamo, the easternmost province of the country. Far from the large urban centres, Guantanamo is one of the least socially and economically developed

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 65,745 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    06/03/2018 - 28/02/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report 3 (February 2022): French
    Progress report 2 (April 2021): French
    Progress report 1 (October 2018): English
    Final report: English

Transmitting and stabilizing the folk long song performance technique of Limbe performers - circular breathing - through the old repertoire to the new generations

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

The 36-month project, implemented by the National Center for Cultural Heritage and carried out in three regions, aimed to stabilize and transmit the folk long performance technique of Limbe performers – circular breathing through the old repertoire. The circular breathing technique is considered as a great achievement among nomadic Mongolians and is inseparable from the traditional folk long song. However, there a

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,946 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    29/01/2019 - 29/01/2022
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Strengthen the capacity for the safeguarding and management of intangible cultural heritage in Zambia

Benefitting country(ies): Zambia

Since 2010, a number of capacity-building, inventory-making and awareness-creating activities have been carried out in the field of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by different stakeholders. Participants appreciated these training workshops and were unanimous in calling for a more advanced, comprehensive version of the training to be introduced. To this end, this project intends to develop and implement a degree programme specializing

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 334,820 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/04/2018 - 31/12/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Enhancing the capacity of communities to safeguard traditional dance expressions as performing arts heritage in western Zimbabwe

Benefitting country(ies): Zimbabwe

The project aims to safeguard the traditional dance practices of six districts of western Zimbabwe and to raise awareness of the 2003 Convention among traditional leaders and members of the community. It arose out of an increasing awareness in Zimbabwe of the value of intangible cultural heritage and its contribution to a sense of cultural identity and social cohesion. Implemented by

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,927 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    19/07/2018 - 31/12/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Supporting natural and cultural sustainability through the revitalization and transmission of the traditional practices of worshipping the sacred sites in Mongolia

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

Implemented by the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage, the proposed thirty-month project aims to revive forgotten worshipping practices of sacred sites in rural areas in Mongolia, with reference to the element inscribed in 2017 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. These practices – performed at sacred sites that are located throughout the c

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,500 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    12/02/2019 - 12/12/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Recovery of living heritage from the COVID-19 pandemic: Ulos weavers and Gorga sculptors in the Toba region in Indonesia

Benefitting country(ies): Indonesia

Through this project and in the context of enhancing rural community livelihood, Ulos weavers and Gorga sculptors practicing in the remote areas of the Toba region (North Sumatra Province) will be trained on digital platforms for public awareness-raising, improve the production techniques around their living heritage for increased income opportunities and work towards establishing a joint COVID-19 recovery plan in

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 20,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through strengthening national capacities in Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritania Morocco Tunisia

The aim of this project is to assist three countries in the Maghreb sub-region in the safeguarding of their intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the Convention. It aims to build a critical mass of experience and knowledge, both in government institutions and in civil society, so that the beneficiary countries will be equipped with a suitable framework

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 705,581
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
    Spain earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2013 - 01/12/2021
  • Documents:
    Progress report (11-2014): French
    Progress report, November 2015: French
    Progress report November 2016: French
    Progress report 2017: French

Safeguarding and valorization of knowledge and know-how linked to craftsmanship in danger of disappearing

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

Le projet permettra de répondre à une forte demande du Secrétariat d’État charge de l’artisanat et de l’économie sociale pour Ia sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel lié à l’artisanat, à travers Ia valorisation et Ia reconnaissance du rôle des détenteurs des savoirs et savoir-faire qui y sont liés. Ce projet vise à Ia mise en place effective d&

  • Project budget:
    US$ 744,845
  • Source:
    Morocco Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2017 - 01/12/2021

Support to the development of a safeguarding and valorization strategy for knowledge and know-how linked to craftsmanship in Morocco

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

Le projet vise à soutenir le Secrétariat d’Etat chargé de l’artisanat et de l’économie sociale dans la préparation d’une stratégie de sauvegarde et de valorisation des savoirs et des savoir-faire liés à l’artisanat du Maroc en tant qu’élément du patrimoine culturel immatériel (PCI) marocain. Pour cela il sera procédé à la mise en œuvre d’activités suivantes de renforcement ces capacités permettant aux acteurs concer

  • Project budget:
    US$ 105,732
  • Source:
    Morocco Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/07/2017 - 01/12/2021

Community-based inventorying of intangible heritage in urban areas

Benefitting country(ies): Georgia Jamaica Jordan Malaysia Peru Zimbabwe

Over the past few years, UNESCO has been leading the initiative to develop new strategies for integrating culture and creativity in urban contexts. Together with its partners, UNESCO supports advocacy, builds and disseminates knowledge and develops the necessary evidence base to promote culture-engaged, people-centered urban development models. The project ‘Intangible heritage and creativity for sustainable cities’ aims to promote the rol

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 566,000
  • Source:
    Yong Xin Hua Yun Cultural Industry Investment Co. Ltd
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2018 - 01/12/2021
  • Documents:
    Intangible cultural heritage in Kingston, Jamaica: English

A systemic approach to advancing SDGs by supporting citizenship and social protection for hard-to-reach populations in Gabon

Benefitting country(ies): Gabon

Within the framework of an agreement between Gabon and the United Nations on the access to citizenship and social protection in Gabon, a joint programme involving six United Nations funds and agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNESCO, UNAIDS, ILO) is being implemented to achieve several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to social protection. A small but significant number of people from

  • Project budget:
    US$ 214,000
  • Source:
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2020 - 01/12/2021

Digitization of the intangible cultural heritage elements of communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Benefitting country(ies): Bosnia and Herzegovina

The proposed project is to support the ongoing initiative to digitize elements of living heritage practiced in Bosnia and Herzegovina, being implemented by the NGOs familiar with the 2003 Convention. Beneficiary communities will be i) sensitized on the importance of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding and they will also receive support for ii) identifying elements of their intangible cultural heritage and iii

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 10,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Supporting local income-generating activities with the Charles Town Maroons of Jamaica

Benefitting country(ies): Jamaica

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many income-generating activities to a standstill, provoking a sudden ​loss of livelihoods for many bearers and practitioners in Jamaica. This 6-month project takes stock of the intertwined relations between traditional craftsmanship and income generation and is geared towards supporting traditional knowledges and practices of the Maroon communities in Charles Town. Training workshops on wicker and b

  • Project budget:
    US$ 5,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Living heritage, youth and COVID-19 in Sint Maarten

Benefitting country(ies): Netherlands (Kingdom of the) Sint Maarten

How can a storyteller tell a story without an audience? How could a carnival be held online? Following the adventures of the epic character ‘Soualigaman’, this project seeks to share with children in Sint Maarten how living heritage and public life are impacted during the pandemic. Via an animation and digital comics, the superhero Soualigaman showcases how the embodiment of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 5,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Living heritage virtual linkup in Barbados

Benefitting country(ies): Barbados

The pandemic brought many activities to a standstill in Barbados. For various communities this has meant a limited embodiment and practice of their intangible cultural heritage. Prior to this emergency, bearers had already called for support in safeguarding their heritage in difficult and changing contexts. Through a series of virtual sessions bringing together various stakeholders, including authorities and communities, this

  • Project budget:
    US$ 5,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

T-ICH4SD: transmedia intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador

Benefitting country(ies): Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Colombia Ecuador

Building on ongoing activities coordinated by the UNESCO Office in Quito, this project provides funds for the creation of an online platform designed to increase the visibility and understanding of living heritage and its relation to the pandemic. The platform will be a space for knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning on the contribution of living heritage to sustainable development, with

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 10,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Living heritage and crisis situations in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Benefitting country(ies): Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Living heritage in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is being exposed to a variety of threats, such as tropical cyclones and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the island was deeply affected by explosive volcano eruptions, resulting in displacements and significant impacts to several sectors of society. This project provides funding to a series of workshops, bringing together indigenous communities in order

  • Project budget:
    US$ 10,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/12/2021

Chapei Dang Veng (international assistance)

Benefitting country(ies): Cambodia

Chapei Dang Veng is a Cambodian musical tradition closely associated with the life, customs and beliefs of the Cambodian people. It features the chapei (a type of lute often played at cultural festivals) accompanied by singing. Song lyrics range from the educational and a type of social commentary, to satire while incorporating traditional poems, folk tales or Buddhist stories. The

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 238,970 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/11/2017 - 02/11/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report (November 2020): English
    Progress report (March 2020): English
    Final report: English

Strengthening the contribution of living heritage in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its integration into national initiatives for disaster risk reduction in The Gambia

Benefitting country(ies): Gambia

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for The Gambia to improve the integration of intangible cultural heritage into national initiatives for emergency recovery, preparedness and disaster risk reduction (DRR). To this end, the National Centre for Culture and Arts, in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and the National Disaster Management Agency, as well as UNESCO’s

  • Project budget:
    US$ 15,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2021 - 01/11/2021

Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran - International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Afghanistan Iran (Islamic Republic of) Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

UNESCO and the European Union in joint collaboration launched the project “Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage” in October 2018. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the contribution of culture to sustainable development, notably through heritage-based tourism development, diversifying tourism products, safeguarding and promoting intangible cultu

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 3,400,000
  • Source:
    European Union
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2018 - 01/09/2021

Programme in support of the education system for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage (PASS-TPCI)

Benefitting country(ies): Haiti

Implemented by the non-governmental organization Réf-Culture, the proposed eighteen-month project is aimed at safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Haiti through its formal transmission to young generations. The project was conceived to respond to the current education system in the country whose reform was initiated over thirty years ago, partly to promote national identity and culture. The Ministry of National Education

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,970 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    18/08/2018 - 16/08/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress Report: French
    Final report: French

Strengthening the capacities of NGOs active in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Mauritania

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritania

The twelve-month project was implemented by the Conservation Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel, aiming to strengthen the capacities of NGOs active in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Mauritania. There are around fifty NGOs across Mauritania working on various activities related to living heritage, comprising a large part of the bearers responsible for safeguarding, disseminating and promoting living heritage. A

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 94,300 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    12/07/2019 - 30/07/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French
    Final report: French

Strengthening capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Lebanon

Benefitting country(ies): Lebanon

Within the framework of this project, UNESCO will provide advisory and training services to build capacities for the implementation of the 2003 Convention at the national level in Lebanon. The activities will benefit the range of different stakeholders involved in safeguarding ICH (government officials, associations, academics, researchers, communities, groups and individuals). The project will build on the activities that have already

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 260,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    25/07/2018 - 24/07/2021

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Egypt for sustainable development

Benefitting country(ies): Egypt

This project is the result a of needs assessment in the field of intangible cultural heritage that was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Funded also by ADTCA, this project intends to support Egypt in its efforts to safeguard its living heritage, in accordance with the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 367,435
  • Source:
    Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2017 - 30/06/2021

2018 - European Year of Cultural Heritage: Engaging youth for an inclusive and sustainable Europe

Benefitting country(ies): Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands (Kingdom of the) Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

UNESCO and the European Union have teamed up for a new project to strengthen the connections between young people, cultural heritage and education. The project proposes an innovative approach to education by inviting teachers and learners to explore their living heritage and learn not only about it, but also with and through it. Moreover, the UNESCO-EU initiative will bring together

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 349,650
  • Source:
    European Union
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2019 - 30/06/2021

Safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of Niger in a situation of urgency and for the resilience of displaced populations - pilot project in Tillabéry and Diffa

Benefitting country(ies): Niger

Since 2012, Niger has seen the rise of religious fundamentalism in the region, and particularly of Boko Haram. This crisis is combined with increasing poverty and internal ethnic tensions, exacerbated by mass displacements of populations within the country, particularly in the border provinces. In this context, this project aims to raise awareness among the communities, decision-makers, persons in charge and national

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 257,829 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    26/06/2018 - 30/06/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Strengthening inventory preparation capacity for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Benefitting country(ies): Saint Kitts and Nevis

The proposed twenty-four-month project, was jointly implemented by the Saint Kitts Department of Culture and the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean. The project aimed at strengthening national inventorying capacities with a view to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Due to the combined situation of knowledge bearers growing old and, in some cases, passing away

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,443 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    07/05/2019 - 01/04/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Capacity building in community-based inventorying

Benefitting country(ies): Djibouti

Implemented by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Culture and Charitable Assets of the Republic of Djibouti’s Department of Culture, this nine-month project aimed at strengthening national capacities for inventorying elements of intangible cultural heritage with a view to safeguarding them. The proposed project also aimed to train more than sixty participants through capacity-building workshops that will focus on community-based inventorying a

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 82,080 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/09/2019 - 31/03/2021
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Rapport narratif final: French

Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in the countries of Southern African sub-region

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa Zambia

UNESCO ROSA made significant strides to strengthen national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage over the past years. This activity seeks to strengthen sub-regional cooperation and national capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention. It will pay due attention to the adequacy of institutional environments, abilities to set up or revise legislative and policy frameworks and

  • Project budget:
    US$ 59,571
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
    UNESCO - Regular budget
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

Strengthening capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Eastern Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Seychelles Somalia South Sudan Uganda

This activity aims to strengthen national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Eastern Africa by supporting States Parties with capacity building for carrying-out community based inventories of ICH. It will also aim to secure ratification by Somalia, the last Member State in the region left to ratify the 2003 Convention. For countries developing culture policies, efforts will be made to

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 59,571
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Sudan

Benefitting country(ies): Sudan

This project is the result a of needs assessment in the field of intangible cultural heritage that was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Funded also by ADTCA, the project aims at supporting Sudan in its efforts to safeguard its living heritage, in accordance with the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 337,338
  • Source:
    Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2017 - 31/12/2020

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding Palestinian intangible cultural heritage

Benefitting country(ies): State of Palestine

This project is the result a of needs assessment in the field of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) that was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Funded also by ADTCA, this project is designed to support Palestine in its efforts to safeguard its living heritage, in accordance with the 2003 Convention for

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 273,049
  • Source:
    Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2017 - 31/12/2020

Promoting intangible cultural heritage education in institutions of higher learning in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

In line with Uganda’s National Cultural Policy, which underscores the importance of intangible cultural heritage, the three-year project aimed at raising awareness of a core group of twenty management and academic staff from four universities in Gulu, Kampala, Nkozi and Fort Portal, on the relevance of intangible cultural heritage in Uganda’s current development context. For the moment, there are only iso

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 97,582 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    26/06/2017 - 31/12/2020
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening national capacities in the field of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding in Senegal

Benefitting country(ies): Senegal

The eighteen-month project was jointly implemented by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO Dakar Office. It aimed at strengthening national capacities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Senegal by building on technical capacities and implementing concrete safeguarding measures. The project responded to the issues identified in a needs assessment exercise conducted

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,889 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    25/07/2018 - 31/12/2020
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: French
    Catalogue: French

Safeguarding of practices and rare rituals related to sacred sites in Kyrgyzstan: preparation of an inventory and safeguarding measures

Benefitting country(ies): Kyrgyzstan

Implemented by the Aigine Cultural Research Centre (CRC), the proposed project aimed at compiling a unified national inventory of sacred sites and rare ritual practices in Kyrgyzstan, as well as developing effective related safeguarding measures in the form of a national manual on safeguarding sacred sites and rare ritual practices. Such practices form an integral part of people’s traditional belief s

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,950 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    19/11/2018 - 18/11/2020
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    2nd Progress Report: English
    1st Progress Report: English
    Final Report: English

My Heritage, My Region: strategy for capacity-building in social management of the intangible cultural heritage in two departments of the Colombian Orinoco region

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

The proposed fourteen-month project, was implemented by the Fundación Circulo de Profesionales del Arpa y su Música. The project aimed at building capacities of communities and relevant stakeholders in the management of intangible cultural heritage in the departments of Arauca and Casanare, in the Orinoco region of Colombia. The overall objective was to ensure that the different social and institutional a

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 99,950 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    25/03/2019 - 08/06/2020
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Intangible cultural heritage as a basis for resilience, reconciliation and construction of peace environments in Colombia's post-agreements

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

The project was Implemented by the Fundación Universidad del Norte. This fourteen-month project aimed to utilize intangible cultural heritage as a basis for resilience, reconciliation and reintegration in Colombia’s Guajira Department, Conejo village, home to the Pondores ETCR – a temporary shelter for ex-combatants and their families during their transition to civilian life. The project responded to the third point of the

News and activities:

Tais, traditional textile

Benefitting country(ies): Timor-Leste

Tais is a form of traditional weaving produced at home or in small groups by women in Timor-Leste, which has been transmitted from generation to generation through oral tradition. The styles and colours vary from one municipality to the other. The cloths are traditionally made of cotton with natural dyes. It used to be very important and valuable in the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 10,000 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2019 - 31/03/2020
  • Documents:
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Cultural practices and expressions linked to the ‘M’Bolon’, a traditional musical percussion instrument

Benefitting country(ies): Mali

The M’bolon is a traditional percussion musical instrument that is mainly found in the administrative regions of Sikasso (Kolondieba and Koutiala Circles) and Koulikoro in the Mandinka cultural area in Mali. It consists of a calabash covered with calf skin, with a wooden handle on which are attached skin strings. The M’bolon was traditionally played to encourage farmers

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,900 granted in 2019
  • Dates of implementation:
    21/10/2019 - 31/03/2020
  • Documents:
    Final report: French

Safeguarding of Enkipaata, Eunoto and Olng'esherr, three male rites of passage of the Maasai community

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

The three male rites of the Maasai community represent stages in the preparation of boys for adulthood – a process called moranism that involves the transmission of indigenous knowledge, including Maasai rituals, legends, traditions and life skills. Enkipaata is the name for the induction ceremony, Eunoto heralds the shaving of initiates before their seclusion in the bush for training, and Olng’esherr i

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 144,430 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/02/2017 - 12/02/2020

Community-self documentation and revitalization of ceremonies and practices associated with Empaako naming system in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

Inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List in December 2013, Empaako is a traditional naming system whereby, in addition to their family and given names, a child is given an Empaako from a list of twelve shared by the entire community. The practice is associated with rituals and ceremonies whose meaning is central to the identity and belief systems of the communities

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 232,120 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    23/02/2018 - 10/02/2020
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Strengthening capacities in the Comoros for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development

Benefitting country(ies): Comoros

This project is the result a of needs assessment in the field of intangible cultural heritage that was made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). Also funded by ADTCA, this project is designed to support the Union of the Comoros in its efforts to safeguard its living heritage, in accordance with

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 249,435
  • Source:
    Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2017 - 01/12/2019

Needs assessment for reinforcing Ukraine's national capacities in strategy development for ICH safeguarding

Benefitting country(ies): Ukraine

Implemented by the Ukrainian Center for Cultural Studies, the proposed project aims to carry out a needs assessment to reinforce Ukraine’s national capacities in strategy development for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. This request reflects the current situation in Ukraine: while there is an extremely rich, diverse array of living heritage across the country, such practices face threats of d

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 28,500 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    29/05/2019 - 29/09/2019
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French

Revitalization of the female chants of Taroudant

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

This project aimed to safeguard the female chants of Taroudant in the medina of Taroudant, a city situated in the south-west of the High Atlas mountains in Morocco. Practised by women’s music troupes during social events, chants not only enliven gatherings of women but, more broadly, convey values that all communities in the region of the western High Atlas

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 70,440 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/09/2017 - 13/09/2019
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: French
    Final report: French
    Materials developed: French

Protecting Cultural Heritage and Diversity in Complex Emergencies for Stabilization and Peace

Benefitting country(ies): Iraq

Funded by the European Union, this project aims to implement a number of urgently needed actions in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, which will allow for the stabilization and urgent safeguarding of the cultural heritage of these countries and their population. The component related to intangible cultural heritage concerns only Iraq. The ongoing crisis in Iraq has triggered massive internal

  • Project budget:
    US$ 204,899
  • Source:
    European Union
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2017 - 01/09/2019

Strengthening National Capacities for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh

Benefitting country(ies): Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a rich tradition in cultural heritage, specifically intangible cultural heritage. However, the more recent history and developments have affected and increasingly threatened the viability of these practices and traditions. Aware of these threats Bangladesh is actively implementing the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which it ratified in 2009, demonstrating its commitment to establish mechanisms

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,000
  • Source:
    Azerbaijan earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2016 - 01/08/2019
  • Documents:
    Final report 2016-2019: English
    Progress report 2017: English
    Progress report 2018: English
    Project Brochure: English
    Key achievements: English

Strengthening the capacities of the DPR of Korea for community-based inventorying of ICH and for elaborating nomination files under the mechanisms of the 2003 Convention

Benefitting country(ies): Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The twelve-month project was implemented by the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, aiming to strengthen the capacities of national stakeholders to inventory intangible cultural heritage and prepare nomination files under the mechanisms of the 2003 Convention. While there is a growing interest in safeguarding living heritage in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the communities concerned have e

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 98,000 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/07/2018 - 02/07/2019
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Phase III)

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Namibia Zambia Zimbabwe

The project is designed as the third and final stage in the efforts to strengthen sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in Southern African countries in their implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The main objective is to effectively support the continuity of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding processes in the seven countries, notably Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi

  • Project budget:
    US$ 117,467
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2018 - 01/06/2019

Thailand’s efforts in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through strengthening local communities' capacities

Benefitting country(ies): Thailand

In June 2016, Thailand ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. To strengthen capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage at the national and local level, Thailand’s Department of Cultural Promotion under the Ministry of Culture, the International Training Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) and UNESCO Bangkok field office undertook t

  • Project budget:
    US$ 111,000
  • Source:
    CRIHAP contribution (US$ 61,000)
    National resources of Thailand (US$ 50,000 in cash and in kind)
  • Dates of implementation:
    05/02/2018 - 30/04/2019

Aixan (gâna/ōb ǂans tsî//khasigu), ancestral musical sound knowledge and skills

Benefitting country(ies): Namibia

Aixan /gâna/ōb ǂans tsî //khasigu ancestral music is performed by the Nama and Damara communities, who mainly reside in Hardap, Karas, Erongo, Kunene and Otjozondjupa, situated in the northern and southern regions of Namibia. The music is practised as a means of entertainment at social events, such as during the dance to welcome the rainy season and wedding ceremonies, an

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 10,000 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/12/2018 - 22/04/2019
  • Documents:
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

National Folk Festival of Gjirokastra (NFFoGj), 50 years of best practice in safeguarding Albanian intangible heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

Held every five years, the festival has become the most important and largest event celebrating intangible cultural heritage in Albania since 1968. It brings together a large number of bearers, communities, performers, folk associations and cultural centres from the country and beyond, as well as scholars working in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Albania. The festival is organized by

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,800 granted in 2018
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/11/2018 - 20/04/2019
  • Documents:
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in eight countries in Africa and the Arab Region: assessing needs and developing project proposals

Benefitting country(ies): Comoros Djibouti Egypt Madagascar South Sudan State of Palestine Sudan Yemen

The aim of this project funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA) is to lay a solid foundation to support eight countries in Africa and the Arab region (Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Madagascar, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen) in their efforts to safeguard their living heritage, in accordance with the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 259,419
  • Source:
    Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2014 - 01/03/2019

Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in the countries of Southern African sub-region

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa Zambia

UNESCO ROSA made significant strides to strengthen national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage over the past years. This activity seeks to strengthen sub-regional cooperation and national capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention. It will pay due attention to the adequacy of institutional environments, abilities to set up or revise legislative and policy frameworks and

  • Project budget:
    US$ 51,114
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

Strengthening capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Eastern Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Djibouti Somalia South Sudan

This activity aims to strengthen national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Eastern Africa by supporting States Parties with capacity building for carrying-out community based inventories of ICH. It will also aim to secure ratification by Somalia, the last Member State in the region left to ratify the 2003 Convention. For countries developing culture policies, efforts will be made to

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 51,114
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

Strengthening the capacities of Suriname and Dutch Caribbean islands for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten Suriname

The aim of this project was to strengthen the national capacities of Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean Islands to effectively safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The project involved a national consultation on the status of ICH carried out in Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Marteen and Suriname, as well as training workshops on the implementation of the 2003 Convention, community-based

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 635,980
  • Source:
    Netherlands earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2014 - 31/12/2018
  • Documents:
    Final report phase III (12-2018): English
    Progress report (11-2014): English
    Progress report (11-2015): English
    Progress report phase I (08-2016): English
    Progress report phase II (10-2017): English
    Video presentation of the project: English

Documentation and inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the Republic of the Sudan (a pilot project in Kordufan and Blue Nile regions)

Benefitting country(ies): Sudan

The project aims to conduct a pilot inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of Kordofan and Blue Nile states through documentation and inventorying, and thereby to contribute to a larger inventory in Sudan. At present, no such inventory exists, although there are numerous studies, collections and bibliographies, as well as thousands of photos and audio-visual recordings. This project proposes to

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 174,480 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/06/2016 - 31/12/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English

Inventory of the intangible cultural heritage present in Côte d'Ivoire in view of its urgent safeguarding

Benefitting country(ies): Côte d'Ivoire

The political and military crisis that the country experienced between 2002 and 2011 halted the active efforts engaged by Côte d’Ivoire since many years in the identification of elements of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory and affected it negatively, notably by the interruption of certain practices violently suppressed or the denaturation of certain elements emptying them of their value an

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 299,972 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    09/12/2015 - 08/12/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report phase 1: French
    Progress report: French
    Final report: French

Strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Guatemala

Benefitting country(ies): Guatemala

The project aims, on the one hand, to encourage a better understanding on the part of beneficiary communities of what intangible cultural heritage (ICH) means and strengthen the capacities of these communities to elaborate inventories. On the other hand, it also aims to strengthen the capacities of municipalities that formulate local policies aimed at safeguarding ICH. In order to achieve

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,000
  • Source:
    Azerbaijan earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2015 - 01/12/2018
  • Documents:
    Progress report (10-2017): Spanish
    Final report (10-2018): English

Strengthening capacity in Seychelles for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development

Benefitting country(ies): Seychelles

The project was implemented from 2017 to 2018 by the National Heritage Funds, with the objective to strengthen the institutional and human capacities to safeguard the country’s intangible cultural heritage. Through the implemented activities, the project helped reinforce legal frameworks for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, in particular through its inclusion in the National Heritage Bill. It also raised significant awareness a

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 90,000 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/02/2017 - 30/10/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Promotion of earthen ware pottery-making skills in Kgatleng district

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana

Earthenware pottery-making skills were inscribed in 2012 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Practised among the Bakgatla ba Kgafela community in south-eastern Botswana and transmitted to daughters and granddaughters through observation and practice, earthenware pottery-making is at risk of extinction. The main factors for its decline are the decreasing number of master potters, lack of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 68,261 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/02/2017 - 30/06/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English
    Budget and timetable: English
    mid-term report: English
    Final report: English

Titajtakezakan. Speaking across time, oral tradition and use of information and communication technologies

Benefitting country(ies): El Salvador

The project aims to revitalize the intangible cultural heritage present in the municipality of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in the west of El Salvador, by making use of information and communication technologies. Emphasis will be placed on oral traditions encompassed within mythology, tales and legends of Náhuat speakers. The small number and advanced age of Náhuat speakers seriously threaten the co

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,995 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    07/02/2017 - 31/05/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English
    Evaluation of the project: English
    Inventario de la tradictión oral de Santo Domingo de Guzmán: Spanish

Inventory and promotion of intangible cultural heritage in Burkina Faso

Benefitting country(ies): Burkina Faso

This major project enabled Burkina Faso to inventory around 1,300 living traditions practised by 60 ethno-cultural communities located in the thirteen regions of the country. The project was implemented in two major phases: a pilot phase that involved two regions with six ethno-cultural communities and a second generalization phase that involved all regions and national communities. Its principle objectives were to develop

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 262,080 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    31/03/2013 - 31/03/2018

Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Syrian Arab Republic

Funded by the European Union, this project aims to provide an operational response to halt the on-going loss of cultural heritage and prepare post-conflict priority actions in Syria. The main objectives of the Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage project is to contribute to restoring social cohesion, stability and sustainable development through the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage

  • Project budget:
    US$ 140,700
  • Source:
    European Union
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2014 - 01/03/2018

Safeguarding of the traditional knowledge for the protection of sacred natural sites in the territory of the Jaguars of Yuruparí, Vaupés Province, Colombia

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

The project is aimed at safeguarding the knowledge associated with the stewardship of sacred sites of the jaguar shamans of Yuruparí settled in the Pirá Paraná River, in south-eastern Colombia. Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011, their traditional knowledge is an organic system that seeks to maintain the balance between humans and nature. A

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 25,000 granted in 2017
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2017 - 28/02/2018
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Needs assessment in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Benefitting country(ies): Bosnia and Herzegovina

The needs assessment aims to explore the legislative and policy documents in the sphere of ICH in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to analyze the institutional and administrative framework for the implementation of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention, and to study the situation of awareness-raising activities, inventorying procedures, and educational and training programs on ICH issues in the country. It also aims at outlining the m

  • Project budget:
    US$ 9,000
  • Source:
    -
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/05/2026 - 30/05/2026

Safeguarding of Nkhonde, Tumbuka and Chewa proverbs and folktales

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi

The proverbs and folktales of the Nkhonde, Tumbuka and Chewa people of Karonga, Rumphi and Lilongwe Districts embody the knowledge, wisdom and culture in Malawi and function as vehicles for the promotion of their cultural values. However, transmission of this heritage is gradually weakening. Only a few members of these communities now transmit proverbs and folktales to their children and

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 90,533 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/06/2016 - 16/06/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Promotion of traditional pottery making practices in Eastern Kenya

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

The proposed project, which is designed in line with the 2006 National Heritage Act of Kenya, aims to safeguard and revitalize traditional pottery making practices of the Mbeere, Tharaka and Tigania communities in Eastern Kenya. Transmitted by females within families, the technique involves creating clay pots of various sizes and shapes depending on the function and style of the community concerned

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 23,388 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    14/09/2016 - 11/12/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Inventorying of proverbs of Lala community of Luano District of Zambia

Benefitting country(ies): Zambia

Lala people live along the eastern portions of the Luangwa River in Luano District in the central province of Zambia. Among their various cultural practices that include social gatherings, festivals, celebrations and life cycle rituals, proverbs in particular hold a central place in the transmission of community values to the younger generation. Reflecting people’s living heritage and wisdom, Lala proverbs a

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 25,000 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    22/09/2016 - 29/09/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening the capacities of Eritrea for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Eritrea

This project aims at enhancing the national capacity of Eritrea to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It intends to build a critical level of experience and knowledge, both in government institutions, civil society and in selected communities, so that the country is equipped with an

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 247,634
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    21/03/2014 - 31/12/2017
  • Documents:
    Final report: English
    Progress report (11-2014): English
    Progress report (12-2015): English
    Progress report (11-2017)

    : English

Climate change and preservation and valorization of intangible cultural heritage linked to craftsmanship

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

Le projet a été développée par le Bureau de l’UNESCO à Rabat et le Ministère chargé de l’artisanat dans le cadre du suivi de la COP 22. Ce projet a consisté en la réalisation d’une étude sur l’impact des changements climatiques sur le patrimoine culturel immatériel lié à l’artisanat, puis la présentation des résultats de cette étude à la COP

  • Project budget:
    US$ 103,623
  • Source:
    Morocco Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    24/05/2016 - 31/12/2017

Community-based needs identification for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Nord-Kivu

Benefitting country(ies): Democratic Republic of the Congo

The proposed activity aims to carry out a needs identification at national and local level with the participation of communities in view of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in the region of North Kivu, a long-standing conflict zone of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the framework of the 2003 Convention, this needs identification will allow drawing up a

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 31,423
  • Source:
    Heritage Emergency Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/07/2017 - 30/12/2017
  • Documents:
    Rapport final: French
    Preliminary desk study: French

Inventory and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage of the Pygmy populations of Gabon

Benefitting country(ies): Gabon

Having benefited from capacity building activities, Gabon has recognized the need for a safeguarding action towards the intangible cultural heritage of Pygmy populations, for which surveys conducted with these populations highlighted the endangered elements constituent to their identity. The project led to the development of an inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of the Pygmy populations Babongo, Baka and Bakoya

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,560 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2015 - 01/12/2017

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Asia and the Pacific

Benefitting country(ies): Fiji Lao People's Democratic Republic Mongolia Samoa Sri Lanka

With the successful completion of Phase I, thanks to the continued generous contribution of the Government of Japan, it was possible to implement the second phase of the regional programme for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through the strengthening of national capacities from April 2015 to October 2017. The principal aims of the second phase were the following: Reinforce the human and institutional

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 899,835
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2015 - 31/10/2017
  • Documents:
    Building National Capacities to Safeguard Asia-Pacific Intangible Cultural Heritage (2011-2017) - Project Completion Report: English

Safeguarding and promotion of Bigwala, gourd trumpet music and dance of Busoga Kingdom in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

The project merged with ongoing safeguarding initiatives of the Busoga communities of Eastern Uganda to revitalize and strengthen Bigwala music and dance traditions, which play a key role in maintaining Busoga collective memory, cultural values and social unity. Involving the performance of five or more gourd trumpet players, each producing a single tone blown in hocket to produce a melody

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,990 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2015 - 31/08/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Part II

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Namibia Zambia Zimbabwe

The project aims at reinforcing the sub-regional cooperation platform, which was created to support seven countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in southern Africa in their efforts to safeguard the living heritage present in their territories. Consolidating the results of previous Flanders funded projects since 2009, this platform will be driven by the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Committees

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 250,000
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2016 - 31/07/2017

Support to the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nigeria

Benefitting country(ies): Nigeria

A needs assessment carried out in 2011 showed that the national capacities of Nigeria are not yet adapted to meet the requirements of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The aim of the project is to lay a solid foundation to support Nigeria in its efforts to safeguard the living heritage present in the country. Thanks to

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 300,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2014 - 01/07/2017
  • Documents:
    Project brochure: English

Inventorying of the music and dance of the Lozi and Nkoya people of Kaoma District

Benefitting country(ies): Zambia

Concerned about growing threats to the viability of traditional music and dance practices among the Lozi and Nkoya communities of the Western Province of Zambia, the project sought to familiarize the communities with the objectives and mechanisms of the 2003 Convention, and more specifically, with community-based inventorying through a field practicum. A parallel motivation for the project was to bring the

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,928 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/08/2016 - 30/06/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Progress report: English
    Final report: English

Strengthening capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Ecuador

Benefitting country(ies): Ecuador

Ecuador ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Culture Heritage in 2008. Despite important efforts mobilized by the State Party for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and an institutional environment conducive to the integration of culture in public policies, as in most countries, the viability of intangible cultural heritage present in Ecuador also faces serious threats of social

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 250,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/02/2015 - 01/06/2017
  • Documents:
    Final report: Spanish
    Video - Traditional weaving of the Ecuadorian toquilla straw hat: Spanish
    Video - Capacity-building workshops: Spanish

Inventorying of intangible cultural heritage elements in Thaba-Bosiu in Lesotho

Benefitting country(ies): Lesotho

Implemented by the Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO in cooperation with the Department of Culture, the project aimed to contribute to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Lesotho and to sensitize relevant stakeholders thereon. The project is an outcome of similar activities conducted in other districts, with the support of UNESCO and the World Bank, which motivated the community elders of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,998 granted in 2016
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/08/2016 - 28/02/2017
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Inventory, safeguarding and promoting knowledge of how to manufacture and play Togo's traditional musical instruments (Pilot phase in the Maritime region, south Togo)

Benefitting country(ies): Togo

The last general inventory of the intangible cultural heritage, drawn up in 2011 in Togo, revealed some important principles and skills that had not yet been adequately documented; more intensive efforts to introduce and implement safeguarding measures were therefore required. A major gap in the inventory included the skills needed to manufacture and play traditional musical instruments and for their accompanying

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,950 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    09/12/2015 - 09/12/2016

Safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage through strengthening national capacities in Niger

Benefitting country(ies): Niger

Conducted in close cooperation with the Directorate for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Communication, New Information Technologies and Culture, the project aimed to support Niger in the process, already underway, of taking ownership of the concepts and tools provided by the Convention in order to create an institutional and social environment favorable to the efficient and sustainable

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 167,336
  • Source:
    Spain earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2013 - 01/12/2016
  • Documents:
    Final Report (03-2016) - only in French: French
    Progress report (04-2014): English
    Progress report (01-2015): English
    Progress Report (05-2015): English
    Community-based inventories: Boubon, Agadez and Habbanae practice: French

Needs assessment in Republic of Moldova

Benefitting country(ies): Republic of Moldova

The needs assessment was implemented and funded by the Regional Bureau of UNESCO in Venice and was performed in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova. The study aimed to assess the legal and institutional frameworks for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in the Republic of Moldova; to outline the needs in terms of professional

  • Project budget:
    US$ 9,000
  • Source:
    -
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2016 - 01/12/2016

Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage of Displaced Syrians

Benefitting country(ies): Syrian Arab Republic

The activity consisted of a small-scale survey on intangible cultural heritage of displaced Syrians conducted on an experimental basis. The objective was aimed at gaining a better understanding of the changing role and function of the intangible cultural heritage of displaced Syrians, its potential for resilience and the ways in which communities try to transmit their intangible cultural heritage to

  • Project budget:
    US$ 15,800
  • Source:
    Heritage Emergency Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    03/08/2016 - 30/11/2016
  • Documents:
    Survey report on Intangible Cultural Heritage of Displaced Syrians: English

Inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Mali with a view to its urgent safeguarding

Benefitting country(ies): Mali

Since January 2012, Malian cultural heritage has suffered tremendous damage following the occupation of northern and east-central regions by armed groups and extremists. Cultural practices ranging from rituals, traditional music and festive events to craftsmanship were curtailed by the prohibitions imposed by the occupants. People had fear of being stigmatized or targeted of retributive attacks. The damage to intangible cultural heritage

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 307,307 granted in 2013
  • Dates of implementation:
    06/12/2013 - 02/11/2016
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Final report: French

Safeguarding and revitalizing the Mongolian traditional epic

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

The aim of the project is to revitalize, safeguard and transmit the Mongolian traditional epic through a series of activities that range from a field survey on the current state of Mongolian epic, its repertoire and associated customs, to the identification and documentation of epic performers and the creation of a related database; from an apprenticeship training aiming at the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 107,000 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    30/06/2013 - 30/06/2016

Safeguarding the oral traditions and expressions of the Dzao people of Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces of Viet Nam

Benefitting country(ies): Viet Nam

The Dzao in Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces live mainly near the northern border with China. With only one or two villagers in each village who can still sing folk songs and speak the traditional language, the oral traditions and expressions of the Dzao people are severely endangered. Folk songs, tales, lullabies, proverbs and riddles are also disappearing due

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,350 granted in 2014
  • Dates of implementation:
    08/07/2015 - 30/06/2016

Documenting and inventorying intangible cultural heritage of the pastoralist Samburu community in northern Kenya: a focus on the region of Mount Kulal biosphere reserve

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

The proposed project, which is designed in line with the 2006 National Heritage Act of Kenya, aims to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of the semi-nomadic pastoralist Samburu community living within the Mount Kulal Biosphere Reserve (designated in 1979 through UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere programme) in northern Kenya. Due to external political, economic and cultural influences as well as environmental degradation, the v

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,038 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    04/12/2015 - 31/05/2016
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Strengthening national capacities for effective intangible cultural heritage safeguarding in selected PALOP countries

Benefitting country(ies): Angola Cabo Verde Guinea-Bissau Mozambique Sao Tome and Principe

The project aims to built national capacity in these Portuguese speaking countries to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage. The project pays particular attention at building a critical level of experience and knowledge, both in government institutions, civil society and in selected communities. Another aim of the project is to prepare a regional cooperation mechanism amongst Lusophone countries in Africa in

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 1,058,905
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2012 - 01/05/2016
  • Documents:
    Final Project Report: English
    Progress report (11-2014): English
    Progress report (12-2015): English
    This Culture that leads you to know how to be - part 1: English|French|Portuguese
    This Culture that leads you to know how to be - part 2: English|French|Portuguese
    This Culture that leads you to know how to be - part 3: English|French|Portuguese

Taskiwine, Amazigh dance and songs of the western High Atlas

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

The Taskiwin songs and dances are performed by the Touramat and Tigouliane rural communities of the province of Taroudant in the north and south slopes of the Western High Atlas. The Targa-Aide association will be responsible for elaborating the nomination file in close collaboration with the communities, groups and individuals concerned, elected councillors, the Directorate of Cultural Heritage and researchers

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 14,100 granted in 2014
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/12/2014 - 30/04/2016
  • Documents:
    reformatted by Secretariat: English|French
    Final report: French

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central Asia

Benefitting country(ies): Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan

Implemented between 2012 and 2016, this project has aimed at enhancing safeguarding capacities of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan through effective implementation of the Convention, thereby contributing to sustainable development. It has promoted better visibility of intangible cultural heritage, awareness of its significance and its function in societies. By promoting mutual respect for the heritage of others, this project has contributed to

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 395,362
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2012 - 01/01/2016
  • Documents:
    Final report (01-2016): English

Improving the capacities of intangible cultural heritage related NGOs in Mongolia

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

The Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage spearheads the work of non-governmental organizations and civil society in the field of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Mongolia. While non-governmental organizations play an increasing role in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and disseminating information about it in Mongolia, their capacities are still weak and a number of their managers and

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,900 granted in 2014
  • Dates of implementation:
    17/04/2015 - 31/12/2015

Safeguarding indigenous vernacular architecture and building knowledge in Vanuatu

Benefitting country(ies): Vanuatu

This project seeks to document the pre- and post- cyclone condition of 6 significant traditional nakamals, the traditional meeting places in Vanuatu. These structures have recently been damaged by Cyclone Pam, a category 5 system that crossed the region on the 13 March 2015. The documentation will include both the tangible and intangible aspects of each nakamal, which will be represented through a written

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 23,908 granted in 2015
  • Dates of implementation:
    10/08/2015 - 15/12/2015
  • Documents:
    Request form ICH-04: English|French
    Budget and timetable: English|French
    Final report: English

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage of Kallawaya communities

Benefitting country(ies): Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

The safeguarding action plan seeks, through intergenerational transmission, to ensure the preservation and transmission of the knowledge and wisdom of the Kallawaya culture, whose activity is bound to the ancestral healing medicine of the culture of the Andes. The main objectives of the safeguarding project are to: promote the preservation and safeguarding of Kallawaya culture at local, regional and national

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 150,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/02/2014 - 01/12/2015

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago through strengthening their capacities for implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Belize Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago

The 3.5 year project saw the implementation of an integrated strategy with a series of workshops and activities aimed at reinforcing the capacity of Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage. To this end, it included: (i) policy advice, (ii) workshops on the implementation of the Convention, (iii) workshops on community-based inventorying and (iv) pilot inventorying

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 300,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2012 - 01/12/2015
  • Documents:
    Project brochure: English

Safeguarding and promotion of indigenous knowledge associated with the ecological environment of the Black Ha Nhi in Lao Cai Province, Viet Nam

Benefitting country(ies): Viet Nam

The Black Ha Nhi people have developed and passed on place-based knowledge and a body of customary laws to cope with living conditions and survival experiences as well as to protect their natural environment. Ecological indigenous knowledge of the Black Ha Nhi includes behavioural practices in taking care of trees, preventing fire and soil erosion and protecting the topographical setting

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,631 granted in 2013
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/11/2013 - 15/09/2015

Documentation, promotion and dissemination of the Candombe traditional drum calls, expressions of identity of the Sur, Palermo, and Cordón neighbourhoods in the city of Montevideo

Benefitting country(ies): Uruguay

With the objective of strengthening the practice of Candombe not only in Montevideo but also in other provinces of Uruguay by promoting its transmission to younger generations and reinforcing the safeguarding capacities of local associations of practitioners, the project started in September 2013. This late start is due to a one-year process of project development aiming to ensure greater sustainability of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 186,875 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    02/09/2013 - 31/08/2015

Strengthening the capacities of Myanmar for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Myanmar

This project aims to build up the national capacity of Myanmar, both in government institutions and in civil society, so that Myanmar will have a sustainable framework for implementing the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) on a long term basis. To that end, the project implements an integrated capacity-building strategy, including a series of well-prepared workshops

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 240,000
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2013 - 01/05/2015
  • Documents:
    Final report (12-2015): English
    Progress report (11-2014): English

Inventorying the intangible cultural heritage of four communities in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

In July 2013, Uganda launched a multi-year project to enable four local communities to identify their living heritage, as an essential step for its safeguarding. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development will coordinate the establishment of a national strategy for inventorying intangible cultural heritage and organize a workshop in the capital in order to train local coordinators on the

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 216,000 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    05/07/2013 - 31/03/2015

Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Namibia Zambia Zimbabwe

The beneficiaries of the project are the national authorities responsible for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and selected communities in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Firstly, the project aims to initiate a sub-regional cooperation platform to support these countries in their efforts to safeguard the living heritage present in their territories. Such objective will be done

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 250,000
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2013 - 01/03/2015

Needs assessment in Albania

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

The needs assessment aimed to explore the legislative and policy documents in the sphere of ICH in Albania, to analyze the institutional and administrative framework for the implementation of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention, and to study the situation of awareness-raising activities, inventorying procedures, and educational and training programs on ICH in the country. The goal was to outline the major challenges encountered i

  • Project budget:
    US$ 9,000
  • Source:
    -
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2014 - 01/03/2015

Traditions and practices associated with the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

Aiming to empower the Mijikenda people to ensure the viability and transmission of the traditions and practices associated to the sacred Kaya forests of coastal Kenya, the project is managed by the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts (former Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture) in cooperation with the National Museums of

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 126,580 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2011 - 19/12/2014

Inventory of traditional musics in Senegal

Benefitting country(ies): Senegal

The main objective of this international assistance project funded by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund was the inventory of the traditional music of Senegal that encompasses a vast and diverse array of musical traditions, genres, instruments and associated craftsmanship. Its social, spiritual and cultural functions are many, including celebrations of birth, death rites, initiations, blessings, agriculture, fishing, values, and legends

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 80,789 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    12/08/2013 - 03/12/2014

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti

Benefitting country(ies): Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti

This project has a twofold objective: strengthening the national capacities on intangible cultural heritage in each of the beneficiary countries by a number of training workshops and by supporting and giving policy advice to governmental and non-governmental institutions in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Through the workshops on implementation of the Convention and on inventorying, both the Dominican Republic

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 434,989
  • Source:
    Norway earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2012 - 01/12/2014
  • Documents:
    Final report (12-2015): English

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage through the Strengthening of National Capacities in Lao PDR

Benefitting country(ies): Lao People's Democratic Republic

This project aims at building up a critical mass of national capacity, both in government institutions and in civil society, and to provide general programmatic and managerial support to the Organization’s activities in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Lao PDR and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To that end, the project has started to implement an integrated capacity-building strategy,

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,000
  • Source:
    Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2011 - 01/06/2014

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage through the Strengthening of National Capacities in Asia and the Pacific

Benefitting country(ies): Bhutan Cambodia Mongolia Nepal Papua New Guinea Samoa Sri Lanka Timor-Leste

This project generously financed by the Government of Japan aimed at assisting eight countries, namely Bhutan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Timor Leste to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It aimed at building up a critical mass of experience and

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 1,020,484
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2011 - 01/05/2014
  • Documents:
    Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage through the Strengthening of National Capacities in Asia and the Pacific - 2011-2014 Project Completion Report: English

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central America

Benefitting country(ies): El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 230,770
  • Source:
    Spain earmarked contribution to the Fund
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/08/2012 - 01/03/2014
  • Documents:
    Final report: English

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

Benefitting country(ies): Argentina Paraguay Uruguay

The present project was among the first of its kind to be implemented in Latin America. It aimed at assisting Argentina as a priority and also Paraguay and Uruguay, in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage by acquiring broad and solid knowledge of the 2003 Convention and its mechanism. Workshops on the implementation of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible C

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2012 - 01/02/2014

Capacity building in designing, implementing and evaluating intangible cultural heritage projects in Viet Nam

Benefitting country(ies): Viet Nam

The project aimed to develop a toolkit that could help cultural managers and practitioners in local communities improve their abilities to design, implement and evaluate safeguarding projects, thereby facilitating the implementation of the 2003 Convention and the 2009 amended Viet Nam Law on Cultural Heritage. The toolkit includes the guiding principles of safeguarding and promotion activities, as well as a set of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 25,000 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2012 - 30/11/2013

Establishing the national inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of Belarus

Benefitting country(ies): Belarus

The main goal of the project was to safeguard living heritage in Belarus through the identification and documentation of existing cultural practices, creating a database and developing a national inventorying procedure. It aimed at ensuring promotion and distribution of structured information about the diversity of the intangible cultural heritage in Belarus while underlining the crucial role of cultural diversity and

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 133,600 granted in 2010
  • Dates of implementation:
    26/12/2011 - 31/10/2013

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 399,785
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/02/2011 - 01/04/2013

Development of an inventory of intangible heritage of Malawi

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi

Eight communities in the Northern Region of Malawi participated in the inventorying of their intangible cultural heritage with a view to safeguarding. After having received training on documentation and inventory making, twelve young members from the Bandya, Lambya, Mambwe, Namwanga, Ndali, Nyakyusa, Nyiha and Sulwa/Chewa communities conducted fieldwork to identify and collect information on 26 living practices and expressions that

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,947 granted in 2012
  • Dates of implementation:
    10/09/2012 - 30/03/2013

Safeguarding traditional foodways of two communities in Kenya

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya

Traditional foodways involve practices transmitted within a community concerning the preparation and consumption of food, including the provision of ingredients and the roles of all people involved. Traditional foodways, both those related to everyday life as well as those associated with special occasions (such as rituals, social practices and festive events) constitute an important part of the intangible heritage of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 68,930
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2009 - 01/03/2013

MedLiHer - Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Partner Countries

Benefitting country(ies): Egypt Jordan Lebanon

With the support of the European Union, UNESCO has launched the “Mediterranean Living Heritage Project (MedLiHer) ” to support the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic, with the participation of the Maison des Cultures du Monde (France). The project’s overall objective is long-term capacity-building for implementation of th

News and activities:

  • Project budget:
    US$ 1,426,317
  • Source:
    European Union
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2009 - 01/01/2013

Digital preservation of folklore and traditional music archives (Phase I)

Benefitting country(ies): Sudan

The project aimed at assessing the needs for safeguarding the audiovisual collection of traditional Sudanese music housed in the Folklore and Traditional Music Archives of the University of Khartoum. To carry out the assessment, the Sudanese National Commission recruited an expert who conducted a mission to Khartoum from 15 to 28 October 2012 and subsequently elaborated a strategy for the digitization of archival

News and activities:

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 12,167 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/08/2012 - 15/12/2012

Inventory of Albanian folk iso-polyphony

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

The purpose of this project was to establish an electronic database on Albanian folk iso-polyphony, incorporated in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Between 2007 and 2010, the Albanian Music Council implemented safeguarding activities including the establishment of an initial register of the element. The present project aimed at enriching that initial inventory including additional information on

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,500 granted in 2010
  • Dates of implementation:
    24/03/2011 - 23/03/2012

Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Seychelles

Benefitting country(ies): Seychelles

The project, conducted by the National Heritage Research Section Unit of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth, Sports and Culture, aimed at supporting the implementation of safeguarding activities by developing an inventory of the intangible cultural heritage in Seychelles. The project started in the first quarter of 2010, with the elaboration of a preliminary list of elements of the intangible cultural

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 9,863 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    15/12/2009 - 31/12/2011

A series of pilot projects in community-based intangible heritage inventorying on a grassroots-level in six selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Uganda Zambia

The project was implemented by conducting a series of pilot ICH inventory-making activities, on a grassroots level, in six beneficiary Sub-Saharan African countries, namely Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda, Swaziland and Zambia. It was composed of four phases: Phase I dealt with the selection of six pilot communities (one in each country) in a demand-driven manner; Phase II was the initial

  • Project budget:
    US$ 275,000
  • Source:
    Flanders Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2009 - 01/12/2011

General inventory of the intangible cultural heritage

Benefitting country(ies): Togo

The project aimed to realize a general inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of Togo to contibute to the implementation of the 2003 Convention at the national level. The main objectives were to identify the elements of the intangible cultural heritage; develop safeguarding measures and identify the elements to be nominate to the Convention’s Lists; strengthen the capacity in inventory; establish a

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,770 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2010 - 30/09/2011

Safeguarding cultural heritage aspects of Njelele

Benefitting country(ies): Zimbabwe

Implemented by the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ) in partnership with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NNMZ) and Lupane State University (LSU), the project led to the development of an intangible cultural heritage documentation facility at NAZ and collection of data and documentation on Njelele and its related intangible cultural heritage aspects. In the initial stage of the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 25,000 granted in 2010
  • Dates of implementation:
    20/04/2011 - 21/07/2011

Implementation of proposed safeguarding measures for the Sanké mon, collective fishing rite of the Sanké

Benefitting country(ies): Mali

This project aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Sanké mon: collective fishing rite of the Sanké, inscribed in 2009 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The Sanké mon is a ritual and festive event held each year at the pond of Sanké in the city of San, located 490 km north of Bamako. The objectives of

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,000 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    08/02/2010 - 30/06/2011

Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage: developing nominations for the Urgent Safeguarding List in Southern Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Lesotho Namibia

The project aim was to organize a five-day pilot training workshop, providing practical and technical skills in preparation of nomination files. The workshop targeted five participants from each of the two main beneficiary countries (Namibia and Lesotho) and one from each of the additional countries: Swaziland, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe with the training course materials were developed by the

  • Project budget:
    US$ 65,000
  • Source:
    Cyprus Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2010 - 01/06/2011

Sub-regional capacity-building workshops in Central America and South America on safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

Benefitting country(ies): El Salvador Panama Peru

This project aimed at strengthening capacity-building for the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, raising awareness with regard to the use of mappings and increasing knowledge on the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage. The projects included the organization of a series of sub-regional workshops, one in South America (Peru) and three in Central America

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,000
  • Source:
    Italy Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2008 - 01/05/2011

An inventory of elements of intangible heritage pertaining to the indenture experience in the Republic of Mauritius

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritius

Through this project, the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund (AGTF) aimed at setting up an inventory of elements of intangible heritage related to the history of indentureship in line with its mission and objectives contained in the Management Plan of the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Property. Over 60 elements of intangible cultural heritage were identified under four main themes relating to the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 33,007 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    31/01/2010 - 31/03/2011

Documentation and inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the Republic of Mauritius

Benefitting country(ies): Mauritius

Implemented by the National Heritage Fund, the main achievement of the project was the elaboration of an ‘Inventory and Documentation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Republic of Mauritius (A First List).’ The project benefited from extensive support of institutions, groups and individuals in the Republic of Mauritius; primary and secondary approaches to data collection and analysis were used in the

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 52,461 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    31/01/2010 - 28/02/2011

The elaboration of the "Inventories of the Representative list and list in need of urgent safeguarding of Intangible Heritage in Mongolia"

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

This project resulted in the drawing up of two inventories of intangible cultural heritage present in the territory of Mongolia. The project was conducted at the national level covering 85% of the country including 283 districts of 21 provinces and all 9 districts of Ulaanbaatar. With the purpose of evaluating and analyzing the status of the current safeguarding system and to identify ICH elements

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 24,000 granted in 2009
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2009 - 28/02/2011

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of Baul Songs

Benefitting country(ies): Bangladesh

The Bauls are minstrels who travel from village to village, earning their living by singing. Their music, poetry and way of life have profoundly influenced Bengali culture. Bauls do not identify themselves with any organized religion nor with the caste system. They emphasize the importance of the human body as the place where God resides. While Bauls are scattered all

  • Project budget:
    US$ 67,800
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2008 - 01/10/2010

Gbofe d’Afounkaha

Benefitting country(ies): Côte d'Ivoire

A contract was signed between UNESCO and the Cote d’Ivoire National Commission for UNESCO, the organization designated for the project’s implementation. The Secretariat was obliged to cancel the contract and request reimbursement of the advance as no nomination file was submitted within the statutory time-limits. However, it is to be noted that Côté d’Ivoire subsequently submitted a nomination, The Gbofe

  • Financial assistance:
    US$ 6,000 granted in 2008
  • Dates of implementation:
    19/12/2008 - 30/06/2010

Safeguarding of the Ifa Divination system

Benefitting country(ies): Nigeria

Practiced among the Yoruba, Ifa divination relies on a complex system of signs, compiled in a literary corpus, that are interpreted by a diviner to guide important personal or collective decisions. The literary corpus is a treasury of knowledge concerning Yoruba history, philosophy, medicine and mythology. This project aims at ensuring the intergenerational and peer transmission of Ifa through formalizing

  • Project budget:
    US$ 86,592
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2006 - 01/04/2010

Safeguarding Albanian Folk-Iso-polyphony

Benefitting country(ies): Albania

Derived from Byzantine church music, Albanian Iso-polyphony is a sophisticated form of group singing, performed mostly by men. The rise of cultural tourism and the growing interest of researchers are contributing to the revival of this unique folk tradition. This project contributes to the safeguarding of Albanian iso-polyphony, focusing especially on its transmission of to the younger generation. The project’s

  • Project budget:
    US$ 91,033
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2006 - 01/03/2010

Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Revitalization of the Cultural Space of the Holy Spirit Brotherhood of the Villa Mella’s Congos

Benefitting country(ies): Dominican Republic

The Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit of the Congos of Villa Mella is distinguished in the fields of music, dance and popular festivities. The musicians play hand-drums called congos, which origin is attributed to the Holy Spirit. The Festival of the Holy Spirit, celebrated at Pentecost, features prayers, dances and singing, accompanied by the music of the congos and a

  • Project budget:
    US$ 171,308
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2003 - 01/12/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Makishi Masquerade in Zambia

Benefitting country(ies): Zambia

As part of initiation, boys leave their communities to live in a bush camp where they are taught practical skills as well as knowledge about nature, religion and social values. For their reintegration into the community, they perform the Makishi masquerade involving beautifully painted masks that represent different spiritual characters. The safeguarding project seeks to: support the process of intergenerational

  • Project budget:
    US$ 90,592
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2006 - 01/12/2009

Safeguarding of the Gulu Wamkulu, the Great Dance of the Chewa People

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi Mozambique Zambia

Performed by the Chewa people of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, the Gule Wamkulu is a dance that accompanies initiation ceremonies, weddings, funerals and the installation of chiefs. Male dancers wear full costumes and masks made of wood and straw, expressing a great variety of spiritual and secular characters. This multinational project, coordinated by the Malawian National Commission for UNESCO, includes

  • Project budget:
    US$ 129,374
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/12/2009

Safeguarding the Chopi Timbila tradition in Mozambique

Benefitting country(ies): Mozambique

The Chopi people of southern Mozambique are famous for their orchestras of up to thirty wooden xylophones of varying sizes and ranges of pitch. Each year, several new pieces are composed and performed at social festivities and other community events in combination with the energetic Timbila dance. The objectives of the safeguarding project are to: enhance the quality and authenticity

  • Project budget:
    US$ 56,500
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/12/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Vimbuza Healing Dance

Benefitting country(ies): Malawi

Popular among the Tumbuka people, the Vimbuza is practised by renowned traditional healers in a special ritual. Patients slowly enter trance, while the audience performs songs to call helping spirits. Vimbuza is a useful complement to other forms of medical treatment. The safeguarding project seeks to: encourage the transmission of skills and knowledge to younger generations, and raise awareness about

  • Project budget:
    US$ 90,834
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/12/2009

National Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Mugam of Azerbaijan

Benefitting country(ies): Azerbaijan

Like the Mugham sung elsewhere in the region, the Azerbaijani Mugham is characterized by a high degree of improvisation in singing and playing. Today, master practitioners train students in the fine art of interpretation to ensure the variety of this artistic expression. The project seeks to give an incentive to the transmission of skills and knowledge to the younger generations

  • Project budget:
    US$ 123,283
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2006 - 01/12/2009

Safeguarding of the Sacred Songs of the Voodoo Cult of the lakou Dereal of the Community of Bizoton

Benefitting country(ies): Haiti

The Bizoton community is situated in the the Dereal lakou in Western Haïti. Every song and dance in the vodou cult can be associated with a prayer and every gesture that goes with it is codified in function of a specific divinity. Objectives: Identification and documentation of the sacred songs of the vodou cult of the Dereal lakou Raise awareness

  • Project budget:
    US$ 40,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2008 - 01/12/2009

Safeguarding of the Art of the Akyns, Kyrgyz Epic Tellers

Benefitting country(ies): Kyrgyzstan

The pre-eminent Kyrgyz epic, the Manas trilogy, is an oral encyclopaedia of Kyrgyz social values and history. Performed at seasonal ceremonies, national holidays and other social gatherings, the Manas epic continues to inspire contemporary Kyrgyz writers and composers. Studios for young Akyns in various regions of Kyrgyzstan will be opened, and contests among those attending the studios will be organized

  • Project budget:
    US$ 148,493
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/02/2005 - 01/10/2009

Action plan for the Safeguarding of the Ahellil of Gourara

Benefitting country(ies): Algeria

The Ahellil is a series of collective chants performed at social gatherings and celebrations of the Berber-speaking population of the Gouara region. Starting with short well-known songs performed by the whole group, the performances build to a conclusion featuring the most accomplished singers. The safeguarding action plan aims at/ ensuring the viability of the Ahellil of Gourara through activities including

  • Project budget:
    US$ 90,400
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2006 - 01/09/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding and promotion of the Drametse Ngacham

Benefitting country(ies): Bhutan

The Drametse festival, held in honour of a Buddhist guru, is attended by people from Drametse as well as neighbouring villages. The highlight of this festival is the Drametse gacham, a sacred mask dance, introduced in the sixteenth century and performed ever since. The safeguarding project primarily seeks to create sustainable foundations for the transmission of skills and expertise related

  • Project budget:
    US$ 56,963
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2006 - 01/08/2009

Revitalization of bark cloth making in Uganda

Benefitting country(ies): Uganda

The Mutaba tree provides the raw material for the delicate manufacture of bark-cloth. Produced for the royal family and other Buganda community members and highly recognized as a marker of cultural traditions, this precious cloth is worn at coronations and healing ceremonies, funerals and social gatherings. The objectives of the safeguarding project are to: train craftspersons, especially young artisans, in

  • Project budget:
    US$ 91,485
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2006 - 01/08/2009

Safeguarding the Space of Gong Culture in Dak Nong Province

Benefitting country(ies): Viet Nam

Throughout the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, Gong ensembles are part of various ceremonies and closely linked to the communities’ daily life and the cycle of the seasons. The instruments, measuring 25 to 80 centimetres, are played by men as well as women. The main goal of this project is to safeguard the space of gong culture in one province of the C

  • Project budget:
    US$ 91,869
  • Source:
    Norway Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2007 - 01/07/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Oruro Carnival

Benefitting country(ies): Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

The main event of the Oruro Carnival is a procession of thousands of dancers and musicians. The sumptuous costumes, beautifully painted masks, folk dances and songs bear witness to the influence of indigenous and Spanish cultures. The project aimed at increasing the viability of the Carnival through the reinforcement of existing transmission mechanisms, the introduction of new ones and raising

  • Project budget:
    US$ 150,855
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2005 - 01/06/2009

Strengthening the Transmission of the Traditional Textile Knowledge of Taquile

Benefitting country(ies): Peru

The island of Taquile in Titicaca lake is known for its weaving tradition preserving elements from pre-Hispanic Andean cultures. Weaving is done on fixed and pedal looms to produce characteristic garments. Taquile weaving uses new, contemporary symbols and images while retaining traditional styles and techniques. The safeguarding action plan aims at preserving and enhancing the transmission of Taquile textile arts

  • Project budget:
    US$ 79,439
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2006 - 01/06/2009

Safeguarding of the ICH of the Batammariba of Koutammarkou

Benefitting country(ies): Togo

Koutammarkou, a site in the North-East of Togo inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, shelters the Batammariba (“those who work the earth”) whose houses with turrets made of earth, the takyientas (“those who guard”), have become the symbol of Togo (see WHC data). This project aims at ensuring the safeguarding of the rich intangible cultural heritage of the Batammariba. That h

  • Project budget:
    US$ 153,726
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2007 - 01/06/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Garifuna Language, Music and Dance

Benefitting country(ies): Belize Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua

The Garifuna communities, spread over Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, have kept alive their common language, oral traditions, music and dances. Although still practiced on various occasions, these are changing considerably as the Garifuna language is less often spoken. The safeguarding project focuses mainly in the preservation of the Garifuna language through language revitalization, lexical expansion programs and the promotion

  • Project budget:
    US$ 226,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2006 - 01/06/2009

Preparation of the implementation of the 2003 Convention

The project, implemented by the Section of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, is composed of the following two activities: Acitity 1 supported the participation of experts from developing countries in meetings on the implementation of the Convention. Activity 2 supports the publication and translation of Manuals on the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

  • Project budget:
    US$ 261,177
  • Source:
    Norway Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2005 - 01/06/2009

Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage and its bearers in Burundi

Benefitting country(ies): Burundi

The preparation of the inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of Burundi is enshrined in the framework of the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) adopted in 2003 by the UNESCO Member States. This inventory is intended to identify oral traditions and expressions, poetry, performing arts (such as agasimbo, ingoma, intore, etc.), social practices

  • Project budget:
    US$ 49,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2008 - 01/05/2009

Armenian Duduk Music

Benefitting country(ies): Armenia

An Armenian oboe, the Duduk accompanies popular songs and dances and is played at social events such as weddings, anniversaries and funerals. The Armenian Duduk is distinctive in construction and performance technique and characterized by a warm and soft timbre. The project aims to safeguard traditional duduk music in the difficult modern social, cultural and political context in Armenia. The

  • Project budget:
    US$ 91,383
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/04/2009

Safeguarding action plan of Yaaral and Degal

Benefitting country(ies): Mali

Organized by the Peul community, the Yaaral and Degal festivals mark the twice-yearly crossing of the Niger river by herds of cattle. This seasonal migration gives rise to widely appreciated and varied celebrations and expressions, such as competitions for the most beautifully decorated herd, recitations of pastoral poems and songs. This safeguarding project aims at enhancing knowledge and understanding concerning

  • Project budget:
    US$ 74,470
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/04/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Kankurang, Manding Initiatory Rite

Benefitting country(ies): Gambia Senegal

The Kankurang is a protective spirit, embodied by a masked and costumed man, at the centre of a ritual system comprising songs, traditions and initiatory rites for young boys. The ritual ensures the transmission and teaching of complex know-how and practices underpinning Manding cultural identity. This safeguarding project is designed to protect the natural environment in which the Kankurang ritual

  • Project budget:
    US$ 146,962
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/04/2009

Safeguarding of Nha nhac, Vietnamese Court Music

Benefitting country(ies): Viet Nam

An essential part of royal ceremonies, court music was a means of communicating with and paying tribute to the gods and kings as well as transmitting knowledge about nature and the universe. This musical tradition has been kept alive by the few surviving former court musicians. The project includes documentation as well as a systematic inventory of all practitioners of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 154,900
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/03/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding, Promotion and Development of the Cultural Space of the Bedu in the regions of Petra and Wadi Rum

Benefitting country(ies): Jordan

The Bedu have preserved wide-ranging knowledge and skills related to the area around Petra and Wadi Rum, including traditional medicine, camel husbandry, tent-making craftsmanship, tracking and climbing as well as rituals of coffee-making and oral traditions reflecting their mythology. The principal goal of the project is to safeguard the main features of the lifestyle and oral expressions of the Bedu

  • Project budget:
    US$ 0
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2006 - 01/03/2009

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of El Güegüense

Benefitting country(ies): Nicaragua

Popular throughout Nicaragua, the El Güegüense is a satirical street drama accompanied by music and dance, developed in the eighteenth century. The beautifully costumed and masked protagonist, El Güegüe, cleverly uses verbal artistry in Spanish, Basque and Nahuatl, an Amerindian language, to demonstrate subservience to the colonial authorities while ridiculing them. The safeguarding action plan intends to strengthen the conservation of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 109,384
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2007 - 01/03/2009

Safeguarding traditional games of the Afar and the Somali people in the Horn of Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Djibouti

Traditional board games have long been an important pastime among the nomadic societies of the Horn of Africa. Practice and transmission of these games is now at risk, though, as a result of urbanization and the effects of globalization. This safeguarding project aims at revitalizing the transmission of the knowledge and skills related to traditional board and ball games in

  • Project budget:
    US$ 53,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2006 - 01/03/2009

Safeguarding the Mbende Jerusarema Dance

Benefitting country(ies): Zimbabwe

A popular dance style practised by the Zezuru Shona people living in eastern Zimbabwe, the Mbende Jerusarema is characterized by acrobatic and sensual movements by women and men, driven by a polyrhythmic drummer accompanied by men playing woodblock clappers and by women handclapping, yodelling and blowing whistles. The safeguarding project aims at strengthening the transmission process by, organizing workshops for

  • Project budget:
    US$ 67,003
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2006 - 01/03/2009

Safeguarding the Songs of the Moon, traditional Swahili music from Tanzania (Unguja and Pemba) and the Comoros

Benefitting country(ies): Comoros United Republic of Tanzania

Taarab music is a traditional form of Swahili cultural expression. Popularly known as Swahili wedding music, taarab musicians and music are an essential part of various multi-day festivities in Zanzibar. Complementary to the activities implemented by UNESCO Dar es Salaam in 2005-2007 in the village of Mahonda and Pemba island– rural areas of the islands of Zanzibar, the project aims at f

  • Project budget:
    US$ 51,488
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2008 - 01/03/2009

Safeguarding traditional Somali performing arts

Benefitting country(ies): Kenya Somalia

Before the civil war Somalia enjoyed a vibrant cultural life, in which traditional performing arts played a major role. Aware of the role that cultural practices may play in fostering social cohesion and in reconciliation processes in future post-conflict Somalia, the project aims to identify traditional performing arts practices of Somali people with a view to safeguarding this heritage, highlight

  • Project budget:
    US$ 40,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2008 - 01/03/2009

Action plan for the safeguarding of the Song of Saana

Benefitting country(ies): Yemen

The Song of Sana’a is a group of songs accompanied by the fine sound of the Yemeni lute and a lightly struck copper tray. The poetic repertory, written in both Yemeni dialects and classical Arabic, abounds in wordplay and is renowned for its emotional content. The project was designed to: promote knowledge about the Song of Sana’a; raise awareness about its

  • Project budget:
    US$ 96,513
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/11/2005 - 01/01/2009

Safeguarding of traditional music in Ethiopia

Benefitting country(ies): Ethiopia

The project is composed of the following four activities. Identification, Documentation and Inventory making - An important goal of this project is to collect through fieldwork, and to document traditional music and dance expressions in different parts of Ethiopia. Archiving - the recordings collected in the field and the documentation that goes with them will need to be archived to make them

  • Project budget:
    US$ 343,886
  • Source:
    Norway Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/01/2009

Preservation, Revitalization and Promotion of Jemaa el-Fna Square, Marrakech

Benefitting country(ies): Morocco

Dating back to the fourteenth century, the triangular Jemaa el-Fna Square has become the symbol of Marrakech, protected as part of Morocco’s artistic heritage since 1922. It features a unique concentration of traditions, such as storytelling, healing and various forms of entertainment as well as commercial activities. The project consists of pedagogical workshops, which have been organized in several schools around M

  • Project budget:
    US$ 152,898
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2004 - 01/12/2008

Safeguarding of Lakalaka, Sung Speeches with Choreographed Movements

Benefitting country(ies): Tonga

A blend of dances, recitations, songs and music, the Lakalaka involves up to several hundred people aligned in rows dancing in rapid and energetic movements. Practised by communities throughout the islands, it features themes related to Tongan history, legends, values and social structures. The objectives of the safeguarding project are to: Document and record information and knowledge about Lakalaka and

  • Project budget:
    US$ 120,338
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/12/2008

Organization of three sub-regional capacity-building workshops for Africa

The project (209 988 USD), co-funded by UNESCO regular programme, aimed at supporting the inscription of African intangible cultural heritage on the lists of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, through organizing the following three Capacity-Building Workshops for African states: Sub-regional Capacity-Building Workshop on the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for

  • Project budget:
    US$ 269,988
  • Source:
    Norway Funds-in-Trust
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2007 - 01/12/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Promotion of the Oral Tradition of Gelede

Benefitting country(ies): Benin Nigeria Togo

The Gelede ceremony, held in honour of the primordial mother Iyà Nlà, is directed by women, reflecting their important role in Yoruba life. After weeks of preparations, singers and drummers open the night-time ceremony, followed by an orchestra and masked dancers wearing splendid costumes. The project aims at safeguarding the Gelede tradition in communities across Benin, Nigeria and Togo. Following t

  • Project budget:
    US$ 194,925
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2003 - 01/11/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Traditional Knowledge, Oral and Graphic Expressions of the Wajapi in Amapa

Benefitting country(ies): Brazil

Wajapi communities in northern Amazonia have a long history of producing and using vegetable dyes to adorn their bodies with geometric motifs and symbols. Motifs of the jaguar, anaconda, butterfly and fish animate the worldview and oral traditions of the Wajapi. The safeguarding project aims at supporting the Wajãpi in their efforts to document their skills, experiences and knowledge related

  • Project budget:
    US$ 99,293
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2006 - 01/11/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Carnival of Barranquilla

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

Masqueraded dancers, actors and musicians delight crowds through performances marked by European, African and indigenous influences. To enhance the transmission of the tradition, the Children’s Carnival was created and has become a vital element of the carnival. Activities Field research to create an inventory and database and to select the expressions of the Carnival to be safeguarded Creation of a c

  • Project budget:
    US$ 150,008
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/10/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of La Tumba Francesa

Benefitting country(ies): Cuba

The dance, song and drumming style known as Tumba Francesa (French Drum) was brought to Cuba by Haitian slaves in the 1790s. It embodies one of the oldest and most tangible links to the Afro-Haitian heritage of Cuba’s Oriente province and developed from an eighteenth- century fusion of music from Dahomey in West Africa and traditional French dances. Objectives: Ensure t

  • Project budget:
    US$ 122,045
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/06/2005 - 01/08/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Revitalization of the Oral Tradition of the Aka Pygmies of the Central African Republic

Benefitting country(ies): Central African Republic Congo

The polyphonic songs of the Aka Pygmies are an integral part of their hunting and life-cycle rituals, a tool of communication and reaffirmation of community values. With socio-economic changes, deforestation and rural exodus, the Aka traditions are inclined to gradually disappear. The project began with field research focused on documentation and anthropological data collection in the Central African Republic and

  • Project budget:
    US$ 200,348
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2004 - 01/07/2008

Safeguarding of Vanuatu Sand Drawings

Benefitting country(ies): Vanuatu

Sand drawing is a multifunctional “writing” produced on the ground, in sand, volcanic ash or clay, using one finger to draw a graceful, often symmetrical composition of geometric patterns. It serves as a means of communication among the members of some 80 ethnolinguistic groups. The objectives of the safeguarding project are to: Raise awareness about the importance of the sand drawings at

  • Project budget:
    US$ 110,401
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/03/2005 - 01/07/2008

National inventory revival of the traditional ceramics

Benefitting country(ies): Uzbekistan

Uzbek potters used special techniques for producing the famous bluecoloured glaze to decorate vessels and tiles. Many sacred monuments in the city of Samarkand, the ancient centre of this art, memorialize this century-old tradition. The project aimed to revive the technique of producing the traditional plant-based glaze of the region for application in ceramic vessels and architectural restoration, and to

  • Project budget:
    US$ 197,323
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2003 - 01/07/2008

Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Sosso-Bala

Benefitting country(ies): Guinea

A sacred symbol of freedom and identity of the Manding community, the Sosso-bala is a wooden xylophone or balafon played on occasions such as the Muslim New Year and burials. The master players, holding an important position in Manding society, teach children as young as seven. The project includes the study and documentation of customary methods of conservation and transmission

  • Project budget:
    US$ 122,546
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2002 - 01/06/2008

Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Woodcrafting Knowledge of the Zafimaniry

Benefitting country(ies): Madagascar

The Zafimaniry community of about 25,000 people practices a unique wood crafting culture. Most wooden surfaces in their villages – from utensils to houses – are delicately crafted, displaying elaborate ornamentation. These motifs carry rich symbolic significance related to Zafimaniry cosmovision and values. The project will help to raise awareness within the Zafimaniry community about the value of their traditions and improve living sta

  • Project budget:
    US$ 160,489
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2004 - 01/06/2008

Action plan for safeguarding the Maroon Heritage of Moore Town

Benefitting country(ies): Jamaica

The Moore Town Maroons elaborated new collective religious ceremonies that incorporated various spiritual traditions. These expressions and practices, which were then named Kromanti Play, continue to represent the very foundation of Maroon identity. As part of their heritage, the inhabitants of Moore Town also possess a unique system of communally-held “treaty lands”, a local political structure and the use of the

  • Project budget:
    US$ 179,960
  • Source:
    Norway Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/08/2005 - 01/06/2008

Safeguarding and Transmission of the Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao

Benefitting country(ies): Philippines

Well known for their rice terraces and extensive knowledge of rice cultivation, the Ifugao perform the Hudhud chants during the sowing and harvest seasons and at funeral wakes. The chants are transmitted orally and tell about ancestral heroes, customary law, traditional practices and religious beliefs. The project aims to collect, document and record the Hudhud as well as integrate it

  • Project budget:
    US$ 155,430
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2003 - 01/04/2008

Oxherding and Oxcart Traditions in Costa Rica

Benefitting country(ies): Costa Rica

The safeguarding project’s objective is to contribute to revitalizing and safeguarding the oxherding and oxcart tradition in Costa Rica through education and awareness-raising activities, empowerment of oxherders’ and artisans’ organizations and inventory and research activities. A national network for safeguarding and revitalizing the tradition will be established, and training workshops organized on cultural management and resource management for members

  • Project budget:
    US$ 80,000
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/10/2006 - 01/03/2008

Implementation of the National Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Wayang Puppet Theatre of Indonesia

Benefitting country(ies): Indonesia

To enliven the highly crafted rod puppets, master puppeteers manipulate the swivelling arms and legs by means of sticks, accompanied by a narrator and gamelan orchestra. The plays combine local myths, Indian epics and Persian tales with contemporary issues. While this project encompasses many activities, such as field research, documentation and a publication on the Wayang, its most important component

  • Project budget:
    US$ 149,986
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/12/2007

Transmission of traditional Knowledge in Burundian Refugee Camps of Tanzania in view of a sustainable repatriation

Benefitting country(ies): United Republic of Tanzania

The project, elaborated as a result of a fieldwork carried out in 2006 by Dr Fouéré, implemented story-telling sessions as a way to transmit Burundian traditional knowledge to young Burundian refugees settled in refugee camps in Western Tanzania. This one-year activity was aimed to facilitate the sustainable repatriation of refugees to Burundi and their smooth reintegration into their society. A number o

  • Project budget:
    US$ 0
  • Source:
    UNESCO - Regular budget
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2006 - 01/12/2007

Safeguarding and Transmission of the Kutiyattam Sanskrit Theatre

Benefitting country(ies): India

Kutiyattam is the oldest surviving form of Sanskrit theatre in Kerala, India, which developed a rich symbolic set of facial gestures, masks, and colorful costumes. This project aimed to bring Kutiyattam performers, previously working separately, together in creative exchange and expand the interest in their art. The long-term objectives were to: Create a network of Kutiyattam institutions and gurukalam (learning

  • Project budget:
    US$ 151,241
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2004 - 01/10/2007

Safeguarding Shashmaqom, the Classical Music of Central Asia

Benefitting country(ies): Tajikistan Uzbekistan

Le projet prévoit la production de documents audiovisuels (sous forme numérique) sur le shashmaqom par une équipe de spécialistes, de scientifiques et de musicologues dans les deux pays, la publication d’études scientifiques, l’organisation conjointe par les deux pays de conférences, d’expositions et de festivals et une aide aux facteurs reconnus d’instruments de musique. Des cours publics seront en outre organisés dans les deux

  • Project budget:
    US$ 218,455
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/10/2007

Bi-national Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Revitalization of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of the Zápara Community

Benefitting country(ies): Ecuador Peru

The Zápara communities in the Amazon have developed a complex oral culture expressed through their myths, rituals, artistic and medical practices. Their traditions are deeply marked by their environment and reflect a profound knowledge of the Amazonian jungle. The project aimed at facilitaing the revival of the Zápara language and to encourage binational encounters in the hope of strengthening the o

  • Project budget:
    US$ 203,956
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/12/2005 - 01/09/2007

Implementation of the National Action Plan for the Safeguarding of Traditional Morin Khuur Music of Mongolia

Benefitting country(ies): Mongolia

A prominent musical expression among nomadic Mongolians, the Morin Khuur is an integral part of rituals and everyday activities. Distinct in sound, this two-stringed fiddle is characterized by its long neck bearing a carved horse head, reflecting the all-important cult of the horse among the nomad communities. Intensive field research was undertaken to obtain updated information on diverse forms of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 150,000
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/09/2004 - 01/09/2007

Enhancing Women’s Role as Custodians and Artisans of Egyptian Handicrafts

Benefitting country(ies): Egypt

For over centuries, women have used their innovative and artistic talents to create artefacts passing them from mother to daughter. The “Tally” embroidery, famous in Upper Egypt, and the cross-stitches embroidery of both Siwa and Sinai are unique forms of art dating back to the 19th century. This heritage is under threat because of the permeation of advanced and easier tec

  • Project budget:
    US$ 253,177
  • Source:
    Italy Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/01/2005 - 01/05/2006

Safeguarding and Promotion of Georgian Traditional Polyphony

Benefitting country(ies): Georgia

Polyphonic singing is a popular tradition that used to pervade all areas of everyday life in Georgia, ranging from field work to songs for curing illnesses and Christmas carols. There are three types of polyphony in Georgia, each performed in a different region. The project enabled not only the promotion of research and documentation on traditional polyphony, but also its

  • Project budget:
    US$ 166,178
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2003 - 01/02/2006

Public awareness campaign in Colombia on the importance of safeguarding the intangible heritage (pilot project)

Benefitting country(ies): Colombia

The Colombian government developed this pilot project within the framework of a promotional campaign titled Colombian Intangible Cultural Heritage: Show Who You Are. Through newspapers, national television stations and radio announcements, the project promotes the concept of intangible heritage, thereby sensitizing the general public as to the value of various types of intangible expressions from the country’s different cultures and r

  • Project budget:
    US$ 136,860
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/07/2003 - 01/12/2005

Establishment of Inventory and Preparation of a Ten-Year Master Plan for Safeguarding the Traditional Culture and Folklore of the Boysun District

Benefitting country(ies): Uzbekistan

Boysun, located in south-eastern Uzbekistan, is known as one of the oldest inhabited areas of Central Asia. Local people gather to practice traditional rites such as the sowing ritual, wedding ceremonies, circumcisions of boys, funeral rites, and shamanistic rituals. The project action plan included training tradition bearers, teachers and students to undertake field research, involving audio-visual documentation, ethnomusicological methodology and

  • Project budget:
    US$ 148,671
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2003 - 01/06/2005

The Safeguarding and Revitalization of Lithuanian Cross Crafting and Its Symbolism: Phase I of the Action Plan

Benefitting country(ies): Lithuania

Cross-crafting in Lithuania includes making crosses and altars and performing the rituals consecrating those crosses. Placed on roadsides at village entrances, near monuments and in cemeteries, and linked to Catholic ceremonies and harvest celebrations, crosses are a symbol of the unity of the community. Under this project, both cross crafting practitioners and data collectors were trained with the help of

  • Project budget:
    US$ 45,834
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/04/2003 - 01/05/2005

Improved Traditional Bead Production and Marketing in West Africa

Benefitting country(ies): Ghana Mali

Beads are widely used in West African cultures; major passages of life, for instance, are marked by the wearing of appropriate beads. In addition to their function in social and cultural expressions, the continuation of beads production is important for economic empowerment and sustainable development. With a view to strengthening traditional beads production, the project included a survey on the

  • Project budget:
    US$ 245,341
  • Source:
    Italy Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/02/2002 - 01/01/2005

Revitalisation of Traditional Masquerade Performing Arts and Costume Making

Benefitting country(ies): Dominica Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia

Masquerade performing arts and costume-making traditions in the Caribbean derive from traditions of enslaved persons brought to the region during the three hundred year Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. These performing arts, that are rich in symbolism and social values, encompass various significant narrative and creative traditions, and play a vital role in maintaining the cultural identity within a community. However, they

  • Project budget:
    US$ 251,799
  • Source:
    Italy Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2002 - 01/08/2004

Safeguarding, Revitalization and Promotion of the Kunqu Opera

Benefitting country(ies): China

Rooted in popular theatre, Kun Qu influenced many other forms of Chinese opera. It is characterized by a dynamic structure, rhythmic patterns, typical melodies and complex choreography combining acrobatics and symbolic gestures. Kun Qu is considered the oldest form of Chinese opera still performed. This project funded the annual National Kunqu Festival in Suzhou, China, where twenty-one prizes were awarded

  • Project budget:
    US$ 49,974
  • Source:
    Japan Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    01/05/2002 - 01/12/2002
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