Benefitting country(ies): Dominica

Overview:

In line with the priorities identified by the governing bodies of the 2003 Convention, 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 recent 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 intends to build a critical level of experience and knowledge, both in government institutions, civil society and at community level in Dominica and support the country in developing an appropriate framework for safeguarding intangible heritage, also taking into account the context of disaster risk reduction. It will contribute to the longer-term goal of ensuring the viability of living heritage present in the territory of Dominica, based on a gender-responsive and inclusive multi-stakeholder approach, including collaboration with the indigenous communities in Dominica. Concrete outputs of the project include: (i) A needs assessment to allow tailoring the planned activities to the local context; (ii) A pool of operational resource persons in Dominica to effectively implement the 2003 Convention; (iii) A framework and methodology for community-based inventorying; (iv) A road map for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage together with policy recommendations from stakeholder consultations.

The UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean in Kingston will implement this project in close collaboration with the National Commission for UNESCO in Dominica, as well as relevant national partners and the support from the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention. Technical assistance will be provided using and adapting content and materials developed by UNESCO as part of its capacity-building curriculum.

For more information, visit the UNESCO website.

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