The Bureau,
- Recalling Article 23 of the Convention as well as Chapter I.4 of the Operational Directives relating to the eligibility and criteria of International Assistance requests,
- Having examined Document ITH/18/13.COM 1.BUR/3 as well as International Assistance request no. 01444 submitted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,
- Takes note that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has requested International Assistance for the project entitled Strengthening the capacities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage and for elaborating nomination files under the mechanisms of the 2003 Convention:
The proposed twelve-month project, to be implemented by the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, aims 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 expressed a strong wish to nominate elements of their intangible cultural heritage to the Convention’s Lists and Register, this situation is challenged, in practice, by a lack of expertise and thorough understanding of the 2003 Convention as well as by the absence of adequate documentation equipment. To tackle this situation, the proposed project will involve two main components aimed at fostering a better comprehension of the 2003 Convention: firstly, a training workshop on preparing nomination files under the Convention, in collaboration with the UNESCO Beijing Office and with the direct involvement of two experienced trainers; and secondly, a preliminary recap session on the main concepts of community-based inventorying, in addition to specific sessions on the technical aspects of documentation and inventorying. It is hoped that the project will raise awareness about the importance of safeguarding living heritage among the communities concerned, subsequently leading to improved safeguarding nationwide.
- Further takes note that:
- this assistance is to support a project implemented at the national level, in accordance with Article 20 (c) of the Convention,
- this is one of the first cases, on an experimental basis, in which a State Party has requested International Assistance that will partly take the form of services from the Secretariat to the State, and
- the assistance therefore takes the form of the provision of a grant and of services from UNESCO (the provision of experts, the training of the necessary staff, the elaboration of standard-setting measures and the supply of equipment), pursuant to Article 21 (b), (c), (d), (f) and (g) of the Convention;
- Also takes note that an amount of US$98,000 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund is being requested for the implementation of this project and that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea wishes the UNESCO Beijing Office to coordinate and monitor its implementation;
- Understands that the UNESCO Beijing Office will be responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the project activities, the provision of international expertise and the establishment of the related contracts (44 per cent of the requested amount), while the requesting State will be responsible for the logistical organization of capacity-building activities such as the selection of participants and their participation in workshops, the provision of national experts and the purchase of equipment (56 per cent of the requested amount), as described in the request;
- Decides that, from the information provided in file no. 01444, the request responds as follows to the criteria for granting International Assistance given in paragraphs 10 and 12 of the Operational Directives:
Criterion A.1: The request was initiated by the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (NAPCH), but some individuals and representatives of practitioners and bearers of intangible cultural heritage also took part in the preparation of the project, providing recommendations and comments. They will be involved in the different phases of the project’s implementation and will play a key role, especially during the activities related to community-based inventorying;
Criterion A.2: The amount of assistance requested for implementing the two components of the project seems appropriate and the detailed breakdown of the expenses gives a clear idea of how the funds will be used;
Criterion A.3: The activities proposed in the request form part of a larger effort to strengthen the capacities of different stakeholders nationwide for inventorying intangible cultural heritage and for preparing nomination files for the Lists of the 2003 Convention; the objectives of the project are clearly identified and correspond to well-conceived activities that should be easily implementable within the one-year lifespan of the project;
Criterion A.4: The implementation of the proposed project would provide favourable conditions for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. The effects of the training sessions on inventory-making and on the preparation of nomination files will benefit the national authorities of the requesting State in the years to come; the purchased equipment for inventory-making will also be used for future activities related to the documentation and inventorying of intangible cultural heritage at both the national and local levels;
Criterion A.5: The requesting State will contribute 2 per cent of the overall budget of the project for which International Assistance is requested from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund;
Criterion A.6: Since the proposed activities are largely in line with the global capacity-building strategy implemented by UNESCO worldwide, they will likely help the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea strengthen its own capacities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, particularly in relation to documentation and inventorying activities;
Criterion A.7: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has never benefited from International Assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund; some capacity-building activities have been implemented in its territory in the past by UNESCO, using its Regular Programme budget or in cooperation with category 2 centres operational in the region;
Paragraph 10(a): The project is national in scope and involves a range of institutional stakeholders at both the national and local levels, the latter especially for inventorying activities;
Paragraph 10(b): The pilot inventorying will serve as a test case to be duplicated for the inventorying of other intangible heritage elements in different provinces, thus presenting a promising approach geared at multiplying the positive achievements to be obtained during the proposed project.
- Approves the International Assistance request from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the project entitled Strengthening the capacities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage and for elaborating nomination files under the mechanisms of the 2003 Convention and grants the amount of US$98,000 for the implementation of the project, according to the modality described in paragraphs 5 and 6;
- Requests that the Secretariat reach an agreement with the requesting State Party on the budget of the activities to be covered by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, so as to ensure that the planned budgetary expenses are detailed and provide sufficient justification of the expenditures;
- Invites the State Party to use Form ICH-04-Report when reporting on the implementation of the project, which shall form the basis of an overall report to be prepared by the UNESCO Beijing Office;
- Encourages the Secretariat, in light of this experience with the provision of services carried out on an experimental basis, to draw lessons from the implementation of this project, particularly with regard to administrative issues.