On 11 November 2018, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone, and H. E. Mr Iván Duque, President of Colombia, inaugurated the UNESCO-Colombia stand on “Living heritage for a common future” at the Paris Peace Forum, at the Grande halle de la Villette, in Paris.

UNESCO and Colombia are showcased an innovative project that, in Colombia’s post-conflict context, is using living heritage to bring local communities and ex-combatants together to build a common future. Entitled “Intangible cultural heritage as a basis for resilience, reconciliation and construction of peace environments in Colombia’s post-agreements”, the project benefits from Emergency International Assistance through UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. It began in June 2018 and is already generating positive results.

The project aims to empower communities to carry out inventories of intangible cultural heritage and safeguard their living heritage, which was notably affected by the armed conflict. Another set of activities focuses on revitalizing shared cultural identity within the post-conflict territory. This is a concrete example of a community-led approach to using culture for peacebuilding.