From 20 to 24 January 2014, a capacity-building session on preparing nominations to the Lists of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place in Ventiane Province. At their end, about 30 participants, including government officials and experts involved in safeguarding cultural heritage from Lao People’s Democratic Republic have received theoretical and practical training on the nomination process understood as a process of community-based safeguarding. A particular focus was on the possible efforts and procedures to put in place for listing intangible cultural heritage at both national and international levels.
Facilitated by two UNESCO-trained experts, Shubha Chaudhuri from India and Paritta Koanantakool from Thailand, this workshop was part of a capacity-building programme on the 2003 Convention supported by UNESCO/Korea Funds-in-Trust which for more than one year has provided to its beneficiaries substantial training on the implementation of the Convention at the national level and community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage. After this training assistance will be further provided for the field activities to inventory intangible cultural heritage in pilot areas.