Twelfth session of the Committee

Attended by more than 800 participants, the twelfth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place from 4 to 9 December 2017 in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. This meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr Byong-hyun Lee, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Korea.

During the six-day session, the twenty-four members of the Committee examined critical issues for the implementation of the 2003 Convention. Important outcomes include the endorsement of an overall results framework for the Convention and the associated proposed revisions to the periodic reporting mechanism. Conscious of the challenges in implementing the International Assistance mechanism, the Committee also decided to propose to the General Assembly concrete measures for the mechanism’s operationalization. The adoption of the two funding priorities for the next four years as well as the complex role that communities play in safeguarding their living heritage at risk in emergencies were also important items discussed by the Committee.

With the view to support national efforts in safeguarding living heritage, the Committee granted financial assistance to Uganda and Zambia. It also inscribed six elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, thirty-three elements to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and selected two programmes to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

The Committee also decided, for the first time, to transfer an element, which is a Vietnamese musical tradition, from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.