Global capacity-building programme

The launch of the project ‘Strengthening capacities in the Comoros for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development’ is held on 25 June 2018 in Moroni, the Comoros, followed by an awareness-raising workshop on intangible cultural heritage on 25 - 29 June 2018. Approximately 30 participants including national authorities for culture, representatives from the University of Comoros, the CNDRS (National Center for Documentation and Scientific Research), the Comoros Collective, national experts, communities, civil society, and other stakeholders are welcomed to participate in the workshop. These activities are funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Professional Integration, Arts and Culture in the Comoros.

A national workshop on Djibouti’s implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is held between 18 and 21 June 2018 in Djibouti. The Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Waqf assets in Djibouti, with support from the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, convenes 40 national and local authorities, experts, NGOs, communities and media representatives. The programme includes a general introduction to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and the importance of transmitting it from generation to generation in order to ensure its safeguarding.
Following the workshop, Djibouti plans to submit a request for International Assistance to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund of the 2003 Convention, in order to begin the work of inventorying and develop a national legislation and policy for safeguarding the country’s intangible cultural heritage.

Held from 28 May to 1 June 2018, this workshop is jointly organized by Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, with the support of UNESCO Antenna Office in Sarajevo.

The workshop will bring together members of communities and NGOs, as well as researchers and representatives from local and national authorities. It will consider and discuss all main aspects of the implementation of the 2003 Convention at national level. The workshop will elaborate the relationship and complementary function of the 2003 Convention and other UNESCO Cultural Conventions, the key concepts of the Convention and the notion of ICH itself, the role of each stakeholder in safeguarding and promoting ICH, the implication and participation of the communities concerned in inventorying and further safeguarding of their ICH, the relationship between ICH and sustainability, as well as opportunities for Bosnia and Herzegovina to use the mechanisms of international cooperation established within the framework of the 2003 Convention.

Following South Sudan’s ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016, a workshop on the implementation of the Convention and community-based inventorying is held between 3 and 11 May 2018 in Juba. The main objective is to train national experts in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage through carrying out community-based inventories. Participants in the workshop range from national authorities responsible for Culture in South Sudan to NGOs, foundations and community activists. The workshop is funded and organized by UNESCO Office in Juba in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in South Sudan.

1. Les Conventions de 1972 et 2003 : Enjeux et défis
2. Bases légales de l’inventaire
3. Consentement préalable, libre et éclairé
4. Les fiches de l’inventaire
5. Les techniques de l’enquête
6. Exercices pratiques

Tunisia’s interest in intangible cultural heritage was illustrated, among other things, in February 2007 on the occasion of the organization by the INP of the First International Meetings of ICH. In 2006, Tunisia ratified the 2003 Convention. To date, it does not count any element inscribed on the Convention lists, but an application has just been submitted on 31 March 2017 for a possible inscription of pottery. Sedjnan on the Representative List. Tunisia has been a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for a four-year term (2012-2016). In the framework of this Catalonia-funded capacity-building project, in addition to capacity-building workshops, Tunisia is also supported by UNESCO to develop a policy for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

Organised within the framework of UNESCO’s commitment to strengthen the capacities of Eritrea for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, financed by Norway, this is an eight-day training workshop for 20-25 participants on the elaboration of requests for International Assistance to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund and on preparation of nomination files for inscription on the Lists under the 2003 Convention as well as the their contribution to the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) present in the State’s territory

The UNESCO capacity building workshop in Dnipro, Ukraine is a part of the UNESCO global strategy for strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention and was generously co-funded by the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe.

The workshop brought together members of communities and NGOs from various regions of the country, as well as researchers and representatives from local, regional and national authorities. The workshop paved the way for a better understanding of the 2003 Convention and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage among the governmental and community stakeholders. As a result of the workshop, the participants were equipped with information on the importance of ICH, the UNESCO 2003 Convention for Safeguarding ICH, as well as discussed a number of specific issues such as revitalisation of ICH elements as a safeguarding measure, ICH and gender roles, as well as intellectual property protection related to ICH safeguarding.

The workshop also contributed to raising awareness of members of communities about the possibilities to actively engage in decision-making on developing ICH safeguarding plans and measures and highlighted the necessity that all the stakeholders should together strive to develop quality relationships which will result in successful activities and projects.

1. Malta ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage on 13th April 2017. In this context, the Directorate of Culture requested to UNESCO a consultancy service to assist on implementing the Convention at the country level. The consultant was commissioned to elaborate an assessment from January to February 2018, including a mission to Malta that was carried out from January 25th to February 5th 2018. The mission aimed at identifying, in collaboration with institutions responsible for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Malta, the needs and keys objectives that can be addressed in the context of the implementation of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention. The activity was coordinated by the Directorate of Culture (DC) of the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government of Malta (MJCL).