Meetings on intangible cultural heritage (co-)organized by UNESCO

Ethiopia is an ancient country with a remarkable rich linguistic and cultural diversity. This diversity includes tangible and intangible heritage with both traditional and modern cultural expressions, language, and centuries old know how in handicraft production. In fact, Ethiopia’s cultural industry is perhaps one of the oldest in the world and is exceptionally diverse. The other intangible heritage of Ethiopia is equally rich with an exceptional variety including ceremonies, festivals, celebrations, rituals, and other living expressions. Moreover, eight of the Ethiopia’s cultural and natural heritage sites are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Lists attesting to the outstanding universal value of Ethiopia’s heritage. The rich cultural landscape is further enhanced by the representation of numerous religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other traditional religions. The peaceful coexistence of these religious communities for centuries is a testament to Ethiopia’s social cohesion. Moreover, Ethiopia is a land endowed with immense biodiversity. Safeguarding and harnessing these assets would enable Ethiopia to capitalize on its rich heritage for socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Ethiopia and for sustainable development.

Ethiopia ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006.Ratification of the Convention was therefore, a landmark achievement for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This bold move gave the country an opportunity to conserve, promote, safeguard and develop it’s cultural diversity for sustainable development. Coupled with it’s existing legal and policy frameworks such as the 1995 constitution, the 1997 cultural policy and the 209/2000 proclamation which established the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), the country had therefore positioned itself to harness it’s potential in the development of the culture sector and particularly pay special attention to it’s rich intangible cultural heritages of over eighty ethnic groups.
As a signatory to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Ethiopian government was thus bound to observe it’s obligation under the Convention and it’s operational directives. Since 2006 and using it’s existing legal, policy, and institutional frameworks, the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia through the Authority for Research in Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) began the work of implementing the convention at the national level. A national workshop to sensitize stakeholders on the implementation of the convention was organized. Later on Inventories were developed for the ICH of many Nations, Nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia with much of the expertise for such undertakings coming from ARCCH. Ethiopia has one element (Meskel) inscribed in the List of Elements in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and a few others such as the Ashura Festival have been lined up for nomination into the lists within the framework of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
UNESCO’s highest priority for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is a global capacity-building strategy, put in place to strengthen countries’ capacities for the sustainable safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and for harnessing its potential for sustainable development while promoting broad public knowledge and support for the Convention’s concepts and objectives.
The Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism is the relevant Ministry charged with the responsibility of conservation, promotion, development and the safeguarding of culture of the Nations, Nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia for Sustainable Development. Through the ARCCH, much has been done regarding the implementation of the Convention. There is however, a lot that can be achieved if the Government lays a solid foundation for the implementation of the convention.

Documents

• Agenda - Réunion : Rapport d’atelier de Ahmed Skounti : French
• List of Participant: French
• Programme: French

The workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention provided an overview of the objectives and key safeguarding concepts of the 2003 Convention as well as the national obligations of States Parties and the mechanisms for international cooperation. Thirty-five participants benefitted from the workshop. Most of them took part during the consultation meetings in November 2013. Cultural Officers of seven out of eight States were present. Most of the Ministry officials who participated in the workshop came from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum which has conducted significant researches and documentation of ICH through the network of State Museums and Cultural Officers. The increased number of participants from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum resulted in a more productive discussion and allowed for more state (provincial) level inputs.
This workshop was initially planned to cover both the ratification and implementation of the 2003 Convention. However, Myanmar ratified the 2003 Convention two weeks before the start of the workshop, thus the two expert facilitators, Paritta Koanantakool and Noriko Aikawa-Faure, adjusted their training programme to focus only on the effective implementation of the Convention at the national level. The facilitators included in the workshop agenda a day-long field study visit in locations where the crafts and rituals mentioned below were practiced. The field trip provided the participants to understand the essential role of communities in safeguarding ICH.

• Bronze casting craft in Tamapawaddy, Chanmyathase Township, Mandalay
• Silk weaving craft in Muand Dan Quarter, Amarapura Township, Mandalay
• Nat spirit worship in Mandalay where four spirit mediums/practitioners were interviewed.

In 2014, the training of trainers on the implementation of the Convention was the first step to build a core group of facilitators from Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden) who can deliver capacity-building courses for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and for other aspects of the implementation of the ICH Convention.

About 30 representatives of Ministries of Culture and UNESCO-trained experts from different countries in the Arab region will discuss with UNESCO and ALECSO the needs and challenges of developing conceptual and institutional frameworks for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The two international Organizations are co-organizing this meeting in collaboration with the Kuwait National Council for Culture, Art and Letters from 7 to 9 May 2014 in Kuwait City thanks to the generous hospitality of the Government of Kuwait.

• Programme: English
• Concept note: English

The expert facilitators and UNESCO staff will stay on in Kuwait for a second meeting to review the progress and challenges of implementing UNESCO’s capacity-building programme for intangible cultural heritage and make recommendation on ways forward in the Arab region (10 to 11 May).

• Provisional timetable: English
• Background note: English

The Yaoundé Office brought its expertise and collaboration to the training of trainers on inventories of the tangible and intangible heritage that took place in Yaoundé from 5 to 10 May 2014 by addressing the participants on the 2003 Convention, the importance of community-based inventories and the challenges of elaborating nomination files for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The workshop brought together 55 participants, including representatives from the 10 regions of Cameroon.

Results:

• The participants gained a better knowledge of the 2003 Convention
• The Ministry of Arts and Culture committed to roll out inventories

Perspective:

• Organization of other workshops with the communities with the communities
• Effective launch of inventories
• Support for the preparation of nomination files for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

From 31 March 31 to 6 April, the Dominican Republic hosts a workshop on intangible cultural heritage community-based inventories within the framework of a regional project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, with the support of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, thanks to the generous contribution of Norway.

Conducted by two members of the UNESCO network of facilitators, María Ismenia Toledo (Venezuela) and Enrique Pérez López (Mexico), the workshop brings together 30 specialists, students and bearers of intangible cultural heritage for a training on the approach promulgated by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to inventories and the role played by communities. The theoretical training is complemented with a technical part on data collection and a field exercise with the Chuineros of Cañafístol in Baní, in the province of Peravia, whose improvised songs in couplets are at risk of disappearing.

This activity has been made possible thanks to the support of the Vice Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Cultural Centre of Perelló, located in Baní, which was instrumental in obtaining the Chuineros’ free, prior and informed consent.

Documents

• Agenda: Spanish
• List of participants: Spanish

A first national meeting took place in Agadir from 26 to 30 March. This meeting is part of the project for capacity building for the safeguarding of living heritage implemented in the three countries thanks to the generous contribution of Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The workshop was organized by the UNESCO Office in Rabat and brought together not only representatives from the Ministry of Culture and of local communities involved but also representatives from the Ministries of Crafts, Agriculture, Education and Tourism.

The integration of intangible cultural heritage to the multisectorial policies and a good understanding of the key concepts of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by all stakeholders are essential to its effective implementation. These issues were raised during this training workshop that was co-facilitated by Mr. Ahmed Skounti (Morocco) and Mr. Mohamed Ould Mohamed Lemine Beijeu (Mauritania), UNESCO trained facilitators in the field of intangible heritage.

• List of participants : French
• Présentation - Réunion : Rapport d’atelier de M. Ahmed Skounti: French

The theme of the international conference 24-26 March in Bergen (Norway) focuses on the UNESCO Conventions on World Heritage (1972), Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and Diversity of Cultural Expression (2005).
The overall goal of the conference is, to explore synergies between the three conventions, how they can be utilized to realize their related ambitions and how other UNESCO related instruments, regional and national mechanisms and practices can be fruitfully implement as a whole.

The conference will examine the following questions:

• How can synergies between the conventions and other mechanisms and practices be obtained on the ground – what works in practice?
• What is the role of tangible as well as intangible cultural heritage and cultural expressions in contributing to sustainable development?

Target participants include researchers in cultural and natural heritage and sustainable development, practitioners in management of heritage sites and related instruments on the local level and higher levels. The conference will serve as a platform for exchange of ideas. It will provide:

• researchers with feedback on their findings and ideas for their work,
• local heritage managers with inspiration for new solutions,
• UNESCO and national level heritage managers with ideas for strategic developments,

Within the framework of the UNESCO/Flanders Project on Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the UNESCO Harare Multisectoral Regional Office (MSRO) organised a two-day workshop 18 – 20 March 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe. This workshop brought together twenty-two participants from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The workshop was facilitated by the UNESCO certified trainers in ICH, Mr. Stephen Chifunyise and Mr. Lovemore Mazibuko. Also in attendance and assisting with training was Mr. Marc Jacobs, from the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage (FARO).

Workshop Objectives

• Train at least two participants from each beneficiary country on the scope and objectives of the implementation of the 2003 Convention at national level with a focus on inventorying, preparation of international assistance requests and nomination files.
• Define and agree on the specific actions aimed at strengthening policy, legal and institutional frameworks of the beneficiary countries with reference to the provisions of the 2003 Convention and the Operational Directives.
• Create and agree on project activities and timelines which will guide the beneficiary countries in executing set action plans and main project goal of reinforcing the national capacities for the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

List of documents

• Agenda: English
• List of participants: English

L’atelier vise à former des cadres du Département de la Culture, des chercheurs des représentants des autorités locales, des représentants d’ONG et des membres des communautés sur le travail de l’inventaire participatif conformément aux orientations et à l’esprit de la Convention de 2003 dans le cadre de la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel Cet atelier de 8 jours vise à doter les participants des connaissances et compétences de base pour concevoir et faciliter une démarche d’inventaire fondée sur l’engagement collectif et adaptée à la situation particulière des communautés. Ce processus d’inventaire participatif est le troisième thème que couvre le programme de l’UNESCO élaboré dans le cadre de la stratégie globale de renforcement des capacités de l’Organisation sur la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel à travers la mise en œuvre de la Convention de 2003 L’une des obligations de tout État qui a ratifié la Convention est la préparation d’un ou plusieurs inventaires du patrimoine culturel immatériel (PCI) (selon les articles 11 et 12). En outre, plusieurs articles de la Convention soulignent le rôle prépondérant des communautés dans l’identification, la sauvegarde et la transmission du PCI. La Convention reconnaît, en effet, que le PCI fait partie intégrante de la vie des communautés qui en sont les détentrices et praticiennes

The workshop on the ‘Elaboration of nomination files to the ICH Lists’ will be organized in Paro, Bhutan from 4-8 March 2014. Shubha Chaudhuri and Paritta Chalermpow Koanantakool will facilitate the workshop. Attached are the tentative workshop programme and participants lists. More details will be known after the workshop.

From 25 February to 4 March 2014, the last of the workshops of the project for strengthening national capacities for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Central America took place in Guatemala City and is dedicated to community-based inventorying. The workshop was intended for the technical staff of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala and for community members who bear intangible cultural heritage manifestations representative of the country’s cultural diversity.

Facilitated by two members of the network of UNESCO-trained experts, Eva Martínez from Honduras and Enrique Pérez López from Mexico, this training aimed at equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to enable them to plan and facilitate the elaboration of inventories of intangible cultural heritage adapted to the characteristics of the communities who practise and transmit it.

The workshop included two days of field practice in the town of Chinautla, 10 km from the capital city, whose indigenous Maya-Pocomam population manufactures with technical precision pots and vases, among other pieces, with mud, straw and clay. This traditional craftsmanship which is passed down from mother to daughter since childhood, was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation by the Government of Guatemala in 2013.

Documents

• Agenda: Spanish
• List of participants: Spanish

From 11 to 14 February, the Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean is organizing a capacity-building workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level in Santiago de Cuba in Eastern Cuba. The workshop will bring together about twenty participants from the eastern provinces and Camagüey. Bearers of intangible cultural heritage from the region, alongside members of provincial councils and national institutions such as the National Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage or the Cuban Institute for Cultural Research, will receive intensive training on the objectives and key concepts of this Convention as well as on the obligations assumed by States that have ratified it and the mechanisms it provides for international cooperation.

Organized as part of the regional capacity-building programme benefiting Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti and funded through the generous contribution of Norway to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, the workshop will be facilitated by two UNESCO-trained experts, Adriana Molano Arenas from Colombia and Francisco Javier López Morales from Mexico. It will offer a platform where participants will reflect collectively on experiences and challenges in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage within the broader context of sustainable development.

Documents

• Agenda: Spanish
• List of participants: Spanish

The workshop on the ‘Elaboration of Nomination Files to the ICH List’ was organized in Galle, Sri Lanka from 11-15 February 2014, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Arts. Sajida Vandal and Rahul Goswami facilitated the 5-day workshop. The Secretary (Mr. Wasanth Ekanayake) and the Additional Secretary (Ms. Malkanti) of the Ministry of Culture and the Arts, as well as Mr. Bebikram from the Government Agency of Galle (representing the Chief Secretary of Galle) graced the opening ceremony. In his opening remarks, the Secretary expressed strong interest on the inventorying and safeguarding of their ICH, in setting up a national inventory and the preparation and submission of nomination files to the ICH Lists. Moe Chiba, the culture programme officer of UNESCO New Delhi Office was present during the opening ceremony and paid a courtesy call on Mr. Daiji Sasai, the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Colombo and who is responsible for Culture and Press. Moe Chiba expressed UNESCO’s gratitude for the generous contribution of the donor government of Japan for the implementation of the capacity building project in Sri Lanka, and briefed him regarding our project. Mr. Sasai explained that the Japanese Ambassador was out of Sri Lanka during the workshop period and that no one from the embassy was able to travel to Galle for the opening ceremony.

Following the national workshop on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage, a pilot activity on community-based inventorying was successfully carried out by the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) from February to April 2014. Two training sessions were organized as part of the inventorying exercise. These were followed by two inventorying exercises in Glengoffe, St. Catherine carried out on 19 March and 30 April 2014. Participants collected oral history data from the members of the craft community, which included jippy-jappa straw workers and a wood carver, using the digital recorders and video camera purchased for the project. They also made photographic documentation of the present processes involved in the creation of jippy-jappa straw craft and wood carvings. Following this, participants came together to critically analyze the data collected and created a pilot ICH inventory record of the jippy-jappa straw and woodcarving. This exercise involved the preparation of interview worksheets and inputting data: photographs and video into the ICH Inventory Database. A set of audio-visual equipment was also purchased to facilitate the pilot inventorying project and for use in future inventorying work. An ICH Equipment Release Form was developed and is in use to facilitate loans to the members of the ICH stakeholders’ network, to primarily ensure that communities have access to this equipment to carry out the work for which they have been trained.