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

The Living Heritage Entity within UNESCO’s Culture Sector will organize in collaboration with the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa (CRESPIAF), a training for trainers’ workshop in order to strengthen UNESCO’s global network of facilitators in Africa. This workshop will take place from 9 to 13 July 2019 in Algiers, Algeria.
The workshop is part of the Global capacity-building programme for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. For five days, new network members, accompanied by experienced members, will be prepared for their role as facilitators and familiarized with training materials, so that they can in turn provide training and advisory services to States and communities.
Today, the network is composed of 135 facilitators around the world, of which 47 are in Africa. By including new facilitators, this workshop will not only serve to meet the high demand for capacity-building in Africa but also respond to the challenges in the implementation of the Convention.

Documents

• Agenda: English|French
• Concept note: French
• List of participants : English|French

The workshop on inventorying with the participation of communities under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage builds on the results of the workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention held in February 2019 aims to equip participants with knowledge and skills to design and facilitate an inventory approach based on the collective commitment and adapted to the particular situation of the communities. Facilitated by two members of the UNESCO’s facilitators’ network, the workshop will cover the themes of participatory inventory work under the 2003 Convention, possible frameworks for participatory inventory work, ethics and responsibilities, methods and techniques of inventorying, as well as a field practicum. The workshop is organized within the framework of the project “Strengthening capacities for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Lebanon”, generously funded by the Japan Funds-in-Trust.

The workshop ‘Safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and community-based inventorying’ was held on 24 – 28 June 2019, at the Ministry of Culture of Albania, the National History Museum, Tirana, and the Ethnographic Museum and Old Bazaar of Kruja. The workshop was organized jointly by the Ministry of Culture of Albania, and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
This was the second capacity building activity on intangible cultural heritage safeguarding organized in Albania in cooperation with the Sofia Center and it followed up on the workshop ‘Implementation of the 2003 Convention at the national level’, which was held in Tirana, Albania in September 2015.
This workshop was led by two UNESCO trained facilitators, Mr Sasa Sreckovic from the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, Serbia and Ms Meri Kumbe from the University of Arts of Tirana, Albania and it used an interactive methodology mixing lectures with case studies, role plays and field work exercises. The working language was English
After completing the workshop participants who were representatives from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communities, institutions, students and individual experts felt more aware and better equipped to be engaged in designing and conducting community-based inventorying in their respective communities.

The 2019 Sub-regional Meeting for ICH Safeguarding in South Asia was held from 24 to 26 June in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to examine the current status of ICH education in South Asia and discuss ways forward. The meeting was co-organized by ICHCAP and the UNESCO Dhaka Office. There were twenty-seven participants, including government officials and civil society members from six South Asian countries (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka). During the meeting, they shared national education policies and activities for ICH safeguarding and discussed future cooperation projects.

For the first time education and culture stakeholders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan came together to discuss benefits and methods of integrating intangible cultural heritage in formal and non-formal education programmes. UNESCO Almaty organized this sub-regional meeting for Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 18 to 19 June 2019, which was hosted by the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO.

As part of the discussions, participants shared recent experiences from the region such as surveys on technical and vocational education and training institutions for intangible cultural heritage and on integrating intangible cultural heritage in schools. Participants saw a great need for teacher training in this new important area of work, its integration in in-service teacher qualification programmes and more support to non-formal education programmes. The latter have solid experience in working closely with bearer communities in developing innovative programmes and learning materials.

Meeting participants included government officials from ministries of culture and education, representatives of National Commissions for UNESCO, coordinators and teachers from the UNESCO Associated School Project network (ASPnet) and representatives of civil society, UNESCO Living Heritage Entity, UNESCO Almaty Office, UNESCO Tashkent Office and the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) was established in 2007 by UNESCO, through its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, in order to support the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the region. Annual meetings of the network took place so far in Arbanasi, Bulgaria (2007); Safranbolu, Turkey (2008); Zagreb, Croatia (2009); Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Romania (2010); Belgrade, Serbia (2011); Athens, Greece (2012); Sofia, Bulgaria (2013); Limassol, Cyprus (2014); Venice, Italy (2015); Supetar, Croatia (2016); Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2017); and Ljubljana, Slovenia (2018).
These meetings contributed to enhance a common understanding of opportunities and challenges linked to the safeguarding of the ICH as a key asset of South-East European cultural diversity, promoting the sharing of knowledge and good practices on national measures to implement the Convention, and serving as a platform to develop regional and cross-border cooperation.
The 13th annual meeting is hosted by the City of Cremona, Italy, and organized by UNESCO (Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, in cooperation with the Living Heritage Entity), thanks to the generous support of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe (Category 2 Centre operating under the auspices of UNESCO, based in Sofia, Bulgaria).

Documents

• Concept note and agenda: English
• List of participants: English

The Solomon Islands joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage last year. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will organise a Capacity Building Workshop on the Implementation of the ICH Convention in the Solomon Islands in Honiara from 29 April to 3 May 2019.
The Workshop will bring together some 40 participants, including the government officials, ICH holders and practitioners, community leaders, NGOs, and representatives of the Women and Youth Councils in order to build capacity for the implementation of the ICH Convention at the national level.

With some 70 local languages, the ICH in the Solomon Islands reflects its diversity. Their living heritage is under development pressure and threats from urbanization, natural disasters, and climate change. The Workshop intends to address specific challenges and opportunities facing the ICH safeguarding in the Solomon Islands. The Workshop will also provide the opportunity to discuss the role and significance of the Community-based ICH inventorying in East Rennel, World Heritage site in the Solomon Islands.

Twenty-one international experts gathered on 21 and 22 May at UNESCO Headquarters at the request of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage see Decision to explore operational modalities of action for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in situation of emergencies.
The dual dimension of emergencies and living heritage was underlined during the event - on one hand the threats on the viability of living heritage in such situations and on the other hand, the role of living heritage as a resource for preparedness, recovery, resilience and reconciliation. Experts highlighted the complexity and breadth of emergencies and their impact on living heritage and stressed that saving people is the first step towards safeguarding living heritage as the latter is inseparable from its bearers. In this regard, cooperation with humanitarian actors and other relevant stakeholders is fundamental.
Experts also highlighted the principle of community-based actions, which is at the core of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The outcomes of the meeting will be reported to the fourteen session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Bogota, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019, in order to inform the discussion on this matter.

Documents

• Expert Meeting on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Emergencies: English|French
• Preliminary programme
  LHE/19/EXP/1 Rev.2: English|French
• Presentation - Session 1: Frameworks - Other relevant international instruments and standards: English
• Presentation - Session 2: Intangible cultural heritage in emergencies - Overlapping issues: English
• Presentation - Session 3: Intangible cultural heritage and existing operational modalities: English
• Presentation - Session 4: Defining Methodological Guidance: English
• Working document
  LHE/19/EXP/2: English|French
• List of participants
  LHE/19/EXP/3 Rev.: English/French
• Presentation - Opening: English|French
• Presentation - Session 1: UNESCO Frameworks: English|French
• Presentation - Session 2: Disasters (by Mr Hiroki Takakura): English
• Presentation - Session 2: Conflict (by Mr Lassana Cissé): French

The capacity building workshop on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) safeguarding plan and International Assistance Requests (IAR) development in the Pacific island states took place in Nadi, Fiji, from 13 to 17 May 2019. The workshop was organized by the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), a UNESCO’s Category II Center in China and hosted by the Fijian Ministry of Education (Department of Heritage, Arts and Culture).

On 22 April 2019, the Living Heritage Entity organized a roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) on “The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples.”
The UNPFII is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established in 2000 with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, the environment, culture, education, health and human rights. The focus for this year’s Forum was on the special theme of “Traditional knowledge: generation, transmission and protection.”
The Secretary of the Convention, Mr Tim Curtis, gave an overview of the Convention and why it is relevant for indigenous peoples to support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
“There are some quite inherent alignments between some of the key concepts that exist in the UNDRIP and the 2003 Convention. Even though the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention is not specifically directed to indigenous peoples, it captures a lot of those same concerns, especially around community custodianship.”
Ambassador Rubén Escalante Hasbún, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN, shared some recent experiences from El Salvador of an International Assistance project that aimed to safeguard the oral traditions of Náhuat speakers in the municipality of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The project, in particular, focused on engaging youth in the inventorying process, which enhanced community self-esteem and pride in their indigenous culture. “We have to include the young people, making sure that youth can have a better understanding of their identity.”
Ambassador Hasbún emphasized the importance of harnessing existing synergies between different international mechanisms to enhance indigenous rights.
This was a point likewise highlighted by Mr Elifuraha Laltaika, member of the UNPFII and founder of the Association for Law and Advocacy for Pastoralists in Tanzania.
“The importance of the 2003 Convention cannot be overemphasized because it provides the spaces for indigenous peoples to exercise their agency in terms of fostering their identity and continuity through transmission.”
Mr Laltaika spoke of the potential of international instruments to enhance the cultural rights of indigenous peoples that have historically been threatened by global histories of colonialism and dispossession.
“The 2003 Convention is a central to boosting or amplifying indigenous peoples’ historical and ongoing efforts to assert their identities and preserve their languages, cultures and traditions.”
Ms Hindou Ibrahim co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and founder of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad emphasised how the Convention corresponds to indigenous concerns about safeguarding cultural heritage and ensuring its continued relevance for future generations. She underscored the Convention’s community-based approach, which requires the free, prior and informed consent of communities in all safeguarding activities.
“This convention…means a lot for me and it can mean a lot for indigenous peoples. If it can guide us through the best approach, with free, prior and informed consent and safeguard all what we have as culture, knowledge and as our future because we talk about the technological future but our indigenous knowledge is our future.”

Other issues discussed included the links between education and intangible cultural heritage, the important role of indigenous women as carriers of their cultures and challenges to ensure compliance and implementation of international conventions protecting indigenous peoples’ rights at the country level.

The event generated interest in the Convention among the participants at the Forum, building on the momentum of the International Year of Indigenous Languages. UNESCO will continue its work on this important issue with side events at the upcoming session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Bogota, Colombia, to focus on the role of indigenous languages and safeguarding living heritage.

You can listen to the full event here

The purpose of this consultation meeting is to continue the reflection with accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the ICH NGO Forum, the informal ad hoc working group and States Parties on the definition of the advisory functions to be fulfilled by accredited NGOs, as requested by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its thirteenth session in 2018 (Decision 13.COM 13). The outcomes of this consultation meeting will be presented to the fourteenth session of the Committee in Bogotá, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019.

The workshop on inventorying with the participation of communities under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage builds on the results of the workshop on the implementation of the 2003 Convention held in 2011 and aims to equip the staff of the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism and Culture with knowledge and skills to design and facilitate an inventory approach based on the collective commitment and adapted to the particular situation of the communities. Facilitated by two members of the UNESCO’s facilitators’ network, the workshop will cover the themes of participatory inventory work under the 2003 Convention, possible frameworks for participatory inventory work, ethics and responsibilities, methods and techniques of inventorying, as well as a field practicum.

After the previous two workshop in Bishkek (2017) and Almaty (2018), this third Training of Trainers for Central Asia was held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) from 8 to 12 April 2019. Co-organized by UNESCO and the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (CRIHAP), it was an opportunity for participants from four Central Asian countries to deepend their knowledge about the 2003 Convention and strengthen capacities around several themes, including policy development, ICH and education, as well as the overall results framework for the Convention. A field visit in a ceramic workshop, gave the possibility to discuss concretely about ICH and sustainable development, with a particular focus on the economic dimension and the opportunities/challenges of tourism.