Guatemala lays the foundation for effective and sustainable implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the...

11 April 2013

UNESCO’s regional capacity-building programme in Central America – benefitting from the generous contribution of Spain to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund and kicked-off some weeks ago in Honduras – now materializes in Guatemala. The programme aims to develop institutional capacities and a national strategy for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, built upon the experiences, views and aspirations of actors working in this field.

Twenty persons, including representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Sport and cultural managers from different parts of the country, will meet in Guatemala City from 15 to 17 April to discuss the key concepts of the Convention, the obligations of a State, the Convention’s mechanisms for international cooperation and the Operational Directives that guide its implementation. Conducted by two members of UNESCO’s network of expert facilitators, Ms Soledad Mujica (Peru) and Ms Eva Martínez (Honduras), these working sessions benefit from the momentum shown by Guatemala over the past two years in the use of the international mechanisms of the Convention.

• Guatemala,