Reuniones sobre el patrimonio cultural inmaterial organizadas o coorganizadas por la 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 : francés
• List of Participant: francés
• Programme: francés

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.

Unos 30 representantes de los Ministerios de Cultura y expertos formados por la UNESCO, de diferentes países de la región Árabe van a debatir con la UNESCO y la ALECSO de las necesidades y los desafíos del desarrollo de marcos conceptuales e institucionales, para la salvaguardia del patrimonio cultural inmaterial. Ambas organizaciones internacionales son co-organizadoras de esta reunión, en colaboración con el Consejo Nacional de Kuwait para la Cultura, las Artes y las Letras, del 7 al 9 de mayo de 2014, en Kuwait (Cuidad) gracias a la generosa hospitalidad del Gobierno de Kuwait.

• Programa: inglés
• Nota conceptual : inglés

Los facilitadores expertos y el personal de la UNESCO se quedarán en Kuwait para una segunda reunión, con el fin de revisar los avances y desafíos de la implementación del programa de capacitación de la UNESCO para el patrimonio cultural inmaterial y hacer recomendaciones sobre las formas de transmitirlo a la región Árabe (del 10 al 11 de mayo).

• Agenda provisional: inglés
• Documento de referencia: inglés

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

Del 31 de marzo al 6 de abril se lleva a cabo en República Dominicana un taller sobre la confección de inventarios del patrimonio cultural inmaterial con la participación de las comunidades, en el marco del proyecto regional de fortalecimiento de capacidades nacionales para una salvaguardia eficaz del patrimonio cultural inmaterial en Cuba, República Dominicana y Haití, que cuenta con el apoyo del Fondo del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, gracias a la generosa contribución de Noruega.

Animado por dos miembros de la red de facilitadores de la UNESCO, María Ismenia Toledo (Venezuela) y Enrique Pérez López (México), el taller reúne a 30 especialistas, estudiantes y portadores de patrimonio cultural inmaterial para una formación sobre el enfoque promulgado por la Convención del 2003 para la Salvaguardia del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de los inventarios y el papel que desempeñan las comunidades. La formación teórica se complementa con una parte técnica de recopilación de datos y con un ejercicio de campo con los Chuineros de Cañafístol en Baní, provincia de Peravia, cuyos cantos improvisados en forma de copla corren el riesgo de desaparecer.

Esta actividad es posible gracias al apoyo del Viceministerio de Patrimonio Cultural y el Centro Cultural Perelló, con sede en Baní,
que han jugado un papel decisivo en la obtención del consentimiento libre, previo e informado de los Chuineros.

Documentos

• Lista de participantes: español
• Programa: español

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 : francés
• Présentation - Réunion : Rapport d’atelier de M. Ahmed Skounti: francés

El tema de la conferencia internacional de los 24-26 de marzo en Bergen (Noruega) se centra en las Convenciones para el Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO (1972), el Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial (2003) y la Diversidad de la Expresión Cultural (2005).

El objetivo general de la conferencia es de explorar sinergias entre las tres convenciones, cómo se pueden utilizar para cumplir sus correspondientes ambiciones y cómo otros instrumentos de la UNESCO relacionados, los mecanismos y las prácticas regionales y nacionales, pueden ser implementados, de forma fructífera, en su totalidad.

La conferencia examinará las siguientes cuestiones:
• ¿Cómo se pueden obtener sinergias entre las convenciones y otros mecanismos y prácticas en el campo - lo que funciona en la práctica?
• ¿Cuál es el papel, tanto del patrimonio cultural material como inmaterial y de las expresiones culturales, en la contribución en favor del desarrollo sostenible?

Los participantes objetivo incluyen investigadores en patrimonio cultural y natural, en desarrollo sostenible, profesionales en gestión de los sitios del patrimonio e instrumentos conexos, en el ámbito local y niveles superiores.

La conferencia servirá de plataforma para el intercambio de ideas. Proporcionará:
• a los investigadores comentarios sobre sus hallazgos e ideas para su trabajo,
• a los gestores del patrimonio local, inspiración para nuevas soluciones,
• a la UNESCO y a los gestores del patrimonio a nivel nacional, ideas para desarrollos estratégicos,

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: inglés
• Lista de participantes: inglés

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.

Del 25 de febrero al 4 de marzo de 2014, tuvo lugar en la ciudad de Guatemala el último de los talleres del proyecto de fortalecimiento de capacidades nacionales para la salvaguardia eficaz del patrimonio cultural inmaterial en América Central, dedicado a la confección de inventarios con participación de las comunidades. El taller estuvo destinado al personal técnico de la Dirección General del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial del Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala y a miembros de las comunidades portadores de manifestaciones de patrimonio cultural inmaterial representativas de la diversidad cultural del país.

Facilitada por dos miembros de la red de expertos formados por la UNESCO, Eva Martínez de Honduras y Enrique Pérez López de México, esta capacitación quiso dotar a los participantes de conocimientos y competencias esenciales que les permitan planear y facilitar la confección de inventarios de patrimonio cultural inmaterial, adaptándola a las particularidades de las comunidades que lo practican y lo transmiten.

El taller contó con dos días de práctica de campo en el municipio de Chinautla, a 10 km de la ciudad capital, cuya población indígena Maya-Pocomam fabrica con técnica y precisión vasijas y floreros, entre otras piezas, con barro, paja y arcilla. Esta artesanía tradicional que se transmite de madres a hijas desde la infancia, fue declarada Patrimonio Cultural Intangible de la Nación por el Gobierno de Guatemala en el 2013.

Documentos

• Lista de participantes: español
• Programa: español

Del 11 al 14 de febrero, la Oficina Regional de Cultura para América Latina y el Caribe está organizando un taller de capacitación sobre la aplicación de la Convención de 2003 para la Salvaguardia del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial a nivel nacional en Santiago de Cuba, en el oriente cubano. El taller reunirá a una veintena de participantes de las provincias orientales y de Camagüey. Portadores del patrimonio cultural inmaterial de la región, junto a miembros de los consejos provinciales y de instituciones nacionales como el Comité Nacional para la Salvaguardia del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial o el Instituto Cubano de Investigación Cultural, recibirán una formación intensiva sobre los objetivos y los conceptos clave de esta Convención así como sobre las obligaciones contraídas por los Estados que la han ratificado y los mecanismos que prevé para la cooperación internacional.

Organizado en el marco del programa regional de fortalecimiento de capacidades en Cuba, República Dominicana y Haití, y financiado a través de la generosa contribución de Noruega al Fondo del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, el taller será facilitado por dos expertos formados por la UNESCO, Adriana Molano Arenas de Colombia y Francisco Javier López Morales de México. Ofrecerá a los participantes una plataforma de reflexión colectiva sobre las experiencias y desafíos de la salvaguardia del patrimonio cultural inmaterial en el contexto más amplio del desarrollo sostenible.

Documentos

• Lista de participantes: español
• Programa: español

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.