The annual session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Conservation of intangible cultural Heritage was held for the eighteenth time in the city of Cassané in Botswana from December 4 to December 8. The event brought together 917 participants from 124 countries around the world, both members of the Committee from 24 countries, delegations and representatives of UNESCO Member States from non-governmental organisations and intergovernmental institutions, as well as researchers, cultural heritage Community and press representatives.
2023 marked the 20 th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention for the Conservation of intangible cultural Heritage. In honour of this anniversary, a special moment was given as part of the session in which children of the local primary school gave a small performance, video greetings were received from around the world, and both Ernesto Otho, UNESCO's deputy director general for culture, and representatives of the Committee said in a greeting address.
The issues under consideration in Cassané included Arab country reviews of the implementation of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Conservation of intangible cultural Heritage and other issues. The Committee continued discussions on how to make better use of so-called “best practices” in dealing with the conservation and development of intangible cultural heritage.
Reports by non-governmental organisations on their activities in the conservation and development of intangible cultural heritage were also examined. Currently, 217 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the world are accredited by UNESCO as being able to advise on various areas of intangible cultural heritage. Among the 73 new accreditation applications submitted this year, one was also from Latvia – from the association “Suitu cultural Heritage”. The Committee shall examine the applications and make recommendations to the General Assembly, which shall then take a final decision on the accreditation of the new NGOs.
Discussions on the inclusion of new values in UNESCO's international inventories of intangible cultural heritage – the so-called Register of good practices, the list of urgent values to be preserved and the representative list – attracted international attention as always, ruling on the international recognition of 55 intangible cultural heritage expressions and conservation practices in total.
In the Register of good practices for the Conservation of intangible cultural Heritage (Register of good Safeguarding practices) four initiatives were included. The Committee recognised the following practices as successful and therefore important at international level: Intangible cultural Heritage and Ecology sustainable Development Programme as part of the Armill Sea turtle Festival (Panama), Toolfiddle Network, innovative Dissemination of Swedish-rooted tradition of music and Instrument Building (Sweden), Caucagua Saints innocent Bandos y Parrandas festival Protection Programme: centres for the Promotion and Protection of knowledge and Community Councils (Venezuela) and Protection of the legacy of foster families in the generous Hela (Geel) in the city: Community-based care model (Belgium).
On the list of intangible cultural heritage to be conserved as a matter of urgency (List of intangible cultural Heritage in need of urgent Safeguarding) six values were included this year: Sirijs traditional glass blowing (Sirijs Arab Republic), traditional knowledge, methods and practices associated with olive cultivation (Turkey), Hedo (Xeedho) tradition (Djibouti), traditional musical Theatre Mecca Mulung (Malaysia), initiation dance Ingoma Ya Mapico (Mozambique) and the ancient and traditional cities of Piribebuja PONCHO Para' I de 60 Listas weaving technology (Paraguay).
In the representative of humanity's intangible cultural heritage list (Representative List of the intangible cultural Heritage of humanity) 45 new values were included this year. These include a variety of festivals and traditional festivals as well as a variety of craft skills - for example, six countries (Czech Republic, France, Finland, Spain, Hungary, Germany) had produced the “handmade glassware - knowledge, skills and craftsmanship” nomination. On the other hand, our Lithuanian neighbours submitted their puzzles – straw ornament – to this list for Soda making in Lithuania. Talks have already begun with neighbors on possible accession of Latvia to this nomination. As many traditions do not recognize national political boundaries, this year the Committee also recognized internationally nominations made jointly by several countries, and for the first time in the Committee's history, one intercontinental nomination was also nominated and recognized: Guest care: knowledge, skills, practices (Kipra, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Germany, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Slovenia, Togo).
The Committee also examined and took note of guidelines on the economic dimensions of the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. They deal with the inclusion of economic aspects in the plans for the conservation of intangible cultural heritage, the respect for Community law and interests in relation to the economic exploitation of their cultural heritage, and the risks of decontexting and excessively commercialising cultural heritage and preventing them. Similarly, the UNESCO Secretariat continues to explore in depth the links between the conservation of intangible cultural heritage and climate change, as well as the preservation of this heritage in the urban environment.
In parallel with the work of the Committee session, various presentations and discussions on intangible cultural heritage took place, including a joint monograph on intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development by researchers associated with the work of the Committee, including the heads of several UNESCO Chair. Intangible cultural Heritage and sustainable Development: inside a UNESCO Convention.
Latvia was represented at the 18 th session of the Committee in Cassané, Botswana by the representatives of the national cultural Centre of Latvia – Director Signe Puyte and intangible cultural Heritage expert Gita Lancers, and Anita Vaivade, Head of the intangible cultural Heritage Policy and Rights Chair of the Latvian Academy of Culture UNESCO.