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The Government of Norway is one of the most significant supporters of UNESCO’s activities in the field of intangible cultural heritage, since it began supporting ICH projects in 2004/2005. The current cumulative contribution (2004-2008) of the Government of Norway for ICH through the FIT amounts to some 2 million USD, and more projects are awaiting to receive approval.
Norway ratified the 2003 Convention in January 2007 and thus also began contributing to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund which is established under the 2003 Convention.
5 element(s)
Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Tajikistan21/25-08-2012, Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
ICH training-seminar in Dushanbe
- ICH training-seminar in Dushanbe
- © UNESCO
UNESCO training-seminar «Strengthening national capacities for effective safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the countries of Central Asia» was conducted in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from August 21 to August 25, 2012.
Part of a series of seminars for local specialist, the training was organized by the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty and supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Tajikistan National Commission for UNESCO.
Participants in the training included staff of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Tajik National Conservatory, representatives of public and private museums, representatives of NGOs taking part in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, as well as artisans and musicians.
An Opening speech was given by Ms. Farogat Azizi, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan and Ms. Shahlo Abdurahimova, Secretary General of the National Commission of the Republic of Tajikistan for UNESCO. The closing ceremony was attended by Mr. Mirzoshohruh Asrori, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan. It was emphasized that since the ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (17 August 2010) Tajikistan is paying special attention to the preservation of ICH at the national level. In particular, the programme for the preservation of ICH till 2015 was developed and approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Mr. Yuri Peshkov, UNESCO Almaty Culture Specialist, stated that the 2003 Convention is designed to ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage and to highlight its importance. The Convention obliges States to take necessary measures to ensure the protection of intangible cultural heritage and promote cooperation at regional and international levels.
Ms. Sabira Soltongeldieva, a UNESCO consultant for the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH, stated that the training was aimed at improving the understanding and use of practical mechanisms for implementing the Convention at the national level. These include for example, the creation of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) lists, the inclusion of intangible cultural heritage elements in the Convention’s nomination lists, as well as strengthening international cooperation. The training emphasized the need to enhance the role of the government, NGOs, communities and media in the identification, inventory and preservation of ICH.
In 2013, in Tajikistan, two more training sessions are planned on how to prepare nomination papers for inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, as well as for the identification, documentation and inventory of intangible cultural heritage.
Capacity-Building Workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the African States Parties to the 2003 Convention23/24-06-2008, Paris (France)
This workshop, the last of a series of three targeting African states, aimed at informing all African States Parties to the 2003 Convention about recent developments concerning operational aspects of the Convention (c.f. paragraph 04007 of UNESCO 34C/5), more in particular the preparation of nomination files for the Lists of the Convention and of requests for international assistance.
The workshop took place immediately following the second session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention (16 -19 June 2008), which approved the Operational Directives (e.g., selection criteria, calendar of ICH listings)—that the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has prepared over the last 16 months.
The workshop was financed both by the UNESCO regular programme and the Government of Norway within the framework of the UNESCO/Norway Funds-in-Trust.
- Meeting venue: Room XII (Fontenoy), UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
- Agenda: English|French
- List of Participants: English-French
- Report: English|French
Expert meeting on documentation and archiving of intangible cultural heritage12/13-01-2006, Paris (France)
Documenting and archiving intangible cultural heritage serve different purposes within the framework of the 2003. The expert meeting was thus convened in order:
- to discuss diverse ways in which the documenting and archiving of the intangible cultural heritage could be done and used for the sake of the 2003 Convention,
- to study the needs for documentation created by the 2003 Convention, and
- to establish what approaches and practices suit the best various purposes of the Convention and what new approaches have to be investigated.
Twenty-four international experts from 23 countries, representing different disciplines and different perspectives, were invited to participate in the meeting in their personal capacity for their experience in the practice of producing, processing, storing, and making accessible documentation of ICH element. It is envisaged that outcomes of the meeting would contribute towards the elaboration of thematic manuals on the safeguarding of different domains of the intangible cultural heritage, which are currently under preparation, and also offer a number of complementary and/or alternative methods and methodologies for documenting and archiving ICH for different goals.
Expert meeting on criteria for inscription on the lists established by the 2003 Convention05/06-12-2005, Paris (France)
The meeting on criteria for inscription of intangible heritage elements on the Lists to be established under the 2003 Convention (Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding) was attended by experts coming from some 15 UNESCO Member States and by observers from another 30 Member States.
The report summarises the debates of the meeting and presents the selection criteria as recommended at the conclusion of the meeting, relating in particular :
- to the definition of intangible heritage given in the Convention,
- to the need of involving communities in the whole identification and safeguarding process,
- and to the importance of transmission of ICH.
Expert meeting on inventorying Intangible Cultural Heritage17/18-03-2005, Paris (France)
The purpose of the meeting was to study various inventory‐making methodologies and to debate issues to be taken into account when preparing the implementation of the 2003 Convention. Indeed, the characteristics of various systems already under elaboration or in place were studied and compared during the meeting, as were the different approaches and experiences of Member States, regions and disciplines. The debates and the conclusions of the meeting will contribute substantially to the elaboration of thematic manuals on the safeguarding of the ICH. The experts took part in the meeting in their personal capacities; they did not represent – unless they explicitly stated otherwise – official positions of their countries.
The 30 participating experts were selected among researchers, representatives of custodian communities, civil servants working in local and national administrations, as well as from relevant NGOs. Most of them came from countries that had already acquired experience in preparing one or more inventories of ICH.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was also invited, as were observers from UNESCO Member States, in particular those that had already ratified the Convention or that had shown a special interest in UNESCO’s programmes in the field of ICH. Some 50 observers attended all or part of the meeting. There were four plenary working sessions, each of which was introduced by a keynote presentation.