Encuentro sobre patrimonio cultural inmaterial y educación en América Latina y el Caribe emanará orientaciones para la política pública

A technical meeting on intangible cultural heritage and education was held virtually on December 12 and 13, 2022. During the event, which was attended by 70 experts on the subject from Latin America and the Caribbean, the main results of a regional study conducted between 2019 and 2021 were presented, which explored the intersections between Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among the conclusions of these sessions, UNESCO committed to issue a document with the main findings of the study and another publication containing guidelines for public policy, texts that will be presented to the Ministries of Education and Culture of the region.

This initiative is part of the project Learning with intangible cultural heritage for a sustainable future in Latin America and the Caribbean, carried out by the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago), with the collaboration of the offices in Havana, Lima, Quito and Guatemala. The initiative is financed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands through its contribution to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The first day of the meeting included welcoming remarks by Claudia Uribe, Director of the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago), Tim Curtis, Secretary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and Olga Rufins, Culture Program Officer of the Regional Bureau of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO Havana).

On this first day, UNESCO consultants Carla Pinochet and Felipe Trujillo presented a preview of the results of a study on living heritage and education in 15 countries in the region. The specialists also led the workshop "The intersection between living heritage and education in Latin America and the Caribbean: a collaborative diagnosis".

The day concluded with the presentation of eight educational experiences carried out within the framework of the project Learning with intangible cultural heritage for a sustainable future in Latin America and the Caribbean, carried out in 2021. Luis González, from the Historical Museum of Yerbas Buenas; Paulina Arriagada, from the Liceo Bicentenario de Los Sauces participated on behalf of Chile. Gregory Jiménez, from the Tulipe Archaeological Museum and the Andean Chocó Youth Network project, represented Ecuador.) Guatemala was represented by Lizeth Morales, from the Sociocultural Commission of La Antigua Guatemala, and Marta Lidia Matzir, from Identidad y Memoria Histórica de los Pueblos, Centro Educativo Kastajibal. Peru had the participation of Violeta Quispe, from the Sarhuina community of Lima; and Robert Arroyo, from the Site Museum and Archaeological Sanctuary of Wariwillka, all of whom reported on their educational activities developed within the framework of the project.

The second day of the technical meeting included a presentation by Leandro Peredo and Susanne Schnüttgen, specialists from the Secretariat of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, with an international perspective on the project. This was followed by a panel on normative frameworks and opportunities for collaboration between the areas of education and living heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean. This panel included the participation of Verónica Orbea, from the Multi-Year Resilience Program (MYRP), UNESCO Quito; David Gómez Manrique, from the Regional Center for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL); Daniela Serra, from the Undersecretariat of Cultural Heritage of Chile; and Mayra Valdez, from the Ministry of Education of Guatemala. The day culminated with the workshop "Proposals for learning from intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean".