The ninth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage reviewed new strategies to implement its goals and report on the status of eight elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List during the committee’s Nov. 24-28 meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage includes 24 member states and seeks to fullfill theConvention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage signed and ratified by 161 countries in 2003. The committee meets annually in Paris and is currently chaired byJosé Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros of Peru.
The committee’s current Representative List includes 281 traditions and customs from various ethnic nationalities that the list seeks to promote.
Forty-six candidates, including Kazakhstan, sought to have objects added to the list. Kazakhstan submitted two cultural elements for the addition to the Representative List: Kui, which is a traditional Kazakh composition performed on the dombra, and a technique of yurt (a traditional dwelling of nomads) construction. Those elements will be submitted for inclusion jointly with Kyrgyzstan.
The Urgent Safeguarding List includes some intangible cultural items which need urgent protection. Thirty-five elements on the list allow participating countries to accumulate their international cooperation in order to secure future preservation.
