UNESCO Immaterial Heritage Committee to meet in Ethiopia

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguard of the Immaterial Heritage will hold in Ethiopia its annual meeting in Ethiopia from November 28 to December 2.

In a press conference, the Secretary of the Convention on the topic, Tim Curtism explained that the venue will have a wide agenda aimed at continuing promoting the protection of that patrimony kept for years in communities and countries throughout the planet.

The Committee, formed by representatives of 24 countries, will analyze 37 nominations that look to taking part of the representative list of the cultural immaterial heritage of humanity.

Among the proposals is included the culture of beer in Belgium, the practice of rumba in Cuba and the knowledge in China of time and the practices developed through observation of the yearly movement of the sun.

The meeting will also include five nominations in the List of cultural immaterial heritage which require urgent measures of safeguard due to the danger they are facing.

In this point there is the procedure to manufacture black cheramics of Bisalhàes in Portugal, the dance and music with arched lire of the Madi people in Uganda and the cosack chants of the region of Dniepropetrovsk in Ukraine.

An important question open to debate at the Addis Ababa meeting will be the safegiard of the cultural immaterial patrimony in regions in conflict or affected by natural catastrophes.

Curtis said this sphere, besides the protection is also relevant to research how the practices form part of the immaterial patrimony help the communities resist and overcome the moments of crisis.

On the other side, the Unesco specialist said that 10 years after the enactment of the Convention, a positive balance can be made of the results achieved.

In this sense, he highlighted that a major conscience and sensitivity in governments can be achieved on the need to protect the cultural immaterial heritage and the protection in the application of nation policies focused on the subject.

Source: Plenglish