Good News! India member of UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee to Safeguard Intangible Cultural Heritage

New Delhi, Jul 8: India has been elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 cycle. Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention consists of 24 members and is elected in the General Assembly of the Convention according to the principles of equitable geographical representation and rotation. States Members to the Committee are elected for a term of four years.

 

 

 

 

The elections for the Intergovernmental Committee took place during the ninth General Assembly of the 2003 Convention held at UNESCO headquarters, Paris, from Jul 5 to 7. The announcement to this effect was made by Union Minister for Culture G.K Reddy. In the past, India has served two terms as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of this Convention; one from 2006 to 2010 and the other from 2014 to 2018.

 

For its 2022-2026 term, India has formulated a clear vision for the protection and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Some of the priority areas that India will focus upon include fostering community participation, strengthening international cooperation through intangible heritage, promoting academic research on intangible cultural heritage, and aligning the work of the Convention with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This vision was also shared with the other State Parties of the Convention prior to the elections.

 

 

 

 

 

India ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Sep 2005. As one of the earliest State Parties to ratify the Convention, India has shown great commitment towards matters related to intangible heritage and has actively encouraged other State Parties to ratify it. With 14 inscriptions on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, India also ranks high in the listing of intangible cultural heritage.

 

 

As a member of the intergovernmental committee, India will have the opportunity to closely monitor the implementation of the 2003 Convention. With the aim of strengthening the scope and impact of the Convention, India seeks to mobilize the capacity of different actors worldwide in order to effectively safeguard intangible heritage.