The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), headed by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council, is gearing to host the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO, to be held between 28th September and 2nd October, 2009.

 

This meeting comes to emphasize the role of Abu Dhabi as one of the major culture and tourism in the world, and inline with the directives of H.H General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Force.

 

The meeting will work on the registration of intangible heritage components of intangible heritage that need urgent preservation, and the representative list of human intangible heritage at the UNESCO, as well as selecting he programs and activities that the committee deems as representative of the principles and goals of the agreement to preserve human intangible heritage, as the committee hopes to undertake good practices to raise public awareness of intangible heritage.

 

In August, the UAE accomplished preparing the registration file of the sport of falconry to be included in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This was during a workshop that was held for the purpose, attended by officials from the UAE, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Mongolia, South Korea, and Spain, and the file will be presented next May to the panel of experts alongside other applications from other countries, while the final results will be announced in September 2010. 

 

From 11 to 15 May 2009, a subsidiary body formed by six of the 24 members of the Committee examined the 111 nominations, submitted by 35 States, with a view to their inscription on the Representative List. The Committee in Abu Dhabi will decide on these inscriptions.

 

UNESCO's list that was approved on 2003 for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity includes 114 countries, and aims at preserving of traditional music, dance, theatre and related forms of cultural expressions and festivities and handicrafts.

 

The List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding which will come into being in Abu Dhabi will include elements proposed by States Parties to the Convention and whose viability is endangered, despite the efforts of the community or group concerned. By inscribing an element on this List, the State undertakes to implement specific safeguards and may be eligible to receive financial assistance from a Fund set up for this purpose.

 

The Committee will examine 12 nominations from eight States Parties. The Representative List already includes 90 elements, following the incorporation of the 90 masterpieces proclaimed before the Convention entered into force. It will now be augmented by the first elements to be inscribed according to criteria defined in the operational directives of the Convention.

 

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