Worldheritage Forum

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to Enter into Force on 20 April

Posted on 10. February 2006 um 19:39 Uhr
» Intangible Heritage

On 20th of April the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage will enter into force:

(...)
The Convention has been ratified by: Algeria, Mauritius, Japan, Gabon, Panama, China, Central African Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Republic of Korea, Seychelles, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, Mali, Mongolia, Croatia, Egypt, Oman, Dominica, India, Vietnam, Peru, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nigeria, Iceland, Mexico, Senegal and Romania. UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, welcomed the exceptionally rapid ratification of this new instrument, which will enter into force in just a little more than two years after its adoption by the General Conference. “This shows the great interest in intangible heritage all over the world, whether in the countries of the South or of the North, and the widespread awareness of urgent need for its international protection given the threat posed by contemporary lifestyles and the process of globalization. It was absolutely necessary to fill in the legal void concerning this essential aspect of cultural diversity and to offer to living cultures inherited through tradition adequate means of preservation,” he said.(...)
reference: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31424&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Read the full press release here.

There is a special UNESCO-Website, where you can find more information on listed Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

For example the The Cultural Space of Jemaa el-Fna Square

Description:

Jemaa el-Fna Square, located at the entrance to the medina in Marrakesh, has become one of the symbols of the city since it developed in the eleventh century. It is a cultural crossroads and a symbol of the city’s identity. The population of the region and from even further afield converges on this square where the frenetic commercial activity and entertainment opportunities attract crowds well into the night. Lined with restaurants, shops, hotels and public buildings, the square itself is a meeting-point and creative hub for languages, music, art and literature. There is a huge range of performances and acts: story-tellers, musicians, dancers, snake-charmers, glass-eaters and performing animals. A wide variety of services are also offered, such as dental care, traditional medicine, fortune-telling, preaching, astrology, henna tattooing, fruit stalls, water carrying and lantern hiring. The cosmopolitan nature of Jemaa el-Fna is reflected in the mix of languages and dialects from across Morocco and Europe. The stories told there, and the manner in which they are relayed to the audience, are based on ancient tradition. The need to hold the spectators’ attention has meant that the tellers have developed a wealth of narrative techniques. Jemaa el-Fna Square is intimately linked to the identity of the city of Marrakesh and constantly re-energizes the popular and urban cultural tradition of the Moroccan people.
reference: http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/masterpiece.php?id=14&lg=en

Djemaa el Fna in Marrakesh, Morocco, reference:WIKIPEDIA, GNU