Post-disaster needs assessment for culture in Kerala © UNESCO - Heritage Emergency Fund

At its fourteenth session, the Intergovernmental Committee endorsed a set of operational principles and modalities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in a wide range of emergency contexts, including conflicts and natural disasters.

The operational principles and modalities build on the research and experience acquired by the Secretariat in recent years, including among Syrian refugees, internally displaced populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and disaster risk reduction strategies in the Pacific Islands. They were elaborated by 21 specialists working in fields related to intangible cultural heritage and emergencies who attended an expert meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 21 to 22 May.

This represents the culmination of three years of reflections by the Committee on the role of communities in safeguarding their intangible cultural heritage in emergencies. The 2003 Convention provides a unique platform for communities to harness their intangible cultural heritage as a tool for resilience, recovery and reconciliation in emergencies and strengthen its incorporation into disaster and humanitarian relief processes.