The Secretariat of the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” (Hereafter referred to as 2003 Convention) convened the fourth meeting on UNESCO Category 2 Centres in the field of intangible cultural heritage at UNESCO headquarters on June 3, 2016.

About 30 representatives and staff from seven Category 2 Centres in China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Algeria, Bulgaria and Peru; UN Offices in Beijing, Venice, Havana and Bangkok; as well as the Convention’s Common Affairs Department, attended.

The Secretariat briefed those at the meeting on the last development of the 2003 Convention, including important meetings in the field of intangible cultural heritage, revision of “Operational Directives” and the upgrading on capacity-building teaching materials.

The Secretariat also held discussions with conference participants on several topics, such as new perspectives on how to carry out work under the Convention’s framework and new areas in which the UNESCO headquarters and Category 2 Centres could cooperate.

In the future, UNESCO’s work in the field of intangible cultural heritage will center on expanding the scale of international assistance, promoting sustainable development and codes of ethics. UNESCO headquarters and Category 2 Centres will carry out further cooperation in the educational field and promote Best practices, which will bring the UNESCO headquarters, regional offices and Category 2 Centres together to form a joint force to work collaboratively on the strategy of capacity building and to promote sustainable development.

At the meeting, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), briefed participants on the achievements it had made in capacity building training and international cooperation in recent years.

It expressed its willingness to continue cooperation with the UNESCO headquarters, regional offices and Category 2 Centres in strengthening the capacity building for safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in the Asian-Pacific region.