Thanks to the generous contribution of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority (ADTCA) in the United Arab Emirates, UNESCO, in collaboration with national partners, will begin implementing multi-year projects to strengthen the national capacity for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Comoros, Egypt, Palestine and Sudan.

These projects are based on the findings of the needs assessments conducted in those four countries during the initial phase of the ADTCA Funds-in-Trust project in 2015 and are part of UNESCO’s global capacity-building for the safeguarding of living heritage. Through on-site national consultations with various relevant stakeholders, each of these countries identified opportunities and gaps in the institutional and professional environment for the effective safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in their countries and mapped out the next steps to be taken to strengthen their national capacities.

Each of the four projects will strengthen institutional and human capacities through various interventions, according to the previously identified needs. These will include training sessions on the key concepts of the 2003 Convention, community-based inventory frameworks and methods, the preparation of safeguarding plans, the use of international cooperation mechanisms, as well as developing policies and legislation accordingly.

The projects will be implemented by the UNESCO field offices in Nairobi, Cairo, Ramallah and Khartoum, in close cooperation with the national authorities concerned and with the support of the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention at UNESCO Headquarters.

UNESCO looks forward to the successful implementation of these projects with its national partners !