© UNESCO/Andrew P. Smith

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Saturday ended its 14th session which took place in the Colombian capital under the Chair María Claudia López Sorzano. The Committee adopted guidelines for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in emergency situations such as conflict and disaster (both natural and human-induced).

The guidelines build on the research and experience acquired by UNESCO 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. During the last day of the session, the Committee decided that its 15th session will be held in Kingston under the chair of Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, from 30 November to 5 December.

The Committee also inscribed five elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and 35 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Committee also added two projects to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices and allotted US$387,770 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to the Burkina Faso’s Capacity building for stakeholders involved in safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in Burkina Faso.

For the first time, the Intergovernmental Committee removed one element from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The session which brought together more than 1,000 participants was opened on 9 December by President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.