The Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe, a Category 2 centre active in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), recently organized a capacity-building workshop in the Ethnographic Museum of Belgrade, Serbia, called “Developing safeguarding plans for intangible cultural heritage in Serbia”.

The first and second days of the training were focused on laying the foundations for a greater understanding of the 2003 Convention, its key concepts, and ethical principles. The involvement of communities was also at the core of this introductory session. Participants were introduced to UNESCO’s global capacity-building programme and relevant training materials.

On the last day of the training, the participants visited Manakova Kuc?a (‘Manak House’), a component of the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade. It exhibits several traditional costumes and jewelry, as well as crafts and traditional knowledge from all parts of the country for the occasion of events and activities. Bearers from Serbian communities introduced their practices to the participants, as pictured above.

Divided into groups, participants interviewed the practitioners, to understand the challenges they face to safeguard their living heritage. Each group of interviewers had to work on a hypothetical safeguarding plan aligned with the spirit of the 2003 Convention, and with the help of the capacity-building training materials. As seen in the last session of the training, the participants shown a greater understanding of what safeguarding living heritage implies, and how important it is to involve communities throughout the process. To wrap-up this intense and fruitful capacity-building workshop, the International Assistance (IA) mechanism and successful safeguarding projects were presented to the audience.

The organizers believe that this training will benefit the communities of bearers on the long-term, thanks to a deeper knowledge of the 2003 Convention and its practical aspects, including the capacity-building programme.