Following its successful launch in April 2022, the project ‘Capacity Building for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contribution to Sustainable Development in The Gambia’ has advanced with a second workshop in Serrekunda, the Gambia, over the summer.

The first day was dedicated to raising awareness among government officials on the importance of living heritage and to encourage an inter-ministerial collaboration. The training led to greater understanding on the interlinkages between safeguarding living heritage and different areas of sustainable development. This is shown in the quotes featured below in the great communication materials produced following the workshop.

The second phase of the workshop was focused on a technical training for heritage and culture experts on the 2003 Convention, including in areas such as community involvement in intangible cultural heritage safeguarding, implementing safeguarding plans and developing ICH policies. The training was led by two members of the Global Facilitators network and brought together twenty representatives of communities and heritage professionals from the seven administrative regions of the Gambia. Discussions between the participants were lively, testament to the strong commitment of communities and heritage experts to building stronger safeguarding mechanisms in the Gambia.

The activities were conducted in the framework of the capacity-building project, financed through a voluntary contribution by the Government of France to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. The project is being implemented by the UNESCO Dakar Office in partnership with the National Centre for Arts and Culture and in close consultation with the UNESCO Living Heritage Entity.