M. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, and UNESCO Director-General Ms. Audrey Azoulay, were among the participants who attended the opening ceremony of the seventeenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage taking place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco.

Tbourida, a Moroccan equestrian performance inscribed in 2021 on the Representative List, opened the ceremony. Many festive living heritage practices were also performed, and guests had the pleasure to witness dancers of Taskiwin, martial dance of the western High Atlas, inscribed in 2017 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and Gnawa, inscribed in 2019 on the Representative List. Participants also enjoyed couscous for diner, as the Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous was also inscribed in 2020 on the Representative List.

The ceremony marks the opening of the session, which will last until Saturday 3rd December. To this date, around a thousand participants have registered to attend the Committee, gathering after a three years hiatus. H.E. Mr Samir Addahre, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO, will chair this annual gathering. Each morning session will start at 9.30am and end at 12.30pm (Rabat time). In the afternoon, the session will start at 2.30pm and end at 5.30pm (Rabat time). The provisional timetable is available online, although the updated timetable will be uploaded every day on the 17.COM webpage.

The items of the agenda notably include the examination of nominations submitted by States Parties for inscription on the Lists of the Convention of :

• 4 nominations to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding,
• 46 nominations to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,
• 5 proposals to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices,
• 1 International Assistance request.

The 17th session will also examine:

• 24 reports by States Parties on the status of elements inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding,
• 42 reports on the implementation of the Convention and the status of elements inscribed on the Representative List in Europe.

The results of the three surveys on thematic initiatives related to living heritage and sustainable development will also be presented to the Committee: “Economic dimensions of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage”, “Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and climate change”, and “Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts.

Key information for participants and all the documents are available on the dedicated webpage.