The International Assistance mechanism provides support to States Parties in their national efforts to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage. The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage examined and approved, on 5 June 2023, nine International Assistance projects, including an emergency request and a preparatory assistance. A total of US$973,539 was granted to nine States Parties:

· The emergency request from Haiti aims to support the community of artists and artisans of the village of Noailles to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of metal cutting in the context of the security crisis and for resilience in Haiti was approved.

· Seven stand-alone International Assistance were also granted to implement safeguarding projects in: The Bahamas, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Peru, Rwanda, Togo and Uzbekistan. Six of the seven requests concern inventorying as a main subject of intervention. These grants represent the first instances of international assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to The Bahamas, Rwanda and Uzbekistan.

· Finally, a preparatory assistance submitted by Mongolia to prepare a proposal to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices in line with Article 18 of the Convention was also approved.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund provides dedicated resources for States parties to implement a wide range of programmes, projects and activities dedicated to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, such as community-based inventorying, awareness-raising or specific activities such as safeguarding living heritage in emergencies.

Learn more about International Assistance : https://ich.unesco.org/en/requesting-assistance-00039