UNESCO experts are set to start deliberations in India on Monday on which practices and traditions should be declared intangible cultural heritage, with this year’s nominations including the Swiss art of yodelling and Italian cooking.
A total of 66 customs and crafts from around the globe have been nominated for inscription on one of the UN’s cultural and educational body’s three cultural heritage lists.
They also include Iceland’s swimming pool culture and Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights commonly known as Diwali.
Brussels’ rod marionette tradition as well as Gifaataa, the New Year festival celebrated by Ethiopia’s Wolaita people, have also been nominated.
For a practice or a craft to be officially declared intangible cultural heritage, they need to be passed on from generation to generation and kept alive by a community, among other criteria.
“Intangible cultural heritage stands for cultural participation, diversity and vitality,” said Christoph Wulf, vice president of the German UNESCO commission.
The 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi takes place from Monday to Saturday.
This year, experts will examine 11 nominations for the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, 54 nominations for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as well as one proposal for the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.
Dining and Cooking