― 14 июня 2024 г.

General Assembly of Signatory States of the Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in UNESCO Headquarters

During the General Assembly, the Representatives of the States Parties discussed issues of importance for the protection of living heritage worldwide and for the future of the Convention. Upon invitation of UNESCO, the International Organisation of Turkic Culture - TURKSOY attended the General Assembly as an observer for the first time this year.

The agenda of the General Assembly included institutional processes, as well as the plan for the use of resources of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, the accreditation of non-governmental organisations and the election of new Committee members.

In his statement before the General Assembly,  TURKSOY Secretary General  Sultan Raev underlined the important work of TURKSOY in the field of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and stated that high-level cooperation is being carried out in the field of cultural heritage in the Turkic World. Secretary General Sultan Raev further stated that thanks to this cooperation, most of the joint applications are made by countries of the Turkic World and said: “At TURKSOY, we have a special action plan to unveil the heritage we have in the coming period and to protect it through our international cooperation with a view to introducing it  to a wider audience. With the support of our member countries, we are carrying out a large scale inventory work in the field of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It is very important to create and keep this inventory alive with our own resources in order to protect our common heritage and to get better acquainted with each other.”

Secretary General Raev also expressed his satisfaction that the number of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of  Intangible Cultural Heritage has reached 183.

During the sessions of the General Assembly, the participating delegates highly appreciated the experience and efforts of the Turkic World in preserving and promoting the values of intangible cultural heritage, noting that it sets a good example for many countries.

Algeria, Barbados, China, Dominican Republic, France, Haiti, Nigeria, Nigeria, Spain, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Zambia were the twelve new members elected to the Committee during the General Assembly. Following  the General Assembly, San Marino, Libya and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland became parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of  Intangible Cultural Heritage. The accession of these countries raised the number of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to 183.