The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization is pleased to announce the inscription of a number of Arab intangible cultural heritage elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held virtually from UNESCO headquarters in Paris on December 14-19, 2020.
The inscribed elements were the following :
- Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous (Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia);
- Camel racing, a social practice and a festive heritage associated with camels (UAE, Oman);
- Al Aflaj, traditional irrigation network system in the UAE, oral traditions, knowledge and skills of construction, maintenance and equitable water distribution (UAE);
- Charfia fishing in the Kerkennah Islands (Tunisia).
Moreover, Egypt has had its “Handmade weaving in Upper Egypt” inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
On this occasion, ALECSO extends its congratulations to all the concerned Arab States and to the local communities which have spared no effort to safeguard these cultural heritage elements passed down from generation to generation.
ALECSO also takes this opportunity to thank all the experts who contributed to the preparation of the nomination files; to all practitioners of the inscribed heritage elements; to the Arab Expert Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage, working under the supervision of ALECSO, for providing the necessary technical support for all the nomination files; to the Arab Group at UNESCO for mobilizing the needed international support for the heritage elements submitted for inscription; as well as to all institutions in charge of managing cultural heritage in the Arab States for their valuable efforts to safeguard and valorize Arab cultural heritage and make best use of it to serve sustainable development.
