The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Culture Department) held, on March 1, 2023, in Cairo, Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian Culture Ministry, a two-day meeting on developing the “Arab Strategy for the Safeguarding and Use of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Arab World”.
The two-day meeting featured presentations on the experiences of some Arab countries in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
A presentation was made on current and proposed legislation to preserve intangible cultural heritage and have it inscribed on UNESCO’s relevant heritage lists.
The proposed plans to document and inventory intangible cultural heritage elements at country level and to revive and promote this heritage at the national, regional and international levels were also presented during the meeting.
Discussions centered on various relevant issues, including policies and legislations for cultural heritage preservation.
The meeting was convened as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In this regard, ALECSO has prepared a rich and varied program that involves the following activities:
- Continue to supervise the implementation of the Five-year Map project for joint Arab inscription files;
- Contribute to the preparation of a book on Arab intangible cultural heritage elements inscribed on UNESCO’s lists;
- Help countries with special needs to prepare a joint file for inscription of their heritage elements on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
ALECSO also seeks to develop a joint Arab plan that would serve as a practical guide for the implementation of projects and programs designed to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in the Arab countries.
The opening session was attended by Dr. Mourad Mahmoudi, Secretary of the Executive Board and General Conference and Acting Director of the Culture Department, Dr. Mustafa Kamal, Director of the Cairo-based Institute of Arab Research and Studies, Mr. Abdelhadi Ghemari, Program Coordinator at the Culture Department, and Dr. Sherif Salah, Representative of the Secretary-General of the Egyptian National Commission for Education, Science and Culture.
