Communities to get involved in preservation of Arab cultural heritage

Abu Dhabi: Local communities are expected to join hands with experts and workers who are being trained to protect intangible cultural heritage in the Arab world.

A specialised workshop for training a network of experts on strengthening national capacities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was inaugurated on Sunday in the capital.

The workshop organised by Unesco in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) will train workers in the Arab World for the preservation of heritage with support of local communities and Non-Governmental Organisations, according to a press release issued by the ADACH.

The workshop which runs until Thursday is discussing the preparation of lists of intangible cultural heritage, and methods of local community participation.

The role of NGOs in the conservation and preservation of heritage and nomination of representatives for the list of intangible cultural heritage which is in need of urgent maintenance are also the main topics.

Workshop is to train Arab cadres in modern methods for the collection and documentation of their national heritage. Each trainee will compile a separate list of items of importance to the national heritage of his or her own country.

This forms part of the strategy supported by Unesco, which encourages exchanges between member states who have signed the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This was approved in the General Conference of UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris this year.

Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazroui, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Director General of ADACH, said in his opening speech: "The 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage represented a milestone in the tireless efforts of Unesco to protect the world's living cultural heritage. Since that date, there has been no rest for the Intangible Heritage Department at ADACH as they strive to achieve their two main objectives: To urge states to ratify the convention; and decide upon the best methods for its effective implementation. It is hoped that this workshop will provide the means to serve these two prominent goals".