New Delhi, Dec 8
Aiming to project India’s soft power, the Union Ministry of Culture (MoC) will host the six-day 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage from Monday at the historic Red Fort.

To date, 15 Indian elements have been inscribed on the Unesco Representative list, and the country has served on the Unesco Intergovernmental Committee for three terms, a Ministry official said in a statement.

By hosting the 20th session of the ICH Committee from December 8 to 13, India aims to bring greater global visibility to the country’s intangible or living heritage -- including lesser-known traditions, local crafts, regional festivals -- thereby attracting global support, interest, research, tourism and resource mobilisation.

For the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO adopted the 2003 Convention on October 17, 2003, during its 32nd General Conference in Paris, said the statement.

The 2003 Convention responded to global concerns that living cultural traditions, oral practices, performing arts, social customs, rituals, knowledge systems, and craftsmanship were increasingly threatened by globalisation, social change, and limited resources.

With a shared global commitment to protecting humanity’s living heritage, the Convention formally established mechanisms for international cooperation, support, and recognition, laying the foundation for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists and the subsequent work of the Intergovernmental Committee.

The Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage advances the objectives of the 2003 Convention and ensures their effective implementation across Member States.

In fulfilling this mandate, the Committee promotes and monitors the objectives and implementation of the 2003 Convention; provides guidance on best practices and recommends measures for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and prepares and submits to the General Assembly the draft plan for the use of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The Committee also mobilises additional resources for the Fund in accordance with the Convention’s provisions and drafts and proposes operational directives for the implementation of the Convention.

The six-day 20th session at Red Fort, to be organised by the Ministry and its autonomous body Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), will help India use the session’s global spotlight to motivate further domestic efforts such as documentation, inventorying, nomination dossiers, community engagement, especially among youth and future generations.

The Ministry of Culture also aims to use the platform for cultural diplomacy and project India’s soft-power, cultural richness, diversity and heritage leadership on a global stage.

The event also promises to help the country strengthen the link between heritage conservation and sustainable development: intangible heritage as a resource for livelihoods, community identity, social cohesion, and cultural tourism, said the statement.

India hosts UNESCO intangible cultural heritage meet at Red Fort from today