International Expert Meeting on Safeguarding West and Central Asian Intangible Cultural Heritage concludes on Qeshm Island

The Regional Research Centre for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia under the Auspices of UNESCO (“Tehran ICH Centre”), organized a 3-day international expert meeting on Qeshm Island from 11-13 October 2015. The meeting focused on exploring possibilities for concrete safeguarding measures in the region, AVA Diplomatic reports.

In his opening remarks the Director of the Tehran ICH Center, Mr. Parmoun, said that the concept of safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage had its own peculiarities and that he hoped the gathering of experts would provide answers to a number of important questions regarding research for safeguarding in the field of ICH and useful experiences that could be transmitted for application in other countries.

Ms. Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office talked about the importance of the central role of communities in all safeguarding efforts. She said: “It is important to bear in mind that the value of intangible cultural heritage is defined by the communities themselves. They are the ones who recognize these manifestations as part of their heritage and who find it valuable. […] In order to be kept alive, ICH must be relevant to its community, continuously recreated and transmitted from one generation to another. Therefore, to a large extent, any safeguarding measure refers to strengthening and reinforcing the circumstances that are necessary for the continuous evolution and interpretation of ICH, as well as for its transmission to future generations. Safeguarding measures must always be developed and applied with the consent and involvement of the community itself.”

The UNESCO Representative went on to stress that ICH is living heritage, which is continuously recreated. “Safeguarding therefore does not mean fixing or freezing ICH in some pure of primordial form. Rather, it is about the transferring of knowledge, skills, and meaning”, she said.

The opening session was followed by the inauguration of an exhibition on intangible cultural heritage of Qeshm Island.

During the following two days, there were expert discussions about policies and approaches, and reports on local experiences, challenges and safeguarding practices, followed by a cultural program and visit of Qeshm Island.