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5 November

• Ratification by Burundi of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (Paris, 20 October 2005)
  On 14 October 2008, Burundi deposited with the Director-General its instrument of ratification of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. In accordance with the terms of its Article 29, the aforementioned Convention will enter into force with respect to Burundi three months after the date of the deposit of its instrument, that is to say on 14 January 2009.

• Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity comes into being in Istanbul
  The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was established today with the integration into this List of the 90 cultural elements that were proclaimed Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001, 2003 and 2005.

• Buenos Aires and Montevideo to declare Tango as world cultural heritage
  The cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo carried out a joint presentation to UNESCO so that tango is declared world intangible cultural. In 2003, the UNESCO convention defined world intangible cultural heritage as the uses, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills of the communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, that are part of their cultural heritage. In the meanwhile, in the proclamation program established in 2007 two classes of manifestations of intangible cultural heritage were distinguished: popular and traditional cultural expressions and cultural spaces.

• Ministry of Culture of Colombia submitts two manifestations to the World Heritage list
  The Holy week processions of Popayán and the Carnival of Blacks and Whites of Pasto to enter UNESCO’s List of the Intangible heritage. Within the framework of the Meeting “Turismo Compite” organized by the Viceministry of Tourism, the director of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Maria Claudia Lopez, announced the candidacy of two cultural manifestations to UNESCO’s Tentative List of world Intangible heritage.

• Popayán and Pasto about to enter the World heritage list (Colombia)
  Within the framework of the Meeting “Turismo Compite”, organized by the Viceministry of Tourism, the director of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Maria Claudia Lopez, announced the candicacy of two cultural manifestations to UNESCO’s tentative List of Intangible heritage. The nominees are the Carnival of Blacks and Whites of Pasto, declared National Cultural heritage in 2002, and the Holy Week Procesions of Popayán, two expressions from the departments of Nariño and Cauca, whose candidacies will arrive on Tuesday 30 September at the UNESCO’s headquaters in Paris.

4 November

• Exceptional presentation of “The tradition of the danced theater Cocolo”, Dominican Masterpiece of the Oral and intangible World Heritage
  On September 9, 2008 it was presented in Paris, France, with exceptional character, “the tradition of the danced theater Cocolo”, proclaimed in 2005 Masterpiece of the Oral and intangible World Heritage of the Dominican Republic. Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, and Ambassador Laura Faxas, Permanent Representative of the Dominican republic in UNESCO, hosts of the event, with the support of the permanent representations of Belize, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica, San Cristobal and Nieves, Santa Lucia and San Vicente and the Granadinas before the Organization of the United Nations for Education, Science and the Culture.
  UNESCO-LACULT

• Traffic of cultural properties, under debate
  From September 17th to 19th, Ecuador will host the Andean subregional Workshop on the 1970 UNESCO Convention, regarding the Control of Illicit Traffic of Cultural property and Museums. Delegates from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela will analyze the current situation, in search for strategies that strengthen the safety of Cultural heritage.
  UNESCO-Quito

• Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage will enter into force in January 2009
  Twenty States have now ratified the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which therefore will enter into force on 2 January 2009, three months after the deposit of the 20th instrument of acceptance. “This is a very important step in the history of the safeguarding of cultural heritage,” declared Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO. “This represents an essential addition to UNESCO’s standard-setting apparatus. From now on, it will be possible to offer legal protection to the historical memory that is in underwater cultural heritage, thus curtailing the growing illicit trade by looters.”