2009 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2008 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2007 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

29 June

• Proposal of international regulatory instrument for the protection of the indigenous languages examined
  Last March 5, representatives of institutions related to the culture and indigenous sector met to examine aspects related to the Venezuelan proposal on the elaboration of an international regulatory instrument for the protection of indigenous languages and languages in danger of extinction. During the meeting, participants discussed the viability, advantages and approaches of this proposal and the importance of preserving the leadership of Venezuela in this strategic topic, which counts on legal foundations in accordance with our national policies, like the Law of Indigenous Languages. Among the points agreed upon is the promotion of a national discussion on the topic that allows to unify and consolidate a national position and obtain the active participation of the sectors involved.

26 June

• MAREMETRAGGIO International Short Film Festival. Venice (Italy) 23 June 2009
  In the field of the safeguarding of cultural diversity and creativity and its expressions in the field of cinema, UNESCO Office in Venice supports the tenth edition of the MAREMETRAGGIO International short film Festival to be held in Trieste (Italy) from 26 June through 4 July 2009 The Press Conference will take place on 23 June 2009 at 11.30 am. The International Maremetraggio Festival is a short film Festival that mainly displays and promotes various debut works created by new and young filmmakers. It is organized by the Maremetraggio Association in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Cultural administration of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, the Municipality of Trieste and the Chamber of Commerce of Trieste.

25 June

• Ratification by Bangladesh of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Paris, 17 October 2003)
  On 11 June 2009, Bangladesh deposited with the Director-General its instrument of ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In accordance with the terms of its Article 34, the aforementioned Convention will enter into force with respect to Bangladesh three months after the date of the deposit of this instrument, that is to say on 11 September 2009.

24 June

• European Projet MEDLIHER: Safeguarding Mediterranean Living Heritage
  The Medliher project aims to enhance institutional capacity building for all four Mediterranean partner countries to participate in effective international mechanisms for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage and to elaborate safeguarding measures with the participation of communities and relevant groups in each country. The project plan we are proposing consists of a series of phases and it will be adapted to the needs of each country. We will dedicate the first action to come up with a report regarding the current situation of existing structures, programs and experiences related to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Mediterranean partner countries. The first meeting will take place in the presence of government officials in charge of setting up and coordinating an evaluation process at a national level that will help us build the above reports. This meeting on capacity building will inform these officials about the mechanisms of the "UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible heritage" and the measures proposed for the monitoring and safeguarding of this heritage.

• MEDLIHER project organises its first opening seminar
  25 - 26 May 2009. Paris, France
  The main objective of this seminar is to provide projects’ partners with information on the EH 4 framework and on the “Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage” mechanisms and the proposed safeguarding and management measures. The Medliher project aims at enhancing the institutional capacity building of four Mediterranean countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) in order to enable them to participate in effective international mechanisms for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage and elaborate safeguarding measures with the participation of communities and relevant groups. Organised at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, this opening seminar will focus on the “Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage” in order to enable the projects’ partners to set up and coordinate the national assessments to be used for drawing up the surveys as foreseen for the first phase of the project.

• (in Spanish) Concluye la Jornada del Día de la Diversidad Cultural en Ecuador
  Finalizó la celebración del Día de la Diversidad Cultural en Ecuador, que fue organizado por el Ministerio de Cultura, el Ministerio Coordinador de Patrimonio Natural y Cultural, la Embajada de Canadá, la Oficina de la UNESCO en Quito, el Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales (IAEN), la Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) y la Fundación Afroecuatoriana Azúcar.

18 June

• [français] Le Directeur général ouvre la deuxième session ordinaire de la Conférence des Parties à la Convention sur la protection et la promotion de la diversité des expressions culturelles
  Le 15 juin 2009, le Directeur général de l’UNESCO, M. Koïchiro Matsuura, a ouvert au siège de l’UNESCO la deuxième session ordinaire de la Conférence des Parties à la Convention de 2005 sur la protection et la promotion de la diversité des expressions culturelles. Entrée en vigueur en mars 2007, la Convention a pour principaux objectifs « de protéger et promouvoir la diversité des expressions culturelles ; de créer les conditions permettant aux cultures de s’épanouir et interagir librement de manière à s’enrichir mutuellement ; d’encourager le dialogue entre les cultures afin d’assurer des échanges culturels plus intenses et équilibrés dans le monde en faveur du respect interculturel et d’une culture de la paix »

9 June

• Combating the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and encouraging their restitution
  The 1970 Convention is intended to fight the illicit traffic of antiquities regardless of whether it is the result of actions by villagers looting ancient burial sites, members of a well-organized criminal organization, unscrupulous auction houses and antique dealers, museum curators, collectors or by amateurs looking for all kind of objects. By ratifying the 1970 Convention, the States Members undertake to take all necessary measures to:
  • prevent museums within their territories from acquiring cultural property which has been illegally exported;
  • prohibit the import of cultural property stolen from a museum or a public institution after the entry into force of this Convention;
  • recover and return, at the request of the State of origin (also Party to the Convention), any stolen cultural property and to cooperate in order to prevent major crises that could occur and seriously affect the cultural heritage as it was the case with Afghanistan and Iraq.

   

• Accession by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 26 March 1999)
  On 22 May 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina deposited with the Director-General its instrument of accession to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. In accordance with the terms of its Article 43.2, the Protocol will enter into force with respect to Bosnia and Herzegovina three months after the deposit of the instrument of accession, that is to say on 22 August 2009.

4 June

• UNESCO teams up with “Dive Olly Dive!” for underwater heritage educational campaign
  The popular preschool animated series “Dive Olly Dive!” has been selected by UNESCO as part of its new educational campaign to teach children about the importance and beauty of the world’s rich underwater cultural heritage. The new cooperation project with “Dive Olly Dive!” will help raise awareness of this heritage, within the framework of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The Convention was adopted in 2001 to improve the safeguarding of such heritage, which includes ancient shipwrecks, submerged ruins and underwater caves containing archaeological vestiges.

3 June

• New Web Site: Underwater Cultural Heritage
  Underwater Cultural Heritage encompasses all traces of human existence that lie or were lying under water and have a cultural or historical character. Recognizing the urgent need to preserve and protect such heritage, UNESCO elaborated in 2001 the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

• Intangible Cultural Heritage on the Fast Track
  One hundred and eleven nomination files were examined in May 2009 by a subsidiary body of the Committee for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and recommendations were made for inscriptions on the Representative List. Flanders (Belgium) and the European Union have joined the ranks of the donors which support the Convention’s implementation worldwide. UNESCO’s Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, with close connections to intangible heritage, was made possible through the support of the Norwegian Government.