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

27 November

• Regional training programme on underwater cultural heritage taking place in Chanthaburi, Thailand
  Under the Norway-funded project on “Safeguarding the Underwater Cultural Heritage of Asia and the Pacific”, the first regional training programme on underwater cultural heritage is taking place in Chanthaburi, Thailand. The Asia-Pacific Regional Field Training Centre is located in Chanthaburi, Thailand. There, fifteen trainees from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Lao PDR and Thailand are participating in the six-week Foundation Course which will end on 5 December 2009. The training activity is organized by the UNESCO Bangkok Office in collaboration with ICOMOS-ICUCH, NAS and the Underwater Archaeology Division of Thailand to which the Centre is attached.
  More information: http://www.unesco.org/en/underwater-cultural-heritage/

26 November

• Underwater Heritage: Second Meeting of States Parties to be held in Paris
  The second session of the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, from 1 to 3 December. At the meeting, members will be elected to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body. This 12-member committee will be responsible for advising the States Parties to the Convention on scientific and technical issues in the implementation of the Annex to the Convention. The States Parties to the Convention will also draw up criteria for the accreditation of non-governmental organizations authorized to work with this Advisory Body.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46948&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

25 November

• ICOMOS International: Appointment of Working Groups for each of the UNESCO Cultural Conventions
  Following the successful experience and positive contributions of its World Heritage Working Group, the Executive Committee has decided to create similar working groups for each of the UNESCO Cultural Conventions, thus bringing parity and overall coherence to our role as Advisors to UNESCO. Individual members of ICOMOS with significant experience on any of these Conventions and willing to spend time by forming part of any of these Working Groups are invited to convey their interest and a summary of their qualifications to both the International Secretariat (secretariat@icomos.org) and their National Committee, indicating on which working group their are willing to serve:
  • Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict (1954) and its two Protocols (1954, 1999) - HCWG
  • Convention for the prevention of Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property (1970) – ITWG
  • Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention (2001) - UCHWG
  • Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention (2003) – IHCWG
  • Convention for the Protection of Cultural Diversity (2005) - CDIVWG

  All responses sent in by 15 December will be taken into account.
  More information: http://www.international.icomos.org/

16 November

• First inscriptions on the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the Representative List of Intangible Heritage
  The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has just taken important decisions by setting up the two Lists of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the Representative List of Intangible Heritage, ,. For France, the following 3 elements were accepted:
  • Aubusson tapestry - Tradition for several centuries, the craft of Aubusson tapestry consists in weaving an image according to methods practiced in Aubusson and some other places of Creuse.
  • Maloya - Maloya is a form of music, a song and a dance of Reunion Island. Mixed from the beginning, Maloya was created by the slaves of Malagasy and African origin in the sugar plantations, before being disseminated to all the population of the island.
  • The tradition of the layout in the French carpentry - the art of layout intends to control in three dimensions the conception of a complex wood building. This traditional technical know-how is against contemporary standardization, valuing the builder's role in the construction and imposing a creative thought to the buildings.

  More information in French: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/lettre_d_info_no_31-_27-10_.pdf

10 November

• Approval by Denmark of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Paris, 17 October 2003)
  On 30 October 2009, Denmark deposited with the Director-General its instrument of approval of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The instrument contains the following declaration: “Until further notice, the Convention shall not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.” [Original: English] In accordance with the terms of its Article 34, the aforementioned Convention will enter into force with respect to Denmark three months after the date of the deposit of this instrument, that is to say on 30 January 2010.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46836&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

5 November

• 2005 Convention - Report of the Committee on its activities and decisions to the Conference of Parties
  The document presents in Annex the report of the Committee on its activities and decisions between the first and second ordinary sessions of the Conference of Parties. The Committee adopted the report at its second extraordinary session in March 2009 and decided to submit it at the second ordinary session of the Conference of Parties (Decision 2.EXT.IGC 8).
  More information: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001824/182470e.pdf

• 2005 Convention - Approval of the rules of procedure of the Committee
  In conformity with article 23.8 of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”), the
  Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) should submit its Rules of Procedure to the Conference of Parties for approval. During its first ordinary session in December 2007, the Committee adopted its Provisional Rules of Procedure and decided to submit it for approval to the second ordinary session of the Conference of Parties in June 2009 (Decision 1.IGC 4).
  More information: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001824/182469e.pdf

• 2005 Convention - Election of a chairperson, one or more vice-chairperson(s) and a rapporteur of the Conference of Parties
  In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of Parties (Rule 5), the Conference shall elect a chairperson, one or more vicechairpersons and a rapporteur. The Conference of Parties may wish to consider electing a Bureau comprising a total of six members, that is, one member from each of the electoral groups established by the General Conference of UNESCO. The term of office of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson(s) and the rapporteur will run from the opening of the current session until the opening of the next regular session of the Conference of Parties, when a new Bureau will be elected.
  More information: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001824/182471e.pdf

Investing cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue: UNESCO world report; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
UNESCO world reports series. 2009
Other Lang. versions: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish
Cultural diversity has emerged as a key concern at the turn of a new century. Yet the meanings attached to this catch-all term are as varied as they are shifting. Some see cultural diversity as inherently positive, insofar as it points to a sharing of the wealth embodied in each of the world’s cultures and, accordingly, to the links uniting us all in processes of exchange and dialogue. For others, cultural differences are what cause us to lose sight of our common humanity and are therefore at the root of numerous conflicts. This second diagnosis is today all the more plausible since globalization has increased the points of interaction and friction between cultures, giving rise to identity-linked tensions, withdrawals and claims, particularly of a religious nature, which can become potential sources of dispute. The essential challenge, therefore, would be to propose a coherent vision of cultural diversity and thereby to clarify how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community. This is the essential purpose of the present report.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001852/185202e.pdf

Investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue: UNESCO world report
UNESCO world reports series. 2009
Original Language: English
ISBN: 978-92-3-104077-1
The value of this new approach to cultural diversity is evident not only in UNESCO’s activities in the cultural sphere; it also helps to renew the Organization’s strategies in all its other fi elds of competence. On questions as important as multilingualism, realizing the education for all goals, developing quality media and stimulating creativity in the service of development, new solutions are emerging that need to be explored in
greater depth if the international community is to prove equal to its own ambitions.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001852/185202e.pdf

UNESCO Handbook on Legal and Practical Measures for the Protection and Promotion of Culture
ISBN: 9965-21-502-2
This handbook presents in Russian, the main conventions and
declarations elaborated by or under the aegis of UNESCO in the field
of culture.
http://www.unesco.kz/publications/clt/clt_conventions_ru-2008.pdf