The 14th Session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage met in Bogota, Colombia from 9 to 14 December 2019.
In the course of six days, the twenty-four members of the Intergovernmental Committee took stock of recent developments in the implementation of the 2003 Convention and make important decisions about its implementation. As is the case every year, the Committee considered elements for inscription on the Lists of the Convention.
Following the decision of the Committee, the traditional skills of crafting and playing the Dotār inscribed on the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the I.R. of Iran. The traditional skills of crafting and playing the Dotār – a two-string folk plucked musical instrument – are one of the most prominent social and cultural components of the folkloric music of the ethnic groups and communities of the Dotār regions. Performers play the Dotār on key social and cultural occasions such as weddings and ritual ceremonies, as well as in festivals. The Dotār is performed along with epic, historical, lyric and gnostic texts that are central to the ethnic history and identity of practitioners’ communities.
During the same Committee Meeting, five elements were registered on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, thirty-five elements were registered on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and two elements were registered of the list of Good Safeguarding Practices.
The Committee meets annually to evaluate nominations proposed by States Parties to the 2003 Convention and decide whether or not to inscribe those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the Convention’s Lists.
This post was originally published by UN Iran. Click here to read.