UNESCO adds 55 elements across the globe in its annual meeting in Botswana
‘Garba of Gujarat’ has been inscribed in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by UNESCO, under the provisions of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 18th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage from 5th-9th December, 2023 in Kasane, Botswana.
This year’s list includes a variety of elements from across the globes such as Opera singing in Italy, Rickshaws and rickshaw painting in Bangladesh, Songkran festival in Thailand, Alpine pasture season in Switzerland, metal engraving in ten middle-east countries, Dabkeh dance of Palestine, tradition of Iftar in many countries and, Rotterdam Summer Carnival in Netherlands to name a few. The list is a testimony to vast amount of traditional knowledge from food to health, community festivals, art and dance.
Garba of Gujarat is the 15th ICH element from India to join this list. This inscription underscores Garba’s pivotal role as a unifying force that fosters social and gender inclusivity. Garba as a dance form is entrenched deeply in ritualistic and devotional roots, involving people from all walks of life and it continues to thrive as a vibrant living tradition bringing communities together.
Italian opera singing has been added to the United Nations’ cultural heritage list, a prestigious accolade for the four-centuries-old art mixing costume drama and music. U.N. culture agency UNESCO said it had included opera under its category of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which already features other famed Italian practices such as pizza-making.
Italian opera developed around the late 1500s and early 1600s in Florence, at the court of the Medici family. It typically involves intricate plots, elaborate staging and virtuoso singing.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano hailed the UNESCO move hours before it was formalised. “This is something historic…a great recognition of ‘bel canto’ (beautiful singing) opera in the UNESCO intangible heritage list and we must be proud of it,” he said on RAI public radio.
This year’s list includes 55 elements in the heritage list, maximum number added in a year since 2009 when 85 elements were added.
The Listing mechanism under the UNESCO 2003 Convention aims to enhance the visibility of intangible cultural heritage, fostering awareness of its significance and promoting dialogue that respects cultural diversity. India was elected to be part of the 24 Member Inter-governmental Committee (IGC) of the ICH 2003 Convention in 2022 for a tenure of 4 years.
Alongside India, this year’s Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) comprised of Angola, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Czechia, Ethiopia, Germany, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.