A the recent 10th General Assembly Meeting of the 2003 Convention on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Hon. Andrew Egyapa Mercer made a call to safeguard Ghana’s Intangible cultural heritage further as it drives sustainability and sustainable development.
Intangible Cultural Heritage refers to the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated with in addition to that, which communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage.
The listing of Kente as an Immaterial cultural heritage [ICH] assists with promoting it further and expand the quantity of global patronages, making a positive acknowledgment of its key significance internationally.
The interim Minister said in his speech to the general assembly that the Government of Ghana has started capacity-building programs and initiatives to document Ghana’s ICH with support from UNESCO. This has resulted in the creation of an ICH register, which Ghana has used to nominate Kente, one of the country’s unique textiles, for inclusion on the UNESCO ICH List.
“These ICH elements define us as a people, and they cannot be overlooked with the patronage in the global and national development discourse. Intangible cultural heritage undoubtedly drives sustainability and sustainable development”, Hon. Mercer said.
“We are therefore looking forward to our first inscription on the representative list of intangible cultural heritage at the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee to be held in December 2024, in Paraguay, as we seek to preserve our heritage”, he added.
All member states expressed their commitment to the course during the two-day meeting, which began on June 11 and ended on June 12, 2024.
