The 13th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage started its work in Port Louis, the capital of the Republic of Mauritius

The 13th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage has started in Port Louis, the capital of the Republic of Mauritius on November 26 - December 1, 2018.

The sessions will focus on the current issues facing the Committee, future activities, as well as the nominations to be included in UNESCO Representative List, List of Urgent Safeguarding, and the adoption of national reports.

The delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Ramiz Hasanov is attending the event.

Speaking at the opening of the session, R.Hasanov noted that Azerbaijan was elected a member of the committee in June this year and thanked member states for supporting our country during the elections, R. Hasanov noted that Azerbaijan was a member of the committee in 2008-2014 and successfully hosted the 8th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.

The Deputy Minister stressed that as a country which always strives for the protection of the universal cultural heritage, Azerbaijan attaches a great importance for the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention and highly appreciate invaluable work and contributions done so far by member states, expert community and the Secretariat in implementing principles and aims of the 2003 Convention.

Speaking about the UNESCO-Azerbaijan relations, R.Hasanov underlined the valuable contribution of Her Excellency Madame Mehriban Aliyeva, First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, to bringing this cooperation to even more intensive and dynamic level. Thanks to Mehriban Aliyeva's tireless efforts, elements of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Azerbaijan were inscribed on the relevant UNESCO lists.

Finally, the head of the delegation emphasized that as a member of the Committee for the period of 2018-2022, Azerbaijan will spare no efforts to the protection of the intangible heritage of humanity and share its rich experience, through constructive engagement with member states in the spirit of partnership and cooperation for better implementation of the objectives of the Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It should be noted that number of issues related to Azerbaijan, such as the nomination of "Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere), traditional group dances of Nakhchivan" submitted to the Committee for inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, a multinational nomination "Heritage of Dede Qorqud/ Korkyt Ata/ Dede Korkut, epic culture, folk tales and music" jointly submitted by Azerbaijan, Turkey and Kazakhstan for the inscription on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage and national report "Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game in the Republic of Azerbaijan" will be discussed during the session.

It should be mentioned that the nomination documents and the national report were submitted jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO.