Cultural performer during the opening ceremony of the Intangible Cultural Heritage workshop in Eritrea, 19 February 2018 © UNESCO / K.Monteil

At the opening of the workshop on the preparation of nomination files to the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and International Assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund on 19 February 2018, Ambassador Zemede Tecle – Commissioner for Culture and Sports in Eritrea – mentioned that Eritrea will focus on communities especially youth in their national efforts to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage. The workshop, which continued until 28 February 2018, is part of a multi-year project entitled:

‘Strengthening the capacities of Eritrea for implementing the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage’ and funded generously by the Kingdom of Norway through earmarked contribution to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund.

The workshop is the last activity under the project after which an overall project evaluation will be conducted. Other activities implemented within the framework of the project include: technical assistance to strengthen the policy, legal and institutional framework of Eritrea, resulting in the development of Eritrea’s first national cultural heritage legislation in 2015 and a workshop on community-based inventorying and digital archiving of intangible cultural heritage among the nine ethno-linguistic groups of Eritrea, which was followed by inventorying exercises among nine ethno-linguistic groups in the country.

Following the workshop, Eritrea will designate its National Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage to develop an Action Plan for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Eritrea.

Eritrea ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010.