05/04/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/04/2021 12:24
On 30 April 2021, UNESCO mobilized over 55 stakeholders from the Eastern Africa region to participate in an online conference to share the results of seven case studies, which were carried out within the framework of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the UNESCO Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme as part of a pilot project to support research and documentation of traditional knowledge systems linked to biodiversity conservation, climate change and disaster risk reduction.
The UNESCO 2003 Convention recognizes the contribution of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) to environmental sustainability, including in the areas of sustainable natural resource management and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Traditional knowledge systems, oral traditions, rituals and practices, accumulated and renewed by communities across generations as part of their intangible cultural heritage, can play an important role alongside scientific knowledge and policies in sustaining, regenerating, conserving and governing biodiversity. Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage not only serves to transmit knowledge and skills about the environment, but also shapes a certain relationship to nature, usually fostering notions of respect, custodianship and connectivity towards the natural environment.
Following a call for proposals issued by UNESCO in January 2021, the following case studies were carried out as part of the pilot project:
The case studies were guided by a research brief developed by UNESCO in collaboration with an international Advisory Panel established as part of the pilot project. The final case studies will be featured in a UNESCO PDF publication and made widely available to researchers and the public through UNESCO and partners' web sites.
Ms. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa opened the conference by noting that the results of this research will be widely used by Member States, UNESCO and our partners.