The 63th Unesco intangible heritage nominations examined in Asunción

The Unesco Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will begin today in this capital its nineteenth session with 63 nominations under examination, several from Latin America.    

The Paraguayan capital will host until December 7 the analysis of the proposals by the body of 24 member states, representing the 183 that are part of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Committee will consider 58 nominations for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including five requests for the extension of elements already inscribed at the request of other countries.

It will also examine two nominations for inclusion in the List of Traditions in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and three nominations for the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

A total of 90 States are reflected in the nominations, either individual or collective, the latter being particularly promoted by Unesco because of the level of cooperation involved.

For Latin America and the Caribbean, several dossiers stand out, such as the one promoted by Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Venezuela on traditional knowledge and practices for the preparation and consumption of cassava, a product based on the millenary cultivation of cassava.