Kazakhstan Project Secures Funding from UNESCO Fund to Safeguard Intangible Cultural Heritage

By: Fatima Badawi
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan announced that a project proposed by the National Committee of Kazakhstan for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage has received funding for the first time from the UNESCO International Fund.
The inaugural meeting of the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held at UNESCO headquarters under the chairmanship of Nancy Ovelar de Gurostiza, the Permanent Delegate of Paraguay to UNESCO.
The Kazakhstani project has secured funding from the UNESCO Fund to study intangible cultural heritage. During the meeting, four requests for project funding were studied and approved under the International Assistance Mechanism of the UNESCO Fund for Intangible Cultural Heritage. In particular, Kazakhstan was granted $99,600 to further update the national list of intangible cultural heritage, compiled jointly by the authorized governmental body in collaboration with the National Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and to build capacities in implementing intangible cultural heritage conventions for local communities in five regions of the country. It is worth noting that Kazakhstan is benefiting from the UNESCO International Assistance Mechanism under the Convention for the first time.
Military Abdul Rahmanov, the Permanent Delegate of Kazakhstan to UNESCO, thanked the Intergovernmental Committee for the Confidence it has placed in Kazakhstan. He reaffirmed our country’s commitment to continuing to make a valuable contribution to safeguarding humanity’s living heritage at both national and international levels under the UNESCO Convention of 2003.