India to host UNESCO intangible heritage meet

First, India is set to host a UNESCO meeting on safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage from December 8-13 at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, and preparations are underway for the key event.

A senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday said the 17th-century fort complex will be closed from December 5-14 in view of the event. Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the palace fort of his capital Shahjahanabad, the Red Fort complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a centrally protected monument.

The twentieth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place from December 8-13 in New Delhi, UNESCO has said.

Security is expected to be tightened at and around the fort area, as the meeting will take place nearly a month after a high-intensity blast in a car near the Red Fort killed 15 people and injured more than two dozen on November 10. The session will be chaired by Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO, Vishal V Sharma.

“This is the first time India will host this UNESCO session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and so it is a matter of great pride,” Sharma said.

The upcoming December session comes a year-and-a-half after New Delhi hosted the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) from July 21-31, 2024, at the Bharat Mandapam.

Sharma had served as chairperson of the WHC during the 2024 event.  He had then said it had taken “four years of hard work” to bring the WHC session to India. The envoy, based in Paris, had then also said that India’s recent past has been full of confidence in consonance with ‘Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi’ and the country’s attention to preservation and conservation of its rich cultural heritage had “entered a new dimension”.

The Ministry of Culture and its autonomous body, the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), are the nodal agencies to host the December meet of UNESCO in December.

The global event “underscores India’s intent to align tangible and intangible heritage and highlight its role in cultural diplomacy under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the ministry has said.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was established under the framework of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage.

The 24 member states currently serving on the committee are - France, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Paraguay, Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Angola, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Algeria, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates, according to UNESCO website.

Preparations are underway for its 2025 session, which will host delegates from several countries.

Throughout the session, a series of side events on the theme of safeguarding living heritage are expected to be organised outside the plenary meetings, it is learnt.

These events are meant to enrich and complement the main session by providing opportunities to discuss, share experiences, celebrate achievements, while exploring collaborations to promote and safeguard cultural diversity.

The venue of the session -- the Red Fort complex -- is famous for its massive enclosing walls, and is a popular tourist attraction in the national capital. Its construction was completed over a span of ten years, between 1638 and 1648.

In 2023, the fort site was the venue for the maiden India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale (IAADB) held from December 9-15. It also included seven “especially-curated” thematic exhibitions, which were housed in three British-era barracks located on the premises of the Mughal-era monument.