India nominates Gujarat's Garba for inclusion in UNESCO heritage list

After West Bengal's Durga Puja was inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by UNESCO, the famed 'Garba' dance of Gujarat has been nominated for the year 2023

After West Bengal's Durga Puja was inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the famed 'Garba' dance of Gujarat has been nominated for the year 2023.

Tim Curtis, Secretary, Intangible Heritage Section of UNESCO has clarified that India has nominated 'Garba' of Gujarat for ICH of Humanity by UNESCO.

"Nomination of Garba is for consideration in the 2023 cycle. The file is undergoing technical treatment by the Secretariat," he said.

He added that the file is to be examined by the evaluation body in mid-2023. Inscription is to be decided at the 2023 session of the committee, at the end of 2023.

"The evaluation committee will be of three NGOs, three experts and other teams who will decide over the nomination," he added.

Durga Puja is the 14th Indian event on the list, the others include Yoga, Vedic Chanting, Buddhist Chanting in Ladakh, Chau Dance, Ramlila, Navroz, Kumbh Mela and others.

Eric Falt, Director of UNESCO in New Delhi, Tim Curtis, Secretary, Intangible Heritage Section of UNESCO and Lily Pandeya, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Culture attended the inauguration ceremony of the 'Capacity Building Workshop' by the Ministry of Culture, on ICH at National Museum in New Delhi on Saturday.

The UNESCO team will head to Kolkata, ahead of the start of the festival, to participate in the pre-Durga Puja celebration scheduled on September 1.

A dance performance by a troupe on the theme of Durga Puja was also hosted at the event.

On the occasion, Curtis spoke about the developments in UNESCO's 2003 ICH Convention. He stated that UNESCO will now accept ICH dossiers in the language of the practitioners, along with English or French version for the evaluation. He added that non-formal education is something the UNESCO convention has been working on for four years. He also said that since safeguarding living heritage involves transmitting knowledge to the next generation, education becomes central to this process.

Director and UNESCO Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, Eric Falt said, "I think, it is very important to bring together all of the stakeholders and different groups who are involved in such nominations, and, this workshop, in particular, is a wonderful example of the way things should be done". He added, "I'm grateful to all of the other partners who have worked with us in the past few years to raise the importance and visibility of intangible cultural heritage".

He also mentioned that UNESCO is organizing an ICH workshop at the regional level in Udaipur, bringing a number of representatives from various countries of the region.

On the occasion, Joint Secretary Ministry of Culture Lily Pandeya, said, "India is a member of almost all of the UNESCO Cultural Conventions and Programs. With 40 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 14 intangible cultural heritage elements inscribed on the Representative List - the latest being Durga Puja of Kolkata, 9 documentary heritage elements recognized in the International Memory of the World Register, and 6 Creative Cities, India continues to strengthen the intercultural dialogue among nations."

She added, "The 2-day Capacity Building National Workshop reflects our commitment to further the 4 aims of UNESCO ICH convention".