Dear Colleagues, I must congratulate Patrick on bringing this matter to your attention and wish to give the strongest possible endorsement to his recommendations for action. As one of the participants in the intergovernmental meetings for Barbados, it was of great concern to us that there needed to be a clear understanding both in terms of the scope of intangible heritage, and indeed the convention itself, as well as specific provisions for the documentation and management for such heritage, and opportunities for capacity building in the member states. Let me recommend as an expansion of what Patrick has outlined, that it would be most useful for each national committee to make contact with their National Commission for UNESCO ( or UNESCO permanent delegation where the former does not exist), to advise them about the museums' interest and vital participation in/ to such a convention, and to ensure that they are involved in the preparation of any planning for the implementation of said convention. Best Wishes, Alissandra Cummins Chairperson, Advisory Committee -----Original Message----- From: International Council of Museums Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Patrick Boylan Sent: Monday, August 11, 2003 5:49 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: PROPOSED UNESCO CONVENTION ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE INTANGIBLE HERITAGE (ENGLISH, FRANCAIS, ESPANOL) Dear Colleagues: Among the working papers now distributed to all Member States by UNESCO in preparation for the biennial General Conference in the Autumn is the recommended text of the proposed UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage of the World. This is a highly significant proposal - regarded as the most important development of international cultural heritage law since the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972. As drafted, this will affect not just the protection and promotion of local, national and international intangible heritage such as traditional and oral customs, crafts, performances and other practices etc., but also all museums, historic buildings and sites, libraries and archive services that are in any way associated with or documenting and recording these. Because of this, it seems very unfortunate that over the four years of planning and development of the Draft Convention some of the key international organisations that will be affected, such as ICOM, IFLA (Libraries), ICA (Archives) and ICOMOS (Monuments & Sites) do not seem to have been consulted, presumably because their actual and potential future involvement was not recognised and understood. It therefore seems very important that ICOM and the other international organisations concerned play a very active role in the debate on the new Convention during the coming General Conference of UNESCO, in order to ensure that these interests are fully represented in the proposed new International Committee that will be established by the Convention. The full text of this proposed new Convention is available in all six UNESCO official languages on the UNESCO website in .pdf format as follows: English text: "Preliminary Draft International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and report by the Director-General on the situation calling for standard-setting and on the possible scope of such standard-setting" http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001307/130784e.pdf Version francais: "Avant-projet de convention internationale pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel et Rapport du Directeur général sur la situation devant faire l'objet d'une action normative et sur l'étendue possible d'une telle action" http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001307/130784f.pdf Texte en espanol: "Anteproyecto de convención internacional para la salvaguardia del patrimonio cultural inmaterial e informe del Director General sobre la situación que debe ser objeto de una actividad normativa, así como sobre el posible alcance de dicha actividad" http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001307/130784s.pdf Patrick Boylan (Chairperson, ICOM-International Committee for the Training of Personnel - ICTOP) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html