On 12 December, during the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi, India, Ukraine was elected Vice-Chair of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee for a one-year term. This decision marks an important step for Ukraine on the international cultural stage and confirms its active role in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Tetyana Berezhna, emphasized that this honorary position enables Ukraine to effectively represent its cultural heritage worldwide, despite the threats of destruction posed by the aggressor.
“The position of Vice-Chair of the Bureau opens broad opportunities for Ukraine: shaping the Committee’s agenda, proposing new solutions, initiating future projects, and developing joint positions of States Parties for further consideration and decision-making. This role allows us to be an active voice in shaping global cultural policy and to strengthen Ukraine’s international standing,” noted Tetyana Berezhna.
Ukraine ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. Currently, seven elements of Ukraine’s intangible cultural heritage are inscribed on UNESCO’s International Lists. Two additional elements will be submitted for consideration at the next session of the Intergovernmental Committee, to be held in China next year, namely:
- “The Tradition of Christmas Eve Supper in Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine” (a joint nomination by the three countries);
- “Pastoralism, the seasonal movement of livestock” (an extension of the geographical scope of an element of intangible cultural heritage inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023 by Romania, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain, to which several more countries – including Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, and Ukraine – expressed their intention to join in 2025).
