First Zonal capacity-building workshop inaugurated at Dimapur, Nagaland to strengthen and build the capacity of the stakeholders and custodians

The first Zonal capacity-building workshop has been inaugurated for the North-East region of India at Tetso college, Dimapur, Nagaland. The workshop is scheduled from 3^rd to 4^th November 2023 and conceptualised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Through this, the Government of India aims to strengthen and build the capacity of the multiple stakeholders and custodians for the safeguarding, identification, documentation and inventorying of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of India.

The module of the capacity building workshop is thoughtfully designed and envisioned to  raise awareness about the concepts and operations of the ICH related UNESCO conventions and programs ratified by India namely: 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, Memory of the World Programme and UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Eminent scholars, professionals, ICH practitioners, UNESCO accredited bodies working for the safeguarding of the ICH and living culture, representatives of UNESCO, New Delhi office, officials from Ministry of Culture are invited as experts to deliberate on each of the aforementioned UNESCO conventions in this 2 day program.

Secretary Culture Shri Govind Mohan virtually addressed at the inaugural session. He welcomed the diverse group of participants including the representatives of the State Department of Art and Culture of the eight North East states of India. He laid out the context behind this capacity building program which intends to enhance capabilities by pooling resources at the regional or sub-regional level to establish standardized and efficient procedures.

Joint Secretary, UNESCO, Ministry of Culture Smt. Lily Pandeya laid down the vision statement stressing on the importance of building capacity and consolidating resources along with the diverse stakeholders of the ICH at the grassroot level and creating a strong network for the preparation of nomination documents for India’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) under different conventions.