PARIS: The Ministry of Culture is set to hold a special celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding and Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. On this occasion, an exhibition highlighting the Qatari cultural heritage will be held at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris on April 15.
The exhibition aims to highlight the efforts of Qatar in protecting and preserving intangible cultural heritage, as the agreement recognized the need to protect living heritage and promote dialogue between peoples, cultural diversity, and human creativity.The exhibition highlights "The Majlis: A Social and Cultural Space," traditional crafts and industries, and examples of the "falconry" heritage, which was added to the UNESCO representative list in 2015 in addition to folk arts and folk culinary arts. The exhibition also includes a pavilion of photos that highlight the achievements of the State of Qatar in preserving heritage.
In this context, Director of the Heritage and Identity Department at the Ministry of Culture Sheikha Nagla Faisal Al-Thani, said that the exhibition comes out of a desire to celebrate more than twenty years since first convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of the UNESCO in Paris on October 17, 2003.
She added that the exhibition, which is organized by the Ministry of Culture, features many activities that contribute to activating the agreement, including registering a number of its elements on the UNESCO representative list, such as the Majlis, coffee, falconry, and palm trees.
The Ministry is currently working on preparing a documentary about the elements of Qatari intangible cultural heritage registered on the convention's lists, she said noting that the Ministry of Culture always seeks, by holding these events, to spread awareness among the local community and inform the international community on the role of the State of Qatar in protecting and preserving intangible cultural heritage that represents the identity of Qatari society.