Vietnam elected to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage committee

On 6 July 2022 at the 9th Session of the General Assembly of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, Vietnam was elected a Member of the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage with 120 out of 155 votes, the highest in the Group IV of Asia-Pacific nations, and the highest among the elected countries.

The committee, including 24 members, is UNESCO’s important agency for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. Its functions are to promote the objectives of the Convention, provide guidance on best practices, and make recommendations on measures for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage.

This is of great significance in many aspects, showing the country's increasing position and prestige in the international arena, as well as the international community’s confidence in its contribution to and administration capacity in the global multilateral institutions, and recognition of Vietnam's contributions in relations with UNESCO, in preserving and promoting the value of intangible heritage in the country and in the world.

Winning the election is also a result of Vietnam's foreign policy of multilateralisation, diversification and comprehensive and extensive international integration, as well as the fruit of a methodical and concerted implementation of its candidacy plan in recent years, said Van.

Along with being a member of the Executive Council for the 2021-2025 term, a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions for the 2021-2025 tenure, becoming a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention will offer an opportunity for Vietnam to contribute more actively to UNESCO’s major programmes and orientations in general and on the culture field in particular; thus affirming its role and prestige at UNESCO and in the international arena, she added.

The Convention 2003 has been ratified by 180 countries, with Vietnam being among the first 30 entering the Convention.