Intangible heritage: The royal warning against plundering
“Any attempt to claim the cultural and civilizational heritage of another country as one’s own must be fought”. This is a meaningful sentence that the Sovereign sent in his letter to the participants in the interministerial committee of UNESCO, responsible for the safeguarding of intangible heritage, held on November 28 in Rabat.
This meeting, chaired by Samir Addahre, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO, aims to “promote the goals of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, ratified to date by 163 States”. The interministerial committee of UNESCO is also required to provide international assistance in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Finally, the committee studies applications for inclusion on the UNESCO lists, as well as program or project proposals.
King Mohammed VI insists on the fact that, in a rapidly changing world, it is important to underline that the intangible heritage of a country contributes to its influence and that consequently, “it must be protected by a clearly defined mechanism , in full accordance with the goals of the Convention”. Morocco has embarked on this path since July 2006, when the country ratified the Convention. To date, eleven cultural properties of the country appear on the list of the intangible world heritage of UNESCO; Moroccan equestrian art or Tbourida is the latest one, since last year, to be listed in the prestigious directory.
Regarding Morocco, traditional craftsmanship is perhaps the most tangible manifestation of intangible cultural heritage. However, the 2003 Convention is more concerned with the skills and knowledge involved in crafts than with the craft products themselves. Thus, UNESCO adopts a particular approach. Instead of focusing on the preservation of handicrafts, safeguarding efforts should instead focus on encouraging artisans to continue producing them and passing on their knowledge to others. and their know-how, particularly within their community.
The Sovereign insisted that culture is also a reflection of the civilizational dynamics that gave birth to it. “It is even more a vital necessity of our daily lives. As food for the soul and the spirit, culture provides a bridge between the past and the present and allows individuals to be tied to their social environment”. Today, cultural heritage has evolved considerably from the conceptual standpoint. Indeed, it no longer only serves to designate a set of historical monuments or archaeological pieces. “It refers more broadly to habits and customs and living expressions, inherited from our ancestors and transmitted to future generations such as oral traditions, artistic representations, and even social practices” , concluded the King in his message.
A national center is born
IN his letter, King Mohammed VI announced the creation of a National Center for the Intangible Cultural Heritage, “which will have the task of consolidating the achievements made in this area”. One of the missions of this center “will consist in continuing the methodical inventory of the national heritage throughout the Kingdom and in setting up a national database of relevant data” . In addition to academic training organized to build the capacities of professionals responsible for safeguarding measures, the new national structure will raise awareness among younger generations of the importance of cultural heritage. The future national center will also be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the mechanisms for the conservation of Moroccan properties listed on the World Heritage Lists and preparing the applications that Morocco intends to present in the future.
Abdessamad NAIMI
