Armenian delegation participates in UNESCO General Assembly session on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage

An Armenian delegation participated in the 11th session of the General Assembly of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and delivered statements during the proceedings. According to a statement issued by Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Naira Kilichyan, Head of the Department for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, said in her address that the Republic of Armenia places particular importance on cooperation between the state and civil society in the field of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, viewing it as one of the fundamental pillars of an effective and sustainable cultural policy. She also stressed that the ministry, through its open and transparent cultural policy, provides annual financial support to cultural non-governmental organizations through grant programmes aimed at safeguarding, transmitting and promoting intangible cultural heritage in communities across the country. Armenia’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Aram Hakobyan, likewise emphasized that safeguarding intangible cultural heritage remains one of the priorities of Armenia’s cultural policy. He highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of communities and preserving their cultural heritage. During the session, the Armenian non-governmental organization Culture for Sustainable Development was accredited as an advisory NGO to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, in recognition of its professional expertise in the field. It became the second Armenian non-governmental organization to receive such high-level international recognition. In 2020, the Hazarashen Armenian Center for Ethnological Studies NGO was granted the same accreditation.