The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, has pushed for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to inscribe the Kano Durbar on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This move is expected to be discussed at the Intergovernmental Committee meeting scheduled for later this year in Paraguay.
The proposal for the inscription of the Kano Durbar was highlighted during the 10th Session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which took place at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, from June 11 to 12, 2024.
This was contained in a statement released on Monday in Abuja by Mr. Caleb Nor, the media assistant to the Executive Secretary of NICO.
Ajiboye noted that the inscription of the Kano Durbar would greatly enhance the global recognition of Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
He emphasized that this aligns with the new crusade by the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, and the global realization that culture can foster peace and harmony.
According to Ajiboye, Nigeria stands to gain significantly from robust participation in the Intergovernmental Committee meetings, especially in areas such as applying for international assistance and submitting nomination dossiers for the Representative List, Best Practices, and Urgent Safeguarding Lists.
He highlighted that Nigeria’s active participation in the recent session in Paris earned the country a seat on the Committee. Nigeria has been elected as a member of the prestigious committee responsible for inscribing intangible cultural elements nominated by states parties on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The statement added, “The meeting featured robust and meaningful deliberations, exchange of ideas, and shared thoughts on different aspects of the Convention through draft resolutions, amendments, and interventions.
It identified the imbalance across geographical regions of accredited Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), which the Executive Secretary of NICO emphasized the need to address by registering more from Africa and Nigeria in particular.”
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“Fifty-eight NGOs from various countries, including the United States, Croatia, Panama, Romania, Brazil, Morocco, Togo, Tunisia, and Italy, were approved for accreditation at the meeting.
“Nigeria also played an active role in amending the rules of procedure, including Article 7.G.l, which involves safeguarding programmes or activities as defined in Article 2.3 of the Convention.
The amendment to Article 7.2 states that the programme, project, or activity must demonstrate effectiveness in contributing to the viability of the Intangible Cultural Heritage concerned. The amendment to the operational directives concerning the selection criteria for the register of the safeguarding lists was also adopted.”
The statement concluded, “Regarding international assistance under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, it was agreed that eligible states parties without inscribed elements on the Lists of the Convention should apply to the fund for assistance, bearing in mind the next deadline of March 31, 2025.”
