Inventorying of living heritage presses on in Belize

: Torito Dance during the tradition of Carnaval, Caledonia Village, Corozal District; © National Institute of Culture and History, Belize

30 September 2013 – Having begun the development of its cultural policy and conducted a workshop on the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level, Belize presses on with fundamental steps in the inventorying of its living heritage.

A national workshop on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage will assemble various stakeholders including government officials, non-governmental organizations and community practitioners in the Orange Walk district of Belize, from 1 to 9 October 2013, with the primary aim to develop and implement a framework for the inventory of its intangible cultural heritage.

Organized by the National Institute of Culture and History in collaboration with the Belize National Commission for UNESCO and the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean, this workshop is a stepping stone in the safeguarding of the living heritage of Belize. It will focus on community participation in the identification and inventorying of intangible cultural heritage, data collection, organization and management, and hands-on experience in preparing field work, to be reinforced with pilot inventories early next year.

Funded by the Government of Japan, the workshop is part of a sub-regional project being implemented in Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago within the context of UNESCO’s global strategy on capacity building to safeguard intangible cultural heritage. It will be facilitated by UNESCO trained experts Harriet Deacon and Kris Rampersad.