55 New Additions to the UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added 55 new cultural practices to its Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) list. UNESCO started this list to ensure better protection of culture and heritage worldwide. The committee meeting took place from 5th to 8th December in Botswana, where more than 70 countries put forward their nominations for the list. 

Six of the 55 new additions were added to the list because they were in urgent need of safeguarding. These were Syrian glassblowing, olive cultivation in Turkey, the wedding dish of Xeedho in Djibouti, Ingoma Ya Mapiko from Mozambique, and the Poncho Para’í de 60 Listas de Piribebuy from Paraguay and lastly, the Malaysian theatre tradition called Mek Mulung. 

Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan came together to nominate Iftar for the list. Iftar is the traditional meal that Muslim people eat to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. This tradition is followed in many countries, including India. 

Other cultural practices such as Italian Opera Singing and Bangladesh’s Rickshaw painting became a part of this esteemed list. With these new additions, UNESCO’s living heritage list now includes 730 cultural practices spread across 145 countries.