Kingston, 13 December 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, will chair the meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The meeting from tomorrow (Monday, December 14) to Saturday, December 19 is being held online because of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

Among other things, the Committee will consider 40 requests for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — a compendium of traditions, customs, carnivals and ceremonies from across the world, which includes the Reggae Music of Jamaica and the Maroon Heritage of Moore Town.

The opening session will be held in Kingston from 7:30 am on Monday and will include the participation of the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, who will launch the innovative graphic tool “Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage”, which highlights the contribution of living heritage to the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Also in attendance will be the Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Alando Terrelonge; the Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Pearnel Charles Jr; and the recently appointed Director and Representative of the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean, Dr. Saadia Sanchez.

The opening session will also include a special performance of Reggae music by some of Jamaica’s most noted artistes.

More than 400 participants from 100 countries have registered to participate. The sessions will be broadcast online at https://ich.unesco.org/en/15com.

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