Institute Lobbies For Inscription Of Kano Durbar At UNESCO

Executive secretary/chief executive officer of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, has pushed for the inscription of Kano Durbar on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the intergovernmental meeting scheduled to take place later this year in Paraguay.

The move to further push for the inscription of Kano Durbar came at the 10th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.

A statement issued by the media assistant to the executive secretary of NICO, Caleb Nor, said, “This is not just a significant part of deepening the global recognition of our culture, which has sincerely become an essential part of the new crusade of Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy and the world in general, having realised that culture can foster global peace and harmony.

“The importance of re-invigorating Nigeria’s participation in all aspects of the convention, especially in the area of application for international assistance and the imperative of submitting more nomination dossiers, not only into the Representative List but into the Best Practices as well as the Urgent Safeguarding Lists.

“The vibrant contributions from Nigeria at the just concluded session in Paris earned the country a seat on the committee as Nigeria is now elected as a member of the prestigious committee that will inscribe intangible cultural elements nominated by state parties for inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“The meeting, which had robust and meaningful deliberations, exchange of ideas as well as shared thoughts and insights into different aspects of the convention through draft resolutions, amendments and interventions, identified the imbalance across geographical regions of accredited Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), which the executive secretary of NICO emphasised the need to register more from Africa and Nigeria in particular.

“Nigeria also participated actively in amending the rules of procedure, including Article 7. G.l, which involves the programme or activity involving safeguarding as defined in Article 2.3 of the convention, reflects the Convention’s principles and objectives.

“The amendment was extended to 7.2, which states that the programme, project, or activity has demonstrated 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.”