PNG to safeguard intangible cultural heritage
By DR JACOB L SIMET
DURING his recent visit to PNG, the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mr. Koichi Matsuura, urged Papua New Guinea to ratify the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
He raised this matter in his meeting with the Deputy Prime-Minister, Dr. Puka Temu, pointing out that the Convention was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2003 and that PNG was yet to ratify this important agreement.
To support his concern that PNG ratifies this Convention, the Director committed some funding support towards preparations for ratification. The Director General’s concern with the ratification relates to the predominance and importance of intangible culture to Papua New Guinea, as with other cultures of the Pacific region.
In response Dr Temu advised Mr. Matsuura that PNG would move very quickly to ratify this Convention.
After their meeting, Dr Temu notified relevant agencies to prepare for the ratification of the Agreement, and to have it ready for presentation to the Parliament in its April 2008 session.
In turn, a number of government agencies have started in earnest the preparations for ratification, including the National Commission for UNESCO, the Education Department, the National Cultural Commission (NCC), Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney Generals Department.
At the same time, the UNESCO Sub-Regional Office in Apia, Samoa is involved in the process by providing support funding. Consultations between these different bodies will commence in the middle of March 2008.
The Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is one of UNESCO’s three main pillars for the protection of cultural heritage. The other two are; the World Heritage Convention for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972 and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of 2005.
While UNESCO had already adopted the World Heritage Convention of 1972, to protect the tangible cultural and natural heritage of humanity, it was recognized that there was a need to have a similar agreement to protect the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, which was under threat of disappearing in the face of globalization and other forces. . Thus on 17 October 2003, the UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Before the adoption of this Convention, UNESCO had established the list of proclaimed “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
At the coming into force of the 2003 Convention, this list of “masterpieces was incorporated into the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity established under this new Convention.
The 2003 Convention has forty articles spread out in nine different parts.
The preambular statement identifies the background in which the Convention is set, mainly the international human rights instruments, in particular to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights of 1966.
The preamble takes into account the “importance of the intangible cultural heritage as a mainspring of cultural diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development”, as underscored by the UNESCO Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore of 1989, and the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001.
In setting its platform, the Convention recognizes that “the processes of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage, in particular owing to a lack of resources for safeguarding of such heritage”.
It is also recognized that “communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, maintenance and re-creation of the intangible cultural heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human creativity”.
The Convention defines intangible cultural heritage as, “the practices representations, expressions, knowledge, skills - as well as the instruments, objects artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith - that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”.
This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.
The above are manifest in a number of ways such as in oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle for the intangible cultural heritage; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe and traditional craftsmanship.
The purposes of the Convention as set out under the General Provisions which are; to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage; to ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities, groups and individuals concerned; to raise awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage at local and international levels and to provide for international cooperation and assistance in safeguarding undertakings.
While some of the safeguarding actions are to be undertaken at international level as outlined in Part IV of the Convention, an important part of this agreement is the responsibility of States Parties as stated in Part III and outlined in Articles 11 - 15. These articles elaborate on matters such as the roles of the states parties, the need to develop national inventories of intangible culture, the implementation of safeguarding measures, education, awareness-raising, capacity-building, participation of communities, groups and individuals.
Article 11 obligates each States Party to take the necessary measures to ensure the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage within its territory. In this regard it is to identify and define the various elements of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory, with the participation of communities, groups and relevant non-governmental organizations. Article 12 stipulates that with a view to safeguarding, each State Party is to draw up one or more inventories of the intangible cultural heritage within its territory.
Article 13 points to a number of measures which each State Party can take to ensure the intangible cultural heritage within its territory. These measures include the development of national policies regarding intangible cultural heritage and emphasizing on its importance in society and integrating it to development. It also points to the establishment of competent national bodies to be responsible for the maintenance of intangible cultural heritage and its proper documentation. This article encourages the fostering of scientific, technical and artistic studies for effective safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. It also encourages the creation or strengthening of institutions in the management of intangible cultural heritage and also ensuring access to them.
Article 14 points to a number of measures which can be taken by States Parties to inform the community about the importance of and endangered position of intangible cultural heritage. This is to be done through awareness -raising programs, capacity-building and keeping the public aware of the dangers faced by this heritage. Article 15 emphasizes the need for the widest possible community participation in the maintenance of intangible cultural heritage.
Another two important parts of the Convention are the provisions which establish the organs and the mechanisms for international cooperation and assistance. The main organs are the General Assembly of the States Parties, “the General assembly” and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, “the Committee” The former is the policy making body and the latter is the implementing body.
While much of the implementation of the Convention is the responsibility of the States Parties, there are some areas which they can request international cooperation and assistance. Part V of the Convention outlines how this assistance can be accessed.
Compared with many civilizations of the world Papua New Guinea does not have very much in the way tangible cultural heritage; as in the way the Egyptians and Mexicans have the pyramids and the Indonesians have the Hindu temples of Borobudur. However our cultures are known for their richness in value in the intangible form. In many PNG situations, cultural representations were not supposed to be stored after use and in fact were had to be destroyed ritually. They had to be kept only in the minds of men and women. In this context, ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is a welcome development for Papua New Guinea.
This international instrument will augment the already existing national instruments such as National Cultural Property and Preservation Act 1976, the National Museum and art Gallery Act 1992 and the National Museum Act 1994, in the protection and safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of the people of Papua New Guinea.
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