The four-day seminar on the preservation and popularization of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is held in the Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan. The training is organized with the assistance of the UNESCO office in Turkmenistan under the aegis of the Office for the Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Couture of Turkmenistan.
Among the training participants are the specialists of the scientific and educational structures and the institutions of culture, including the representatives of the Academy of Arts and Magtymguly Turkmen State University, the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, the Institute of Manuscripts under the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, the State museum and exhibition centres in Ahal Velayat.
The guest of honour to the meeting is Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office. The training is delivered by Nikolai Vukov, the Associate Professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The main goal of the training seminar is to familiarize the specialists on the production, study and distribution of the elements of the intangible cultural heritage with the aspects of the investigations in this sphere.
The seminar continues a series of trainings, started in 2015, when the Office for the Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Couture of Turkmenistan initiated and held the first seminar with the support of UNESCO.
The multimedia presentations were used during the seminar, which was held in the format of discussions that promoted the efficient dialogue.
Starting from 2001, Director of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche regularly arrives in our country on working visits. A number of initiatives have been implemented in the spheres of education and culture, including the introduction of innovative technologies within the last years with her assistance.
Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche noted that the seminar was aimed at assisting in drafting the tentative list of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in the framework of the Convention on the preservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003.
“In 2011, Turkmenistan ratified the Convention and established the Office for the Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Couture of Turkmenistan that built a constructive dialogue with UNESCO.
“The masters of the carpet weaving art, who have to hand over the knowledge and skills, carefully preserved within the centuries, take part in the seminar.In this regard, it should be noted that the Gyorogly epos as a sample of the Turkmen people’s destan art was included into the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in December, 2015.
“We can also mention the holiday of Nowruz, national musical instruments or … lavash by way of example. Each country has its own traditions and customs in their celebration, sounding and cooking.
“I like visiting Turkmenistan, the country where the careful preservation of the historical and cultural traditions is prioritized by the state policy.That is vividly proved by the motto of the year of 2018: “Turkmenistan is the heart of the Great Silk Road”, which will be a key principle in our joint work, aimed at widening the humanitarian cooperation in the region.
One of the important tasks is to research the people’s cultural and historical relations along the Silk Road.
International expert, Associate Professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.Nikolai Vukov arrived in Turkmenistan for the first time.
Opening the training, he noted: “I am happy with the opportunity to work with my Turkmen colleagues and hope that our work on the preservation and enhancement of the intangible cultural heritage will be efficient.
My job includes the study of ethnic observances among others.Since the first minute of my staying in Turkmenistan, I have felt the generosity, hospitality and openness of the Turkmen people.
“Our goal is to discuss the process of drafting the list of the intangible cultural heritage on the local, regional and global levels.In this regard, the efforts taken by the people the main keeper of cultural traditions are of particular importance.
I delivered the seminars in Uzbekistan, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Belarus.I hope that our meeting will contribute to widening the mutually beneficial cooperation in the sphere of study and popularization of the cultural heritage”.