Asunción, 5 December 2025 — At the conclusion of its 19th session held in Asunción, Paraguay, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed 47 new elements on UNESCO's lists, bringing the cumulative total to 730 traditions, practices, and expressions of living heritage recognised under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
New Inscriptions
Among the newly inscribed elements are: - The Mongolian art of contortion, inscribed on the Representative List; - The traditional craft of rattan weaving in Southeast Asia, inscribed as a multinational element by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Viet Nam; - The Zambian practice of Likumbi lya Mize, a Luvale ceremonial festival; - The art of dry stone walling in Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland; - Ojkanje singing, a traditional vocal form from Croatia.
Safeguarding Needs
The Committee also acted on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, inscribing several traditions at severe risk due to intergenerational transmission breakdown, urbanisation, and the impacts of conflict. UNESCO allocated emergency safeguarding grants to support revitalisation programmes for five critically endangered elements.
Significance of the 2003 Convention
The 2003 Convention, now ratified by 182 States Parties, represents a fundamental shift in the heritage paradigm from a focus on monuments and objects to the living practices, expressions, and knowledge that communities transmit across generations. UNESCO emphasises that intangible cultural heritage is inherently dynamic, and that its safeguarding must be community-led and rights-respecting.
UNESCO's Director-General noted: "Living heritage is the breath of culture. When a tradition dies, we lose not only a practice but a way of seeing the world. The inscriptions made this week are a collective commitment to keep these ways of seeing alive."
