CELEBRATING CULTURE AND RIGHT TO CULTURE AT WORLD INTANGIBLE HERITAGE OF HUMANITY SOUTH OF MOROCCO

The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) celebrates culture and right to culture at the Moussem of Tan Tan, listed by UNESCO, as an intangible heritage of humanity since 2008. The Moussem will be held from 4 to 9 of September 2013. It will be an opportunity to promote cultural rights and the Sahran-Hassani cultural heritage, which is a component of the national cultural identity, under the Moroccan Constitution.

The Council’s publications (reports, memorandums, studies, guidelines, etc.) and more than 100 publications on Sahara will be available throughout. CNDH has scheduled several activities under the heading “Right to culture”: a roundtable on “Saharan intangible cultural heritage: concepts and challenges” and a seminar on cultural policy in the Southern Provinces. CNDH invited several professors, experts and stakeholders specializing in the area to moderate these two activities. A workshop will be held by CNDH to sensitize civil society stakeholders about the necessity for safeguarding, promoting and protecting heritage. An art workshop for children is also scheduled. The Council will screen five films (a documentary, two short movies and two feature movies) dealing with issues related to the Sahara. CNDH’s tent will be a platform to debate on and discuss some books and publications dealing with the Saharan-Hassani culture. A concert will be held to celebrate the Hassani music and tribute will be given to the famous singer Khosseifa, whose album features in the Anthology of Hassani Music, prepared by the Centre of Saharan Studies with CNDH support. The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted on October 17, 2003. Morocco ratified it on July 6, 2003. According to this convention, the “intangible cultural heritage” means “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.” Each State Party shall (a) take the necessary measures to ensure the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory; (b) 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, (c) endeavor, by all appropriate means, to ensure recognition of, respect for, and enhancement of the intangible cultural heritage in society, in particular through (i) educational, awareness-raising and information programs, aimed at the general public, in particular young people; (ii) specific educational and training programs within the communities and groups concerned.